Freedom of Information Request - Licensing, Legal Basis, Ecological Impact, and Decision-Making
Date: 25 September 2025
Our ref: A181527/A5441689
Information Request – Licensing, Legal Basis, Ecological Impact, and Decision-Making
Your Request
I am seeking information about the licensing of the annual guga hunt for the following years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024, and 2025. Please provide the following, broken down clearly by each of these years:
1. Licence Applications & Decision-Making
• Copies of the licence applications submitted by the hunters (including justifications provided for the hunt) - any personal details of hunters redacted.
• Copies of the licences themselves (full wording, conditions, and limits).
• Any internal correspondence or reports NatureScot used to decide whether to grant the licences.
• Whether there were any objections or consultations with other stakeholders prior to giving the licences (conservation groups, public bodies, communities).
2. Legal & Policy Basis
• Internal or external legal advice NatureScot has sought on the legality of the hunt under UK, EU, or international conservation law.
• References to how the hunt is justified under Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 exemptions.
• Whether the licensing has been reviewed in light of EU Birds Directive obligations.
3. Ecological Impact
• Any population modelling or scientific studies NatureScot relied on to set numbers allowed.
• Copies of impact assessments on the gannet population (including consideration of avian flu impacts).
If any data for 2025 is not yet available, please explicitly confirm this in your response. If data from previous years is not available, please give a reason as to why.
Our Response
We have discussed your request with the NatureScot Licensing Team and responded to each of your questions in turn.
1. Licence Applications & Decision-Making
• Copies of the licence applications submitted by the hunters (including justifications provided for the hunt) - any personal details of hunters redacted.
Copies of the licence applications up to the date we received your request are provided.
• Copies of the licences themselves (full wording, conditions, and limits).
Copies of each of the licences we have issued up to the date we received your request is provided
• Any internal correspondence or reports NatureScot used to decide whether to grant the licences.
Copies of internal correspondence that was undertaken up to the date we received your requests is provided
• Whether there were any objections or consultations with other stakeholders prior to giving the licences (conservation groups, public bodies, communities).
Advice was provided internally and externally and copies of the information that we hold have been included within the information collected for point three of your request. No objections were received prior to the 2025 licence being issued.
We do not hold any information on objections for the years 2016/2017/2018/2019/2024.
2. Legal & Policy Basis
• Internal or external legal advice NatureScot has sought on the legality of the hunt under UK, EU, or international conservation law.
Information relating to this part of your request can be found within the documents released under point three of your request.
• References to how the hunt is justified under Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 exemptions.
Subsection 2(a) of Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 states that “Section 1 and orders under section 3 do not apply to anything done for the purpose of providing food for human consumption in relating to a gannet on the island of Sula Sgeir.
• Whether the licensing has been reviewed in light of EU Birds Directive obligations.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was enacted to implement the EU Birds Directive and the Bern Convention into UK law, legally enshrining their requirements for wild bird protection in the UK. As such, the principles of the EU Birds Directive are captured by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 of which the application is assessed under.
3. Ecological Impact
• Any population modelling or scientific studies NatureScot relied on to set numbers allowed.
• Copies of impact assessments on the gannet population (including consideration of avian flu impacts).
Information relating to both parts of your request is attached. There is also one other document which we have not provided as it is already in the public domain: Commissioned Report No 897 - Population viability analysis of the Sula Sgeir gannet population
While we always try to provide all the information that has been requested in this case we have redacted out some parts of the documents for the following reasons:
We have removed all personal data from the information being released to you, as releasing this data in response to an information request, would breach the Data Protection Act 2018, so we have applied, under the EIRs, the exemption 11(2) (Personal Data) to this information.
We have also redacted out information relating to the timescales of when the proposed Guga hunt is due to take place, and information relating to the proposed vessel. Releasing this information into the public domain in response to this request, risks the individuals involved being identified and could lead to them being targeted and/or harassed and pose a risk to public safety. We are withholding this information under EIRs regulation 10(5)(a) (Public Safety).
And a small amount of information which was out-with the scope of the request as it dealt with other subjects.
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).
