I photographed this Gannet, collecting seaweed for the nest, off the coast of Alderney earlier this year.
The headline above is shameless in two ways. It’s a steal from the novel and film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and I usually try to be less emotive, but this has got me really angry. We harvest and eat Gannets? I had no idea.
Gannet and other seabird populations have been ravaged by avian flu, so the hunt, known as the guga, has been suspended for three years. Now, NatureScot, notorious for its ludicrous and hypocritical decisions about beavers, see below, in its wisdom, has issued a licence once again.
From Animal Wild:
When it comes to beavers, an extinct but native mammal, the same conflicts arise. When they appeared in Scotland they were given protected status, but at the same time licences were issued to farmers and landowners to cull them and remove their dams. A 2019 report from Scottish Natural Heritage, now rebranded as NatureScot, states that 87 of an estimated population of 450 were shot under licence in the eight months since they were granted protection. At least ten of those were kits under a year old. Since they had trained 205 people how to kill them, rather than looking at mitigation methods and even moving the beavers, as has happened elsewhere in Europe, it’s surprising the figures aren’t even higher. The report was welcomed by the National Farmers Union in Scotland. However, a group called Trees for Life won their legal challenge against NatureScot over this.
When beavers appeared in Wales, farmers and anglers warned of “civil disobedience and anarchy” if more were introduced. The editor of Angling News described them as vermin.
NatureScot seem rather pleased with themselves that the new licence allows for a take of ‘only’ 500 birds rather than the 2,000 killings which used to be permitted. Just one hunt still exists. It takes place on the uninhabited island of Sula Sgeir. It lasts for about two weeks and involves ten people, the “Men of Ness” (oh dear) who catch the nestlings with a pole and noose, kill them, pluck, them and salt them before taking them back to Ness for consumption. Gannets were amber listed even before the onset of avian flu and of course are not being helped by overfishing and warming seas.
A NatureScot spokesperson says, “We have thoroughly assessed the application taking into account survey data and population analysis and we have granted a licence with a limit of 500 birds. This revised limit for 2025 safeguards the sustainability of the Sula Sgeir gannet population and allows for its continued recovery following avian flu.”
Of course we have domesticated and farm pigs, cows, sheep, chickens and so on, and in other parts of the world animals we think of as pets, family members, like cats and dogs, are consumed. I think it’s true to say that in the UK we don’t tend to eat carnivores, but morally I cannot see a difference. But we must we add to the species we take? Must we farm ostriches, crocodiles? I am a hypocrite too – I still consume fish, chicken and dairy produce, although I am trying to cut down. But surely the inhabitants of Ness don’t need to eat Gannets any more than the Faroe islanders need whale meat (most of which is not even consumed).
I first read about the guga in BirdWatch but it wasn’t long before Protect the Wild were on the case, citing these numbers: “since 2014 Scottish Natural Heritage has issued almost 4,000 licences to farmers, landowners and others to kill 97,500 geese, 11,400 hares, 10,000 gannets and 6,000 ravens. Hundreds of goosanders, cormorants, jackdaws, starlings, gulls, magpies and pigeons were also allowed to be killed.” And, since 2019, licences to kill 3307 Ravens, 6507 Brown Hares, 4996 Mountain Hares, 6000 Gannets, 9448 Greylag Geese, and 4809 Barnacle Geese.
So how is the guga defended? It is so predictable it is almost comical: heritage, tradition, the usual claptrap. The same excuses used to defend bullfighting, the grindadráp, the shooting of migrating birds, even Turtle Doves, in Europe and of course fox hunting. It gets better or, rather worse. The guga, they say, is no more cruel than grouse shooting. No comment necessary. There is never any thought for the animals’ families. Gannets go to such lengths to raise their chicks, only for this to be their grisly end. As a species, how dare we?
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