Latest news with #ScottishNaturalHeritage
The National
09-05-2025
- General
- The National
Can Big Energy's Highland gravy train be halted by court action?
More than a decade ago, the then Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) produced an annual wind farm map – nothing like the one we see today, but alarming enough for the press to publish and show readers how the devastation was creeping across the Highlands. There was outrage as more people became alerted to how the Highlands were turning into one giant wind factory by stealth. READ MORE: Scottish island's historic A-listed castle 'must be sold', report says After a couple of years, in 2014, SNH no longer produced the map. We were informed the Scottish Government was 'taking over' its updating and publication. It never happened, and repeated requests for an update fell on deaf ears. We were then promised wild land protection from industrialisation. That has now fallen by the wayside along with the hopes and dreams of those who live and work in the Highlands. What we have now is simply astonishing. Ministers talk to Big Energy but not to campaigners. They accept 'support' from wind developers but won't support their constituents who are reeling from the onslaught of multiple planning applications flooding into their local authorities. The First Minister employs advisers from the industry but his advice to those suffering emotionally, financially and mentally might as well be 'put up and shut up', for all the compassion he and his government has shown those who pay their very lucrative wages. READ MORE: Led By Donkeys crush a Tesla with a tank in latest stunt We have recently discovered that Big Energy is permitted by the government and local councils to NOT address human health impacts in their Environmental Impact Assessment Reports. Topics like EMF, RFI, air quality, major accidents and disasters etc have been 'scoped out' across the board. Is it because they don't want to be held liable if their developments cause us or our children illness? We know that multinationals have been held to account previously and successfully sued for millions for damaging the health of citizens because they put profit before people. If folk can't get justice from those responsible because the authorities gave them a 'get out of jail free' card then they will be going after the councils and government instead. Highland protectors have had enough. They fought to get their map in the public domain, albeit still lacking some developments, and now realise the only way to stop this rogue and power-crazy government is through the courts. It's going to be a bumpy ride to hold these charlatans to account but we fully intend to throw a legal stinger under the wheels of Big Energy's gravy train. Lyndsey Ward Communities B4 Power Companies, Beauly WHAT does Nicola Sturgeon consider to be the necessities of health and wellbeing in Scotland today? In the usual catastrophising hyperbole that characterises those who have squandered much of their political mandate and parliamentary time on gender ideology, the former first minister has added to the burden of gender dysphoric lives by claiming that 'their lives could become unliveable' as a result of the Supreme Court judgment on biological sex. READ MORE: Joanna Cherry slates Nicola Sturgeon response to Supreme Court ruling This inflammatory rhetoric and totally unjustified fearmongering will once again play to the small angry and bitter faction within the transgender community that risks alienating their more meek brethren further from their friends and neighbours. The transgender persona has been for years at the centre of the Scottish political discourse and mercifully they have received by guarantee all of the elements necessary to 'live a life' so absent from other regimes world wide – namely food, shelter, the protection of the law from violence, copious amounts of free speech and an equality provision in law. Unfortunately many of our transgender compatriots lack the full opportunity to live a 'good life' in a modern Scotland beset by poverty, inequality, precarious employment and a pandemic of mental distress directly related to an economic paradigm that has immiserated people across the land. READ MORE: Andrew Tickell: Supreme Court ruling is bogus excuse for dropping misogyny bill Every minute of political focus on culture wars over the last 10 years has diverted attention from finding economic and constitutional solutions. The people of this country (hetero/bisexual/non-binary/ trans/queer etc