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Call for year-
Crofters should be allowed to shoot marauding geese, which destroy grass and crops, all year round say MP Angus Brendan MacNeil.
Greylag geese have exploded in numbers with large flocks remaining on the islands after the winter. They now breed locally and devour grass constantly.
Angus Macneil wants the Scottish Government to relax the stringent rules which restrict culling them. There is a complete ban for part of the year while an eight page form has to be filled to get a licence to shoot in the few open months.
The MP has contacted Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead and Environment Minister calling for an end to the bureaucracy.
Mr MacNeil said: “This problem has been going on for far too long now, I have been calling for something to be done for many years; we are beyond the stage of report writing and consultations. Crofting cannot sustain the damage being done by the geese.
“Crofters who have a suitable gun license should be allowed to shoot the geese all year round.”
Mr Macneil added: “SNH have a role to play here, if they understand natural heritage, they will know that the geese problem is out of balance. There was much effort and expense put into eradicating hedgehogs after they were deemed to be causing problems which was to the bewilderment of many people but geese are a manifest problem in grazing.
“They are also a health issue on playing fields from their droppings, in addition to safety at roadsides – such is their number and displacement of other birds at nesting.
“We have to get rid of the requirement for a special licence to shoot the geese. It is terrible for crofters to be sitting at their kitchen table filling in an eight page document when at the other side of the glass; greylag geese are merrily chewing grass.”
“Rather than handing crofters a pen to fill out a form, they should be given the freedom to protect their land when the need arises. In addition, SNH should get fully involved with this issue as they did with the hedgehogs when they were at unnatural numbers.”