SGA says fox licences need ‘specialist’ skills

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) has told NatureScot that the environmental benefit licences are “out of reach” for those who need them. 

NatureScot recently asked stakeholders to express their views regarding the efficacy of the licensing processes for the use of trained dogs in fox population control. 

Since the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 came into force, it has been illegal for a person to use more than two dogs to search for, chase or stalk a wild mammal in Scotland. The law allows for applications for licences of exemption from the Act through Scotland’s nature agency NatureScot. 

NatureScot says applications to hunt foxes with dogs for environmental benefit will only be granted if the proposed activity is part of a scheme or plan. And the killing, capturing, or observing of the wild mammal must contribute towards a significant or long-term environmental benefit. 

The SGA says that due to the complexity of the licence application process, its members have not been able to complete a licence application without significant administrative and technical help. 

Given the amount of detailed information required, the SGA says its applicants require “specialist professional skills or external support to be able to complete a competent application which would stand any chance of success”, and that the process is “acting as a barrier”. 

When passing the Bill, MSPs in both the rural affairs committee and in the parliament, and the Minister, were clear in the view that the licensing process should be “workable” for those who needed it. The SGA used a particular case as an example where a highly detailed application extended to 15 pages, but NatureScot still asked for further information. 

The high evidential bar would appear to translate to virtual impossibility. 

SGA chairman Alex Hogg told Shooting Times: “We got into a place, after some teething issues, where the licences for livestock protection were working well. However, it can’t be that people can’t protect some of our rarest and declining species from fox predation because they either can’t fill out the forms or there is a bias against granting applications. 

“The licensing process is there to help people, not to deter them, so clearly there is work to be done to make the conservation licences workable.”