Wildlife crime in Scotland: 2020 annual report

7. Scottish Government

This section sets out details of specific projects carried out by or on behalf of the Scottish Government over the time period of this report.

Grouse Moor Management

Following the publication of the Werrity report on 19 December 2019, the Scottish Government provided a response to the recommendations on 26 November 2020. The response announced our intention to licence grouse moors and deliver the recommendations.

Licensing or further regulation of grouse moors will cover the key areas identified in the review, including muirburn, wildlife control, the use of medicated grit and wildlife crime. Licensing will be supported by clear penalties to encourage compliance, as well as additional effort to detect wildlife crime.

The full Scottish Government response to the recommendations provides further detail.

Deer Management

The Deer Working Group was established by the Scottish Government in 2017. The Group was appointed as an independent working group to review the existing statutory and non-statutory arrangements for the management of wild deer in Scotland, taking account of the position with each of the four species of wild deer and the varying circumstances across Scotland.

The Scottish Government provided a response to the recommendations on 24 March 2021. The response announced our acceptance of 92 of the 99 recommendations.

The full Scottish Government response to the recommendations provides further detail.