etc) are utterly sick listening to Nicola and her legacy woke, continuity SNP time-wasters who took their eye off the constitutional ball they were mandated to play, rendered poor governance and made a significant contribution to the existential angst of many by failing to conceive a hopeful vision for our children and grandchildren free of Westminster exploitation! If you want to make transgender lives 'liveable', Nicola et al, then restart the process of transforming day-to-day unhappiness by adopting a laser focus on bringing about the constitutional change which some economists are beginning to see as a 'sine qua non' of future health and prosperity in Scotland. After 10 years of collaboration and self-care in an independent Scotland there there will be much less 'dysphoria' of every kind. Of that I am utterly convinced, and many far more eminent than I in the real world and in authentic academia agree! Dr Andrew Docherty Selkirk
Scottish Sun
25-04-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
Shock moment helpless lamb is snatched by eagle on Scots farm
Farmers are considering quitting because the birds of prey are making life so tough SHEAR HORROR Shock moment helpless lamb is snatched by eagle on Scots farm A DISTRAUGHT farmer told how terrifying eagles keep nicking her lambs. Caitrìona Anna NicDhòmhnaill reckons she's losing at least an animal a day to the winged thieves. 3 A terrified lamb is carried away by a huge sea eagle Credit: Karen Samson 3 The shocking moment a lamb was snatched by a sea eagle Credit: Karen Samson 3 Farmer Caitriona Anna NicDhhnaill is considering quitting her croft because of the eagles Credit: Facebook Her pal caught one of the raids on camera completely by chance over the Easter weekend. Now Caitrìona, 59, is considering giving up the family croft in Ardgour, Lochaber, because she is so fed up watching her flock being plucked into the sky. She said: "It's just sickening. There is absolutely nothing you can do. 'We have always had predators but never losses on this scale. 'You're helpless. They come in so fast. You can scream and shout but the birds have no fear of humans at all. "I'm thinking about packing it all in." Caitriona is the third generation of her family to run the farm and has been at the helm for the past 35 years. She reckons it's hard enough to make a living without watching her livestock being carried away. Caitrìona reckons she lost about 33 lambs to the eagles last year, about a third of her flock. In a matter of days this year she's lost three to the predators and another three that could be down to them. Her friend got incredible snaps of the moment a lamb was snatched on Easter Sunday Caitriona said: 'The sea eagle comes over every morning at the same time. 'At this rate there won't be a lamb left. This lamb was taken alive leaving the mother distraught. Heartbreaking to see.' But the granny stressed that it's not about cash for her and she struggles to cope with watching a scared lamb bleating as it's lifted off. She said: 'For me personally, it's not really about the cost. 'I'm more interested in the welfare of the sheep. I don't like selling them and try to hold on to whatever I can. 'But at this rate I'm losing them as fast as the sheep are making them basically. It's terrible.' Caitriona is not only the farmer to be affected by the birds, who are having a massive impact across the Highlands. It's claimed they are decimating jobs and forcing youngsters to leave the area to find work. Donald Houston, who owns the 30,000 acre Ardnamurchan Estate, reckons he lost as much as 25 percent of his flock of 2,500 to the eagles last year. He told how he sent vacuum packed corpses of lambs killed by eagles to Naturescot and Scottish Natural Heritage to get across the carnage. But he claims they refused to accept them. He said: 'It's a disaster. 'We have come to a point where it is unsustainable to have a sheep flock. Most of my neighbours no longer have sheep at all because they were losing too many.' The sea eagles were re-introduced to Scotland in 1975 after they were wiped out. Their population has now increased to around 150 breeding pairs. The Scottish Government offers cash to farmers through the Sea Eagle Management Scheme, and increased the amount available to £970,000. This is to cover the cost of things including deterrents and extra shepherding. Environment Minister Gillian Martin said: "We recognise the challenges sea eagle predation can cause, and this funding is about ensuring practical support for those affected."
