Scottish Government Action On Crime Against Wildlife Welcomed

The Scottish Government will take forward most of the proposals made by a review group on wildlife crime penalties chaired by Professor Mark Poustie of Strathclyde University.  Scotland's Environment Minister, and Scottish National Party MSP, Dr Aileen McLeod, accepted recommendations to introduce the new maximum penalties. People who commit wildlife crimes could face a £40,000 fine and a year in jail under new Scottish Government proposals.

Dr McLeod said: "Wildlife crime has no place in modern Scotland, this is why I have decided to increase the maximum available penalties to bring wildlife offences into line with other environmental crimes.

"It is important we have appropriate penalties that deter criminality but also reflect the impact these crimes can have on our environment and Scotland's reputation as a wildlife tourism destination.

"Work will now begin on bringing together a list of relevant offences this change would apply to."

The measures were welcomed by Stuart Housden, director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland. He said: "Scotland has some of the strongest wildlife legislation in the UK but, ultimately, we need wildlife crime to be seen as completely unacceptable so that gamekeepers, landowners and countryside bodies do not tolerate it or turn a blind eye when they suspect it.

"Sport shooting bodies that are constantly seeking to reduce the safeguards afforded to highly protected species undermine the efforts to stamp out these crimes."