Scotland's last surviving guga hunt to resume this summer
The agency said the number has been reduced from the 2,000 kills permitted in recent times in order for the gannet population to recover.
Sula Sgeir is an uninhabited island which is home a number of seabird species, including about 11,000 gannets.The hunt is held in August, and traditionally lasts about two weeks.The 10-man team of hunters, known as the Men of Ness, lands on the island, then kills the chicks while they nest on the cliffs using a pole and noose. They stay on the island during the hunt, sleeping in rudimentary stone huts. The birds are gutted, plucked and salted before the team brings their harvest back to Ness, the northernmost part of Lewis.
What do guga taste like?
Once an essential part of the winter diet in Ness, traditionally served with potatoes and milk, guga are now regarded as a delicacy - although they may not be to everyone's taste. The meat has been described as tasting like a cross between kipper and steak or "salty goose". Other descriptions have included it being "somewhere between rotten leather and fishy beef".
In the past, guga hunts were carried out in other parts of Scotland, including on the remote archipelago of St Kilda.In modern times they have proved controversial, with animal rights campaigners condemning the method of killing the birds as "barbaric" while others defend the tradition as part of island heritage. In 2014, an online petition opposing the hunts was organised by North America-based campaigns organisation Care2 and attracted thousands of signatures. NatureScot's predecessor, Scottish Natural Heritage, said in 2016 the hunts were "sustainable", and they are permitted under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Avian flu
In 2022, Avian flu hit seabird colonies in the Western Isles and the remote St Kilda archipelago, with gannets among the species worst affected.This meant that, for only the second time since the end of World War Two, the guga hunt did not go ahead.The previous occasion was in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.NatureScot said it recognised the cultural significance of the hunt.A spokesperson said: "This is the first year we have received a licence application from the Men of Ness since 2021, due to concerns about the impact of avian flu on the gannet population. "We have thoroughly assessed the application taking into account survey data and population analysis and we have granted a licence with a limit of 500 birds."This revised limit for 2025 safeguards the sustainability of the Sula Sgeir gannet population and allows for its continued recovery following avian flu."
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