Colourful TV professor David Bellamy yesterday launched the first exams for angling at a Scottish secondary school to a volley of criticism from animal rights supporters.

Colourful TV professor David Bellamy yesterday launched the first exams for angling at a Scottish secondary school to a volley of criticism from animal rights supporters.

Professor Bellamy said the move to introduce Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) from S3 onwards helps establish Scotland as "the open university for field sports", and also educates children how to interact with the environment.

The 75-year-old naturalist was speaking at Blairgowrie High School in Perthshire, which is the first to run the course.

Prof Bellamy said the qualification "gives recognition to jobs that can really make money" such as gamekeepers and gillies or in fisheries management and tourism.

He said: "The government has realised that if you've got the training available in the rural areas then that creates jobs and that creates money. It is a sustainable job. Scotland has some of the last remaining challenging wilderness, and it has water."

He said it is also a way to "help people who have not cut into another area" at school. "Some people are good at maths and some people aren't. Some people want hands-on jobs which are rewarding," he added.

The course was introduced in 2002 by two Strathclyde police officers, Derek Whittle and George Knight, who wanted to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour through fishing.

The charity Angling for Youth Development (AFYD) which grew from that now offers people of different backgrounds the opportunity to participate in angling.

Gordon Miller, headteacher at Blairgowrie High School, said the course aids "personal development" while teaching about the environment. He added: "Unless the course is nationally qualified it will be looked on by employers and parents as just an extra-curricular activity."

However, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said that urging young people to kill creatures would have a negative impact and urged the authorities to cancel the programme.

Spokesperson Poorva Joshipura said: "Urging youngsters to kill animals during their free time in an effort to keep them out of trouble will likely have the opposite effect.

"Research shows people who harm animals often move on to human victims. Compassion should be encouraged in youngsters through activities that protect, rather than harm, wildlife."

Peta, which also campaigns against the use of bearskins by the British Army, earlier wrote to the SQA asking it to reject the angling qualification.

It said in the letter: "While we applaud the teaching of science, geology, wildlife law or fish biology, we believe that awarding academic credit for inflicting gratuitous pain and suffering on living beings is misguided."

But Scottish Tory education spokesman Murdo Fraser MSP said: "Fishing is very important to the Perthshire economy.

"It brings in millions of pounds every year and we need to make sure that we have new generations growing up who have an interest as fishing as a sport but also the ability to take up jobs in the industry such as fisheries management."

The course lasts 260 hours, of which 70 involve practical lessons including fly-tying, angling and wildlife law, water safety, history of angling and tactics.

While SQA offers angling coaching modules for vocational qualifications and courses involving fishery operations, this is the first course at school level.

Course contributors included the Scottish Anglers National Association, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the Fly Tyers Guild. James Picken of the anglers' association said it was an "excellent programme". Grev Humphrey, of Tayside Police who was also involved in setting up the qualification, said courses were run by qualified angling coaches.

He added: "It opens a career pathway to let's say environmental science, aquaculture. It is not just for low achievers, it is for people from all walks of life."

One 18-year-old, Kimby Tosh, who wants to go on to do a coaching course, said: "At first I only did it for a laugh but I really enjoyed fishing, and I also found it helped me to relax when I was going through a stressful time."

An SQA spokesman last night declined to comment on the row and said it acts only as "credit rating body".