Chamber and committees

You mentioned the timber industry in Scotland. I thought that we had lost it, actually. I think that Mr Burgess is indicating that that is not the case. There are several things that proper afforestation can do for wildlife and the climate, but also for industry. Mr Burgess, can you tell us whether that is part of your thinking about the kind of afforestation that will go ahead?

But you made a face when I said that I thought that we had lost that industry.

Are they processing Sitka spruce or other varieties?

I very much welcome the proposed outright ban on the use of glue traps, because they are the cruellest form of pest control. Why was a similar attitude not taken to the use of snares? I might have got this wrong, but I think that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission recommended a ban on the use of snares.

Thank you for that clarification.

Is it possible for the proposed amendment that is intended to be lodged at stage 2 to be brought before the committee at stage 1 in order for us to take evidence on it during our stage 1 consideration, rather than us having to wait to take evidence at stage 2?

That would be helpful to us.

In that case, to whom will the licence be granted? After all, many large estates in Scotland are owned by corporate organisations that are registered abroad and are therefore not subject to Scottish jurisdiction. I wonder whether Mr Munro, your solicitor, will explain this to me. How will you ensure that, if a licence is breached, there is somebody—a named person—who can be taken to court and that things do not happen vicariously?

Just to complicate things a bit more, I know that land can be owned by several landowners across several estates. If there are multiple owners of the land, none of whom is resident in Scotland, to whom is the licence granted? The issue that I am trying to get at is how we ensure that people are liable, so that when someone asks, “Who is liable?”, we can say, “I know—it’s this person.”

But how do you revoke a licence? Do you not need a named party? After all, the suspension could be temporary.