FROM PROTECT THE WILD—IT’S A WIN—GUGA LICENCE REFUSED

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more WE DID IT! GUGA HUNT LICENCE REJECTED! 🎉 A major victory for compassion, for science and for common sense. DEVON DOCHERTY AUG 3 READ IN APP My eyes are brimming with tears as I send you this email to let you know the Guga hunt licence has officially been REJECTED by NatureScot and the hunt will not be going ahead this year. This means 2,000 baby Gannets have been saved from a brutal death of being snatched from their nests and beaten to death by the Guga hunters. Instead, they will get the chance to live. To learn to fly. To become the magnificent seabirds they were always meant to be. This is a historic day - the first time in history the Guga hunt licence has been rejected by NatureScot. A campaign that changed everything Since we got involved in this issue last year, Protect the Wild has been at the forefront of a high-profile campaign against this year’s licence application. Over the past year, together we’ve built the biggest campaign the Guga hunt has ever faced. More than 250,000 of you signed our petition to NatureScot - the largest public response the organisation has ever received on a licensing decision. We produced an animation narrated by Brian Cox that has been viewed more than 15 million times, staged protests at NatureScot’s headquarters and at events attended by its senior leadership, and kept the issue in the national spotlight through creative campaigning - including our founder Rob standing in the most contested seat of the Scottish Parliament election. Our campaign generated extensive national media coverage, including multiple primetime evening news slots, a front page cover on election day, and even a feature on Have I Got News For You, which led to a huge spike in Google searches about the Guga hunt. We commissioned polling that showed this campaign reflected the views of the wider Scottish public, not just a vocal minority. Behind the scenes, we spent countless hours meticulously researching the hunt. We obtained and published previously unseen footage appearing to show hunters frightening nesting Gannets in breach of their licence conditions, prompting widespread public outrage and calls for NatureScot to investigate. We submitted dozens of Freedom of Information requests that uncovered significant new evidence and exposed flaws in NatureScot's approach. We took our findings directly to NatureScot’s licensing team and senior leadership in a series of meetings, challenging the basis on which any licence could lawfully be granted. For decades, the Guga hunt continued with remarkably little scrutiny. That changed this year. We made sure NatureScot could no longer rely on outdated assumptions or incomplete evidence to justify the killing of Gannet chicks. Together, these efforts transformed the Guga hunt from a little-known local tradition into one of Scotland’s most closely scrutinised wildlife controversies, forcing NatureScot to commission its most comprehensive scientific assessment of the hunt to date and confront questions it had never properly answered before. I hope today's decision demonstrates the power of refusing to accept that change has to happen slowly. We were never prepared to stand by while thousands of Gannet chicks continued to be killed each year waiting for the law to change. We believed we had to fight on every front: challenging the licence in the short term while campaigning to change the law for good. And that’s exactly where this campaign goes next. But first, to everyone who stood with us - thank you. Every petition signature, every email, every share, every comment, every donation and every conversation helped shine a spotlight on the Guga hunt and hold NatureScot to account like never before. This victory belongs to every single one of you. A message from Rob Whilst today’s announcement is of course a huge victory for the Gannets, it is not a permanent one. Until the law itself is changed, the hunt could still come back. That’s why I will not just sit around and celebrate. The focus must now shift to the Scottish Parliament and the campaign to amend Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 so the legal exemption allowing Gannets to be taken from Sula Sgeir is removed once and for all. That is why tomorrow morning I will be walking 16 kilometres around the Scottish Parliament dressed as a Gannet: as a powerful reminder to those at the heart of Scottish politics that removing a single line from the law could protect these seabirds forever. 16 kilometres. £16,000 target. One mission: amend Section 16. Support my fundraising challenge If you’d like to chuck in a few pounds (or £16 if you’re feeling generous!) to the fundraiser I would be very appreciative. We’ve demonstrated what can be achieved with months of focused campaigning, now we need your help to push on and change the law for good. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM PROTECT THE WILD—SHOULD THEY BE WORRIED ABOUT THE GUGA HUNT

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Just 24 Hours Until the Final Guga Hunt Decision - Here's Why I'm Worried Just 12 people will decide the fate of 2,000 Gannets. DEVON DOCHERTY AUG 2 READ IN APP This is it. Our final chance to stop the Guga hunt going ahead this year. And with just 24 hours until NatureScot' decision, you’d think I’d be feeling more optimistic. After all, the latest scientific assessment shows the Guga hunt would decimate Sula Sgeir’s Gannet population, and both their licensing and Marine Ornithology teams have recommended the licence be refused. But in a recent statement announcing the recommendation to reject the licence, NatureScot said something concerning: “This is a recommendation only. The final decision will be made by our Board.” In other words, despite clear scientific evidence that the Guga hunt would undermine the integrity of the Special Protection Area and drive Sula Sgeir's Gannet colony into decline, 12 Board members still have the power to ignore that evidence and licence the hunt anyway. That’s why we need every single person reading this to send them an email right now. Email NatureScot's Board We need to make it impossible for them to ignore the science. Every email is another reminder that the public is watching, that this decision matters, and that anything less a licence refusal will be met with outrage. We’ve changed the wording of our email template to reflect this. So if you’ve been waiting to act, don’t wait any longer. Once you've filled in your details and clicked submit, an email will open in your inbox, addressed to every member of NatureScot's Board. Hit send. Then ask one other person to do the same. These final hours could make all the difference. Next time you hear from me, I will be announcing whether science, compassion and common sense have prevailed, or whether 2,000 Gannet chicks have been failed by the very organisation entrusted with protecting them. One final push. Let's finish what we started. Already sent an email? Leave a comment on NatureScot’s Facebook or Instagram. SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2026 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing