NatureScot, a government agency, has decided to greatly reduce the area of land affected by a new licensing regime for grouse moors after legal threats from shooting estates and land owners.
Campaign groups including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) and Revive Scotland have said they are furious, and have called on the Scottish government to close the loophole urgently.
Anne McCall, the director of RSPB Scotland, said: "We believe that these changes completely undermine the primary intention of this legislation to tackle raptor persecution and will only give comfort to those who intend to keep killing our birds of prey.
"Leaders across the rest of the UK are looking to Scotland and this legislation to show them the art of the possible, with an example that they might soon follow. But the promise of a real deterrent to criminality on Scotland's grouse moors has been allowed to descend into a shambles."
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin November 15, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin November 15, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Nostalgic, but the humour is right on trend
Amy Annette is the sort of woman who would rather drop her phone than a lovely bit of bread, she tells us by way of introduction
Gyms Working out the best membership deal
Mabel Banfield-Nwachi looks into the prices at the leading chains, and finds the best deals to save money
Gaza Shells and bombs in rubble put thousands of lives at risk, experts warn
Tens of thousands of people will risk death or injury this weekend from shells and bombs buried in rubble when they try to reach ruined homes in areas of Gaza inaccessible throughout much of the 15-month war, explosive disposal experts and aid officials have warned.
Southport killer: police in fight to access web history
Police have been unable to check what Axel Rudakubana was searching online before he murdered three children in Southport because they are locked in a lengthy US legal process to obtain the data from Google and Microsoft, it can be revealed.
Revolution' Trump sets out his radical agenda. But will it work?
This time last week Stewart Rhodes was serving an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy over his role in a deadly attack on the US Capitol.
'What do I do if I want to kill?' How teenager became a murderer
When Axel Rudakubana returned to school after summer five years ago, something had changed.
UN voices alarm as M23 rebels advance on Goma in eastern DRC
The military governor of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has died from injuries sustained during the army's fight against the M23 rebel group as it advances towards the city of Goma.
Scientists pinpoint Andes as origin of potato blight that led to Irish famine
It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th-century Ireland, but while the potato disease behind the Irish famine is well known, a battle has raged over where it originated.
Subsea cables Could Irish neutrality leave infrastructure open to attack?
They are the bedrock of the internet, keeping everything from TikTok to emergency services, business, banking systems and political and military communications running smoothly.
'Tormented' man shot dead by West Mercia police was shown no mercy, says family
The family of Marcus Meade, who was shot and killed by police on Christmas Eve while thought to be having a mental crisis, have said officers showed \"no mercy\" for him, and are calling for \"full accountability\" of those involved.