RJ Hamster
Guga hunters have submitted their 2026 kill licence
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Guga hunters have submitted their 2026 kill licence
The chicks are hatching. The Guga hunters are waiting. NatureScot is deliberating.
MAY 28READ IN APP
On Tuesday afternoon, we learned that NatureScot has officially received a licence application for the 2026 Guga Hunt – the annual killing of Gannet chicks on the remote island of Sula Sgeir in Northern Scotland.
Our first thoughts on hearing this news was deep concern for the chicks who are hatching right now on the cliffs of Sula Sgeir.
They will spend the next few months being nurtured by their parents in the nest. Bonding, growing, learning, edging closer to the moment they spread their wings for the first time. Unless the Guga hunt licence is granted. Then they’ll never fly. Never feel the wind beneath them. Never know the open ocean.
It’s heartbreaking to think of them there now, taking their first breaths in an exciting new world, completely unaware that 10 men have just applied to end their lives before they’ve even begun.
But we are not powerless. All is still left to fight for. And we have a real chance of saving those chicks.
Usually this process is a formality – the licence is granted and NatureScot simply assesses how many birds can be taken. But thanks to people like you speaking up, this year looks very different. For the first time, the decision has been escalated to NatureScot’s board and senior management team, who will make the final call.
NatureScot has said they want to hear directly from the range of people who have been in touch and to listen to the various points of view. We will be meeting with them imminently to present the overwhelming range of evidence against this cruel hunt.
And here’s what matters: NatureScot’s board are bound by a code of conduct to “take decisions solely in terms of the public interest”. Using taxpayer money to facilitate the killing of native seabirds during a biodiversity crisis goes directly against the public interest. They know that. We know that. Now we need them to act on it.
We’ve created an e-action template to urge NatureScot to do the right thing and refuse the 2026 Guga hunt licence. It takes less than a minute. Every single email adds to the pile on their desk when their board sits down to make this decision. Feel free to personalise it and add your own words – this often carries more weight.
This is the moment everything has been building towards. Please don’t sit this one out.
Let’s make sure the Gannet chicks of Sula Sgeir get to fly this year. Thank you.
Adopt a Gannet!
Become a monthly supporter of Protect the Wild and power the fight to end the Guga hunt.
You can also choose to make a one-off donation.
As a thank you, we’ll send you a Gannet plush toy – a small, soft reminder of a bird worth fighting for. We’re not sure how many we will stock – so don’t wait around!LIKECOMMENTRESTACK
