A petition to ban the practice of hunting baby gannets may have gathered the most signatories at Holyrood but islanders should be allowed to carry on, argues Herald columnist Alan Simpson.
THE French have a penchant for eating virtually anything that flies, swims, runs, slithers or even hops and all in a fabulous sauce that only those trained in France can seem to perfect.
It is part of the charm of French cuisine and may traditional peasant dishes are still hugely popular in restaurants today.
When I was growing up, we regularly holidayed in France and we were encouraged, sometimes forcibly, to try all the weird and wonderful things on the menus.
I love French food to this day, which I believe to be vastly superior to any other in the world.
But one thing I would draw the line at, probably, is eating an ortolan.
These poor unfortunate small seabirds are force fed to fatten them before being roasted whole and drowned in Armagnac brandy.
They were quite the delicacy once until the population declined by a staggering 87% and are now protected under French law - and quite rightly too.
In an age where sustainability is increasingly important, small seabirds are worth being protected so they don’t the same way as the Dodo or the Auk.
The plight of the humble ortolan sprang to mind when protestors got themselves in a lather about the traditional guga hunt off the coast of Lewis.
For centuries, 10 Men of Ness have gone out yearly to kill the young gannets, not yet fledged, on the island of Sula Sgeir, and bring them home, gutted and salted.
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They are then served up with potatoes and a glass of milk, so far, so wholesome.
But, campaigners believe the practice is ‘abhorrent’ and are demanding a ban,
It is important to point out at this juncture that the men must obtain a licence from conservation agency NatureScot and can only collect a sustainable amount.
But a petition calling for an end to the hunt, which gathered over 82,000 signatures – became one of the most signed in Scottish history,
The petition, created by wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby, called for an end to the licensing of the hunt, which is allowed under Section 16 of the Wildlife Countryside Act of 1981, and licensed by NatureScot.
It described the practice as “abhorrent cruelty”.
But the Scottish Government said it does not intend to amend the legislation, which is a good thing.
Why should people who primarily live and work in the central belt be the judges of what is right and wrong on Scotland’s islands.
Given how marginalised many islanders feel already, not least because of the ferries debacle, then interfering on an issue such as this would have been an unwelcome and potentially incendiary step.
Of course, the hunt has its defenders and among the many submissions to the hearing was a written statement in support from a Lewis resident.
It said: “We have been doing this for hundreds of years so that the older generation have food to eat. What you call ‘tradition’, I call island way of living.”
Last week at Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, the matter was debated and put it on a list of “a handful” of petitions likely to be held over to the next parliament.
Fergus Ewing MSP, a member of the petitions committee, said: “Given the number of signatures, it needs to be further explored, but that’s probably for the next parliament.
“I’m sure that any committee will want to make sure that the voice of the islanders is heard, because they have a case that’s part of their tradition, their heritage.
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“They’re entitled to be heard, and I think some of them feel a little bit browbeaten by some of the tone of the criticisms being made of them.
Campaigners argue that the scale of public opposition shows it is time for change and are urging NatureScot to prioritise “caution over custom”.
Animal welfare charity Protect the Wild stressed that future hunts are not inevitable and that NatureScot must assess licence applications annually as well as and ensure the long-term stability of the Sula Sgeir gannet population.
A recent RSPB survey highlighted the number of breeding birds on Sula Sgeir had fallen by 23% between 2021 and 2023, with avian influenza (HPAI) the suspected cause.
The RSPB has called for licensing of the hunt to be paused until populations fully recover to pre-HPAI levels.
Ms Bigsby, who launched the petition, said: “The public response to this petition has shown that people are deeply uncomfortable with this contradiction.
“We can acknowledge the role the guga hunt once played without continuing it indefinitely. These birds have sustained island communities for centuries. Now, at a time when they are under unprecedented pressure, they need our protection. I believe we owe them that much.”
But Gemma Lawrie, 29, from Lewis wrote in her submission in defence of the hunt: “We are a small very isolated island with a small population. If we were required to vote to keep this practice going, we wouldn’t win.
“We depend on the ferry to bring food over. If there is bad weather we might not get milk, meat or veg for a week so we depend on our island.
“Mainlanders have shops at their fingertips. For many of us on the island, we don’t. This will ruin the Scottish island culture. For what? Because what we are doing is bad.”
“We kill guga to eat it. I do understand that killing animals is bad and cruel, but look in your supermarket markets at the vast amount of food that does not get eaten. What we kill we eat – no waste!”
“Why deny an island of this practice that has been done for hundreds of years because of a worldwide problem [bird flu]? This petition has caused so many hate comments about the island and their people.”
NatureScot director Robbie Kernahan said: “The cultural significance of the hunt is recognised in law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. This is why a licence exists for the activity. To be clear, Our role is to implement legislation in a balanced and reasonable way.
“We must assess any application against the licensing tests set out under the legislation, and crucially whether the guga hunt can take place with the long-term Sula Sgeir gannet population remaining stable – 2025 was the first year we received a licence application from the Men of Ness since 2021.
“We carefully assessed the application and significantly reduced the number of birds that could be taken from 2,000 to 500.”
Judging by the two polarised viewpoints, it is a delicate balancing act that is faced by NatureScot and one which seems to work so far.
The hunt should only take place if gannet numbers are stable and the sustainability of the colony is preserved.
But some of the extreme elements on the animal welfare side think that eating any living creature is wrong.
It is their right to have that belief and lifestyle and it must be respected.
However, the islanders have every right to kill and eat seabirds and that equally must be respected. Sadly we seem to live in an age where respect is in short supply.
