Today, the Scottish Parliament ensured this petition will carry forward – and with it, a real chance to change the law.
Today, MSPs made an important decision. They unanimously decided to keep Rachel Bigsby’s petition to end the Guga hunt open and carry it forward to the next Parliament.
Here’s why this matters.
The current Scottish Parliament is about to dissolve ahead of the upcoming election in May. With this government’s term coming to an end and parliamentary business rapidly winding down, the Committee could easily have closed the petition, simply saying that time had run out.
But they didn’t.
Instead, they recognised that the scale of public opposition to the Guga hunt demands scrutiny – not silence. They acknowledged that significant concerns surrounding the hunt remain unresolved and must be properly examined.
In our submission to the Committee, we highlighted that seven seabird species within the Special Protection Area where the hunt takes place are already on the brink of immediate collapse – having been officially assessed as being in unfavourable conservation status by the very agency that licenses the hunt, NatureScot.
We warned the Committee that allowing the Guga hunt to continue would further endanger an already vulnerable colony, and undermine Scotland’s reputation as a leader in conservation and sustainable wildlife tourism.
Because of this morning’s decision, this issue will now land directly on the desk of MSPs in May, forcing them to reconsider the outdated legal exemption in the Wildlife and Countryside Act that allows this hunt to take place.
You made history
This only happened because more than 100,000 of you spoke up. 100,000 people said that tearing young seabirds from their nests and killing them for tradition is no longer acceptable, and that the law must reflect this.
This petition made history. It was the largest put before this government, the fourth largest in Scottish history, and the largest ever relating to animal welfare in Scotland.
So thanks to every one of you who added your name, and to wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby for starting the petition. You forced the Guga hunt into public consciousness and onto the political agenda. You made sure it could not be quietly dismissed. And you helped create a real pathway to changing the law and ensuring this abhorrent hunt is consigned to the history books where it belongs.
Here’s what we must do now
The licence application could arrive any day now, and when it does, we’ll need the strength of this movement ready to make itself heard again.