Chamber and committees

In the first quarter of operation of the seal licensing system, no seals were reported injured during attempts to kill or take them in accordance with a seal licence issued under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

No licences were issued to take any seals under sections 110 (1) (f) or 110 (1) (g) of the Marine (Scotland Act) 2010. A single licence was issued to take seals under section 110 (1) (a) for research purposes.

In the first quarter of operation of the seal licensing system, no seals were shot under licence in any Special Areas of Conservation where they are designated features.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01494 on 4 August 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

In the first quarter of operation of the seal licensing system, no seals were killed during attempts to take them in accordance with a seal licence issued under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.

In the first quarter of operation of the seal licensing system, a total of five seal carcasses (three grey and two common) were recovered by licence holders.

Licences to shoot seals only permit shooting by marksmen who Marine Scotland is satisfied have adequate skills and experience in using firearms. Information on skills and experience of marksmen is collected as part of the licensing process.

Marine Scotland carried out Appropriate Assessments before issuing seal licences under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 for all licences within 20 km of grey seal Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and within 50 km of common seal SACs.

No. The Government does not provide guidance to the courts on these matters. However, information on section 28 is available in the explanatory notes to the Act at www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2006/2/notes/contents and in our publication Family Matters: Living Together in Scotland which is available at www.scotland.gov.uk/familylaw.

We have no current plans to amend section 28 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. The Scottish Law Commission, in its report on Succession http://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/download_file/view/390/, has recommended changes to section 29 of the 2006 Act.