Telegraph
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
20 years on the Hunting Act remains an attack on the rural working class
When I was young there was a gas meter reader who lived at the end of the lane. Her husband was disabled and what little she had she spent on her horse. When I think of foxhunting I think of her. She wasn't some sort of oddity among a group of rich, titled people, she was exactly the sort of person you might come across at a hunt meet anywhere in Britain, a member of the rural working class with a passion for hounds, a passion for horses, and a love of open country. Perhaps the greatest disgrace about the hunting ban, which came into force 20 years ago this week, is that Labour were kicking the very people they purport to defend. When a hunt packs up, wealthy followers can do any number of other things but for the rural working class a hole is left. They aren't going to shoot pheasants or go on skiing holidays. Heading along, usually without a horse, to follow the hunt on foot is often a core part of people's social life and without it, as Tony Blair conceded after the grubby deed was done, so much is lost. Hunting, following the ban, has continued in various forms but efforts to destroy what remains of it have continued too. Currently, in Scotland, any 'hunt' must be licensed by 'Scottish Natural Heritage' who have recently been sending monitors along to make sure everything is done in a way that satisfies puritanical urbanites. There can be only two hounds, the hunt must be a last resort (they'd rather you tried keeping foxes out with fences), and a friend who witnessed such a day recently tells me that any drinking now feels wholly inappropriate. What were once occasions for great revelry and joy have become sombre affairs. On this side of the border, Keir Starmer's Government is looking to follow the Scots' lead. Trail hunting, which sees hounds following an artificial trail, is to be banned and seemingly not content with having distanced the countryside enough with the family farm tax, Labour is currently also looking at banning farmers from keeping guns at home. The claim, in regards to firearms, is that they are responding to events like the Plymouth shooting in 2021. Except that in reality that incident occurred because of a moronic policing error. The plod returned a weapon to somebody who should frankly have never had a gun in the first place. He was a nutter, not a farmer, and they failed. It might seem odd to conflate these two things but they are both symptomatic of how little Labour understands the countryside and of how little they seem to care. When hunts go, people lose something that is integral to their lives and when Starmer insists that farmers have to keep their guns at some central location, farmer shoots will become more difficult too. Let's not just look back on what Blair's government did to hunting. We need to be aware of what Starmer's is going to do. I often think of various practices around the world that might be considered cruel. In Spain they fight bulls and in Siberia tribal people worship bears by hunting them and eating them. We could insist that those practices are banned. In fact, why don't we insist that all tribal people come up to Starmer's mark? I'm sure the SNP would happily send missionaries to make sure foreigners aren't having too much fun. Or maybe people could stop insisting, at home and abroad, that everything is homogenised and made dull in pursuit of some sort of tedious grey righteousness.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
20 years on the Hunting Act remains an attack on the rural working class
When I was young there was a gas meter reader who lived at the end of the lane. Her husband was disabled and what little she had she spent on her horse. When I think of foxhunting I think of her. She wasn't some sort of oddity among a group of rich, titled people, she was exactly the sort of person you might come across at a hunt meet anywhere in Britain, a member of the rural working class with a passion for hounds, a passion for horses, and a love of open country. Perhaps the greatest disgrace about the hunting ban, which came into force 20 years ago this week, is that Labour were kicking the very people they purport to defend. When a hunt packs up, wealthy followers can do any number of other things but for the rural working class a hole is left. They aren't going to shoot pheasants or go on skiing holidays. Heading along, usually without a horse, to follow the hunt on foot is often a core part of people's social life and without it, as Tony Blair conceded after the grubby deed was done, so much is lost. Hunting, following the ban, has continued in various forms but efforts to destroy what remains of it have continued too. Currently, in Scotland, any 'hunt' must be licensed by 'Scottish Natural Heritage' who have recently been sending monitors along to make sure everything is done in a way that satisfies puritanical urbanites. There can be only two hounds, the hunt must be a last resort (they'd rather you tried keeping foxes out with fences), and a friend who witnessed such a day recently tells me that any drinking now feels wholly inappropriate. What were once occasions for great revelry and joy have become sombre affairs. On this side of the border, Keir Starmer's Government is looking to follow the Scots' lead. Trail hunting, which sees hounds following an artificial trail, is to be banned and seemingly not content with having distanced the countryside enough with the family farm tax, Labour is currently also looking at banning farmers from keeping guns at home. The claim, in regards to firearms, is that they are responding to events like the Plymouth shooting in 2021. Except that in reality that incident occurred because of a moronic policing error. The plod returned a weapon to somebody who should frankly have never had a gun in the first place. He was a nutter, not a farmer, and they failed. It might seem odd to conflate these two things but they are both symptomatic of how little Labour understands the countryside and of how little they seem to care. When hunts go, people lose something that is integral to their lives and when Starmer insists that farmers have to keep their guns at some central location, farmer shoots will become more difficult too. Let's not just look back on what Blair's government did to hunting. We need to be aware of what Starmer's is going to do. I often think of various practices around the world that might be considered cruel. In Spain they fight bulls and in Siberia tribal people worship bears by hunting them and eating them. We could insist that those practices are banned. In fact, why don't we insist that all tribal people come up to Starmer's mark? I'm sure the SNP would happily send missionaries to make sure foreigners aren't having too much fun. Or maybe people could stop insisting, at home and abroad, that everything is homogenised and made dull in pursuit of some sort of tedious grey righteousness. Patrick Galbraith's Uncommon Ground: Rethinking our relationship with the Countryside will be published by William Collins in April Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
