Scotland’s nature agency permitted the cruel clubbing of gannet chicks this September

Images showing dead and plucked gannets for sale on Lewis at the weekend confirm the controversial ‘guga hunt’ has taken place.

Guga hunt in Scotland: slaughter of gannets goes ahead

As the BBC explained:

For centuries, thousands of gannets were killed for their meat during an annual hunt on Sula Sgeir, a small rocky island 40 miles (64km) north of Ness on the Isle of Lewis.

The tradition, called a guga hunt, dates back to the 15th Century but has not been held for the last three years due to concerns around avian flu.

However, in July, Scotland’s nature agency, NatureScot confirmed it had received an application for the hunt this year.

Despite criticism from Scottish animal welfare charity OneKind and the Scottish public, the hunt went ahead.

NatureScot granted a licence due to a clause in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which permits the guga hunt.

A ‘cruel and unnecessary activity’

OneKind’s CEO Jason Rose said:

How incredibly disappointing that despite the ethical and welfare concerns expressed by animal welfare experts and the public, this cruel and unnecessary activity was still allowed to happen.

How can the taking of these baby animals from their families using a pole, then clubbing their heads, causing fear, distress and suffering, possibly be considered acceptable?

OneKind has met with senior management at NatureScot to express the concerns of our tens of thousands of supporters. It is clear that an outdated clause in law is allowing this horrific activity to continue, so our challenge now is to Scottish Ministers to do the right thing and stop this cruelty. We will be working hard to prevent such a deadly licence being granted next year.

Featured image via Unsplash/Doncoombez