Should the juvenile gannet hunt be banned?
"We could view this remaining Guga Hunt as a minor miracle, in the context of a post-Clearance landscape where many indigenous practices were eradicated by the factor, the minister, the emigration agent and recruiting sergeant. That the British State should have found scope for this license provision is in itself miraculous. Whether it survives the monetisation of outrage remains to be seen. I suspect this year NatureScot will opt to refer to the uncertainty of their own modelling to prevent a harvest, so that it is people in Ness who are impacted by the inability of people in Inverness to fulfill their obligations under regulations from Holyrood and Whitehall. But maybe not."
"I hope we see our legislators have the courage to call out the demonisation faced by the people of Ness. And if we are to see a future legislative battle, I hope every community in the Hebrides raises the memory of their own traditions of Guga or Sgairbh, and make their voices heard, likely alongside other indigenous communities looking to maintain their food security and the traditions of their forebears. Why should the food traditions of those who weave tweed in the Hebrides be treated differently under the law than of those who can afford to wear that tweed in a tailored outfit on Deeside. A wider cultural recognition of how Hebridean communities helped sustain themselves with a wide variety of sea birds could certainly give Protect the Wild something to chew over. True land reform must be about the ability of small communities to utilise their own resources, including food, not just about whether people on their holidays are allowed to crap on the machair."