Freedom of Information Request - Guga Hunt Sula Sgeir
Date: 01 September 2025
Our ref: SIR181194/A5374877
Information Request – Guga Hunt Sula Sgeir
Your Request
information regarding the licensing of the annual hunt of young gannets (“guga”) on Sula Sgeir:
1. Copies of any population studies, ecological assessments, or other scientific evidence used to inform licensing decisions for the hunt from 2020 onwards.
2. Any data or internal analysis on the impact of avian flu on gannet populations in Scotland, and how this has influenced decisions about issuing licences.
3. Animal welfare assessments, guidelines, or reports considered by NatureScot before granting licences for the hunt in the same period.
4. Correspondence, meeting notes, or policy documents that discuss the cultural or traditional rationale for continuing to licence the hunt.
5. Any reviews, consultations, or proposed policy changes under consideration relating to the future of the hunt.
Our Response
We have discussed your request with our Licencing Team, who found several documents that meet the terms of your request. These documents are attached separately to this response.
We do not hold any information relating to parts 3 & 5 of your request. As we do not hold any information relating to these parts of your request we have applied, under the EIR regulations the following exemption 10(4)(a) (Information not held).
Also, for part one of your request the Scottish Government report, Feasibility of strategic ornithological compensatory measures in the Scottish context report, provides additional information.
We have redacted out personal data from the information being released to you. Releasing personal data when responding to an information request would breach the Data Protection Act 2018. We have therefore applied the exemption 11(2) (Personal data) to this information.
We have also redacted out some information that is out-with the scope of you request as it deals with other species such as gulls.
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
Document downloads
Due to accessibility issues the attached information, referenced above, is available on request by contacting the FOI team at [email protected]. Please reference the case number (starting with SIR).
