Chamber and committees

I understand that. We are here to tackle wildlife crime and animal welfare issues, but I cannot understand how there would be evidence to suggest that, or whether the evidence is peer reviewed.

How do you know that?

What you are talking about, to be able to suspend a licence, is beyond civil and criminal standards, is it not? You say that Police Scotland can make that decision pending investigation, but the bill goes beyond what is currently in place.

I will ask about Libby Anderson’s point on Larsen traps and decoy birds. You said that in the uplands a decoy bird could be in a Larsen trap for up to 24 hours. How is that established in a remote rural area?

I will try to keep my question brief. Professor Werritty, has the socioeconomic impact of grouse moor licensing been assessed adequately in this process, bearing in mind that there was no direct or indirect engagement with businesses as part of the business and regulatory impact assessment?

Another measure that could be looked at or a methodology for working out the size of the population could be the number of operators who have been called out to various institutions, such as hospitals and supermarkets, which has increased. I do not want to cause alarm among the public, but you have indicated that we have a growing problem with rodents. It would be good to get some understanding of how you have come to that conclusion.

Can I go back to question 6?

What are the implications for the humane use of traps if they are interfered with? I have spoken to gamekeepers in my constituency whose traps have been interfered with, which is quite distressing. However, Ross Ewing is suggesting that having related serial numbers could lead to a potential for prosecution for the gamekeepers.

Convener, I want to explore what happens—

Thank you. I think that it was not fully answered. I am trying to establish whether the licensing scheme is too broad brush if traps are to be registered with a unique licence number and gamekeepers or others—a trap could also be used in an urban setting—had to do the training for all of the traps. Should the scheme be designed to recognise and accommodate the needs of operators? That is one question.

My second question is about the agreement on international humane trapping standards, which Libby Anderson mentioned. She mentioned the trapping of stoats in Orkney. We have been told that the standards are very high and that those traps are designed in the way that they are because of the high standards rather than because of the need for operator expertise. How can we use that as an example for a licensing scheme when the spring trap is designed to such high standards?