Come and see for yourself, SLE tells Green Party MSP

Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has strongly rebutted claims by Green Party leadership candidate Ross Greer MSP that shooting estates receive unjustified public subsidies and tax breaks.

In a video posted on social media, Mr Greer claimed “almost every shooting estate in Scotland gets massive tax breaks and subsidies” despite being owned by “some of the richest people in the world”. He has also tabled parliamentary proposals to ban such estates from receiving tax relief.

‘Simply untrue,’ SLE responds to Green Party MSP

SLE’s director of policy, Stephen Young, dismissed Mr Greer’s assertions as fundamentally flawed.

“The assertion that shooting estates – whatever those are – receive funding for doing nothing is simply untrue,” he said.

Mr Young explained that recipients of government support must demonstrate environmental benefits alongside agricultural activity in order to receive rural support payments.

Driving net zero and biodiversity work

He emphasised that rural estates deliver significant environmental and economic benefits, noting that:

“More than half of Scotland’s woodland creation, peatland restoration and renewable energy production” takes place on such properties.

Mr Young warned that:

“These ideologically driven proposals would severely impact our efforts to reach net zero, tackle biodiversity loss and stem rural depopulation.”

Come and visit

In response to Mr Greer’s remarks, SLE has invited the Green Party MSP to visit a rural estate to witness first-hand the “multiple benefits these businesses provide for people, jobs and nature”.

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