Protesters confront NatureScot at biodiversity conference over guga hunt licence

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  • Post last modified:16 July 2026

A noisy protest erupted outside the Biodiversity + Business Live conference at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. Campaigners were challenging NatureScot over its role in licensing the controversial guga hunt. From 8am on 15 July, protesters gathered with placards and megaphones outside the conference, which NatureScot is co-hosting. They accused Scotland’s nature agency of undermining its own biodiversity commitments by licensing the annual killing of gannet chicks. Delegates arriving for the conference, including Scottish government ministers and UK business leaders, faced protesters chanting: NatureScot, shame, shame! Gannets killed in your name! Protect the Wild, one of the groups involved,…

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Fight to end guga hunt intensifies as NatureScot receives 2026 licence application

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  • Post last modified:8 June 2026

Pressure is mounting on Scotland’s nature agency after it confirmed a new licence application has been received for the guga hunt this year. The guga hunt involves the annual killing of gannet seabird chicks in the Outer Hebrides. Now the controversial practice is once again under consideration for 2026 after an application was submitted by the 10-man hunting team based in Ness on the Isle of Lewis. The hunt, which takes place on the remote island of Sula Sgeir, has been carried out for centuries and was once used for food during harsh winters. However, campaigners argue that young gannet flesh…

Continue ReadingFight to end guga hunt intensifies as NatureScot receives 2026 licence application