Freedom of Information Request - Licences for Mountain Hares
Date: 24 April 2025
Our ref: SIR179599/A5102927
Information Request – Licences for Mountain Hares
Your Request
Your Original Request:
1) the total number of license applications NatureScot has received from landowners/managers to cull mountain hares within the Cairngorms National Park since this species was legally protected year round in March 2021;
2) the total number of licenses granted, to whom and for which years;
3) for each license granted, the landholding concerned, the reason the application was granted and the time period covered.
I assume you have a data base which holds this information but if slightly different information is recorded I would be happy to modify/refine my request to make it possible for you to extract the data without any extensive paper trawl (assuming the cull licenses have been granted!)
The Clarified Request:
Thanks very much for this it is very helpful. Given the information is recorded by local authority and that for the Cairngorms National Park can only be extracted manually, would it be easier if I simply ask for all the licenses issued to cull hares in the Highland Council area? My FOI request was prompted by my interest in the native woodland schemes on the west side of the NP, i.e. in the Highland Council area, and if the information for Highland can be generated automatically, I have enough knowledge to identify quite easily what relates to the Cairngorms. If it’s easier, however, for licensing staff to do the manual trawl for the last year I would be fine with that too. I am happy to leave it to you to decide which is easiest.
In terms of Parts 2 and 3 of my request I am sorry if it wasn't 100% clear but they relate to Part 1 of my request and the Cairngorms (or Highland Council area if you choose that) and not to the rest of Scotland.
Our Response
Mountain hare licences do not neatly run within one calendar year, our Licensing Team have provided the following information from the 2023 to 2024 winter season.
A total of 20 applications were received within Cairngorms National Park and all were issued with a licence.
They were issued under the following purposes.
• 2 - Conserving any area of natural habitat
• 17 - Preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, property or fisheries
• 1 - Social, economic or environmental purposes
The Cairngorms National Park is spread between 5 council areas and 9 were issued within Highland under the following purposes.
• 2 - Conserving any area of natural habitat
• 7 - Preventing serious damage to livestock, foodstuffs for livestock, crops, vegetables, fruit, growing timber, property or fisheries
You also requested the following information:
• to whom the licenses were issued
• the landholding concerned
Unfortunately, we cannot provide you with information on the individuals who applied for the licences as this is personal data and would go against the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018, so we have exempted this information under 11(2)(Personal Data).
We are also not releasing information on the landholdings where the culling might take place. Releasing this information into the public domain, risks individuals involved in hunting/culling being identified and could lead to them being targeted and/or harassed and posing a risk to their safety. We are therefore withholding this information under EIRs regulation 10(5)(a) (Public Safety).
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
