Scottish Government should enlist gamekeeper student task forces to help save red-listed species such as curlew from extinction.
That is the view of The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), which claims September’s State of Nature report * demonstrates an urgent need for new conservation approaches.
Populations of curlew have crashed by 61% in Scotland since the 1990s, escalating extinction fears, with an estimated 15% of the world’s population breeding on our uplands and shores.
Scottish Government has an international duty to protect curlew through the UK’s status as a signatory to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement.
A number of scientific papers such as the 9 year Upland Predation Experiment (1), however, have drawn positive correlations between responsible management for game birds, gamekeeper density (2) and increased breeding productivity in curlew.
The industry's young hold the key
Given this developing knowledge, Scotland’s gamekeeping body believes the government should now utilise the skill-sets of its industry’s emerging young people, to help rescue critical populations.
Techniques such as legal predator control at scale, habitat manipulation and careful muirburn have been scientifically proven (see below) to benefit curlew and other threatened ground-nesting birds, not just quarry species gamekeepers are paid to protect.
By working in tandem with the SGA and Scotland’s gamekeeping course providers (Borders College, SRUC Elmwood in Fife and UHI North Highlands in Thurso), Scottish Government could enlist national certificate students for curlew conservation projects, further developing their fieldcraft.
The SGA believes this will also help to support new green jobs and assist in the quest to bridge rural skills gaps identified as a potential barrier to achieving Net Zero and Biodiversity goals.
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Posted On: 16/11/2023