Chamber and committees

The number of seal carcasses recovered and the numbers examined at post mortem each year is as follows:

 

	Recovered	Post-mortems
2011-12	36	3
2012-13	26	19
2013-14	10	4
2014-15	16	6
2015-16	3	8*
2016 to date	2	0

 

The information on carcasses recovered is derived from statutory seal licence returns submitted quarterly by seal licence holders. The information on post-mortems is derived from the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme.

There are several reasons why not all animals recovered are examined at post-mortem:- firstly not all carcasses recovered are in a fresh enough condition for post-mortem, second in many cases cause of death is very clear from physical inspection making post-mortem less of a priority and lastly expensive post-mortems are reserved for a random sample of cases or for cases where a cause of death is unclear.

The cause of death in all cases examined at post-mortem was physical trauma due to shooting and death was almost immediate in 34 out of 40 cases. In the remaining 6 cases, the evidence regarding immediate death was unclear with potential welfare concerns in, perhaps, 2 of these 6 cases.

*In some cases, carcasses, which cannot be recovered at the time of shooting, will later come ashore and be reported by members of the public.

 

There are no regulations which are specific to gas gun bird scarers.

Responsibility for dealing with the majority of complaints about noise, including from bird scarers/gas guns, rests with local authorities who have a duty to investigate such complaints under the statutory nuisance provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA). Part III of the EPA enables local authorities to take action to secure the abatement of a statutory nuisance.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland published and submitted to Scottish Ministers on 26 May its reports and final recommendations for the number of councillors and the electoral ward boundaries in each of Scotland's 32 local authorities, following completion of its Fifth Electoral Reviews. Ministers are now considering those recommendations, and will take decisions on whether to implement them once that consideration has been completed. There is no statutory deadline by which such decisions must be taken.

Progress of these Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area proposals has been paused to address EU obligations regarding protection of harbour porpoise and bird species, and to focus efforts on delivering management measures for existing protected areas.

The following table contains information in respect of the number of people reported, prosecuted and convicted under sections 11 to 11 I of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 between April 2011 and June 2016. Please note that no cases were reported in January to March 2016. The cases against two of the people prosecuted are still ongoing so it is not yet known whether they will lead to a conviction.

In addition the table provides information on the number of people reported in respect of whom a fiscal direct measure has been given. Direct measures are a form of prosecutorial action other than court proceedings. In these cases, the type of direct measure given was either a monetary fiscal fine or a warning.

	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	April 2016	May 2016	June 2016	Total
Reported	21	25	23	15	4	5	1	1	95
Fiscal direct measures	11	7	6	1	1	1	0	0	27
Prosecuted	9	10	7	11	2	1	0	1	41
Convicted	6	3	3	5	1	1	0	0	19

The Scottish Government has appointed Professor Campbell Gemmell, Professor of Environment Research, Policy, Regulation and Governance at the University of Glasgow, to lead an independent examination of the issues and evidence surrounding underground coal gasification.

Professor Gemmell is currently working closely with stakeholders and communities while undertaking this independent examination of the issues and evidence. The review is expected to report its findings later in summer 2016

At present, the UK remains a member state of the European Union. The Scottish Government has been clear in its belief that European Union membership delivers many social, economic and cultural benefits for individuals, business and communities across Scotland. The Scottish Government’s priority is to protect Scotland’s interests and we are considering all possible options to ensure Scotland’s continuing relationship with Europe. There are no plans to revoke or amend domestic legislation giving effect to the requirements of the EU Birds and Habitats Directives in Scotland as a result of the outcome of the EU referendum.

The nutrient management plan requirement was introduced in order to ensure that common agricultural policy (CAP) greening rules in Scotland include at least one measure to help mitigate agriculture’s contribution to climate change, by encouraging efficient use of inorganic nitrogen fertilisers. It was introduced in 2016 under the ‘greening equivalence’ rules, which allow member states some flexibility to tailor EU greening requirements to national priorities.

Ensuring the efficient use of nitrogen-based fertilisers is an important part of the shift in farming practices needed for Scotland to meet its world-leading climate change targets. When too much nitrogen-based fertiliser is applied to soils, it creates a nitrogen excess which is either passed into the atmosphere in the form of nitrous oxide (a highly potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 298 times greater than that of carbon dioxide over 100 year life span) or into watercourses via runoff and leaching from the soil as nitrates.

The Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2014 report shows that agriculture and the related land use sector is Scotland’s main contributor to emissions of nitrous oxide. It indicates that of the 3.3 MtCO2e of nitrous oxide that Scotland emitted, 89% of this (2.7 MtCO2e) came from agriculture and related land use. These emissions are largely produced by agricultural practices on soils, and to a lesser extent by animal manures.

The nutrient management plan greening requirement is a light-touch measure designed to encourage efficient use of nitrogen-based fertilisers by requiring farmers in receipt of CAP direct payments to estimate the quantity of inorganic nitrogen fertiliser and lime they intend to apply on permanent grassland fields (excluding fields which also contain rough grazing or arable land) each year. This aims to drive behaviour change by encouraging farmers to consider whether they are using fertilisers efficiently.

Accompanying guidance also encourages farmers to test the pH of their soil. If the soil pH is too low, applying lime can help to improve the efficiency with which grass takes up the nitrogen applied in fertiliser. This, in turn, has the potential to improve the productivity of the grass sward and to reduce nitrous oxide emissions. The EU Regulation does not provide the scope to make soil pH testing a mandatory part of the requirement, since it requires greening rules to apply every year, whereas a more appropriate frequency for soil pH testing is every five to six years. However, the benefits of soil pH testing are promoted in guidance.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-01192 on 20 July 2016, planning applications are determined in accordance with the relevant development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Scottish Planning Policy (2014) paragraph 248 is clear that the review of mineral permissions every 15 years should be used to apply up-to-date operating and environmental standards. As a statement of ministers’ priorities the content of Scottish Planning Policy is a material consideration that carries significant weight.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

<>Planning applications are determined in accordance with the relevant development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Scottish Planning Policy (2014) paragraph 248 is clear that the review of mineral permissions every 15 years should be used to apply up-to-date operating and environmental standards. As a statement of ministers’ priorities the content of Scottish Planning Policy is a material consideration that carries significant weight.