Possible reintroduction of wolves in Scotland: EIR release

Information requested

1. Please can you share the Scottish Government’s position on reintroducing wolves to the ScottishHighlands?

2. Can you share any correspondence to and/or from Scottish Ministers relating to the reintroduction of wolves to the Scottish Highlands within the last year?

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the Purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Request for information in relation to the Scottish Government’s position on the reintroduction of wolves to the Scottish Highlands and associated correspondence

Question 1

The Scottish Government has no plans to reintroduce wolves or any other large carnivorous species into Scotland. Anyone who wishes to release any new species, such as wolves, would require a license from NatureScot.

NatureScot would assess any such application in line with the Scottish Code for Conservation Translocations and would consult the National Species Reintroduction Forum.

Question 2

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested as Scottish Government Ministers have not received any correspondence relating to the reintroduction of wolves to the Scottish Highlands within the time period specified in your request (17 February 2024 to 17 February 2025). Therefore, with respect to your request this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

It may help if I explain that as part of the response to your request we have conducted a search of the Scottish Government’s main records filing system and have been unable to locate the information requested. I would also note that a search request was submitted to Scottish Government Officials which also resulted in no information being identified that would be within the scope of your request.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. It is important to note that although we do not hold the information and have applied Regulation 10(4)(a) – information not held, it is a requirement that we have to apply the public interest test.

Wider guidance on the Environmental Information regime can be found in the Key Concepts section under ‘Information Not Held’ and ‘The Public Interest Test’ in the attached Scottish Information Commissioner Briefings and Guidance document.Further guidance on the public interest test can also be found on page 8 of the Scottish Information Commissioner guidance.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.