Chamber and committees

Roy Lupton submission of 30 September 2021

PE1859/K: Retain falconers rights to practice upland falconry in Scotland

Following on from the hearing on September 1st regarding PE1859 I would like to summarise some of the points made during that hearing.

The first and probably most poignant point is that I believe there should have been an exemption included within the draft of this legislation to allow the taking of mountain hares for Falconry and Aviculture, exactly in the same way that there are allowances for the taking of certain bird species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.  Without an exemption in place it could leave falconers open for wrongful prosecution if our birds catch a mountain hare whilst flying.

The legislation was hurried through with complete disregard for the scientific findings of the surveys that have been carried out by GWCT "Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust" and other organisations, choosing to ignore the peer reviewed evidence that mountain hare numbers are 35 times higher on moorland that is managed for shooting compared to unmanaged and afforested moorland.  

Falconry has been wrongfully caught up within this legislation and could suffer a great loss to the heritage of this ancient art as a result. The pressure on mountain hare populations as a result of Falconry practises is so minimal that it cannot even be considered to be of detriment to mountain hare populations. If anything, we tend to account for the weaker or poorer animals within the population, therefore benefiting the overall population health.

I hope that a solution can be found, possibly with a derogation or the grant of a class licence system to allow the taking of an agreed number of mountain hares for Falconry purposes.  By precluding the taking of mountain hares it will make the flying of large hawks and eagles almost impossible in the uplands of Scotland. The current inclusion of a licensing system to allow culling of mountain hares if proven to be affecting forestry is simply not a possibility for the birds we fly, commercial forestry is mainly inaccessible for large birds of prey due to the planting density.  It is also proven that afforestation is one of the most detrimental factors to mountain hare populations.

I would gladly invite you and any of your colleagues to accompany me on a trip to any of the managed moorland estates that I have previously flown eagles over, to show you first hand, the flourishing and healthy hare populations that are present on these sites.  As I mentioned in my previous submission for the first hearing, I have not witnessed a decline in mountain hare numbers on the managed moors that I have flown on over the last 27 years. 

I can only hope that you are able to help preserve and assist in the survival of a passion and innate understanding of nature that comes with a lifetime of falconry and not deny the opportunity to the next generations.