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<\/p>\nPermission has been sought for a traditional hunt of young seabirds to take place on an uninhabited Hebridean island later this summer.<\/p>\n
For centuries, gannets have been killed for their meat during an annual hunt on Sula Sgeir, a small rocky island 40 miles (64km) north of Ness on Lewis in the Western Isles.<\/p>\n
Public body NatureScot issues licences for the hunts and is assessing the latest application.<\/p>\n
The organisation’s board will be asked to note that this process is under way at a meeting later. It will make a decision on the licence at a future date.<\/p>\n
The practice, called a guga hunt and dating back to the 15th Century, usually takes place in August.<\/p>\n
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A protest was held outside NatureScot’s headquarters during a meeting of the agency’s board [BBC]<\/p>\n
Animal rights campaigners, who oppose the hunt and say it is no longer needed to provide food for islanders, have held a protest outside NatureScot’s headquarters in Inverness.<\/p>\n
NatureScot said the cultural significance of the hunt was recognised under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and hunters must apply for permission every year.<\/p>\n
Last year the agency granted a licence allowing up to 500 birds to be killed, following three years when the hunt had not been held due to bird flu.<\/p>\n
The agency said the number had been reduced from 2,000 in recent times to allow the population to recover from the impact of the disease.<\/p>\n
A total of 485 birds were taken at the 2025 hunt.<\/p>\n
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The guga hunt is Scotland’s last surviving hunt of young seabirds [BBC]<\/p>\n