Greens challenge First Minster to act on bird of prey killings
There is a “wall of silence” surrounding Scotland’s sporting estates say the Scottish Greens, who today (1 June) challenged the First Minister to take immediate action to stop a spate of illegal golden eagle killings.
Mark Ruskell MSP, the Scottish Greens’ environment spokesperson, raised the issue at First Minister’s Questions and pushed Nicola Sturgeon to bolster the powers of the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) to enable the charity to work with police in investigating the cluster of recent wildlife crimes.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP, Mark Ruskell said:
“People throughout Scotland are very concerned about the shockingly high numbers of golden eagles that are dying in suspicious circumstances.
“There is a very high wall of silence surrounding some our sporting estates in Scotland and the Scottish Government must give assurances that there will be a licensing regime put in place for driven grouse shoots.
“Given the decades of support that the SSPCA has given the police in tackling animal welfare crimes, the organisations role should be extended to include wildlife crimes. I’ll continue to make this case to the cabinet secretary.”