Freedom of Information Requests - Decisions Pending on General Licence Restrictions
Date: 21 July 2025
Our ref: SIR180742/A5282203
Information Request – Decisions Pending on General Licence Restrictions
Your Request
1. On 12 October 2023, a satellite-tagged Golden Eagle named 'Merrick' was believed by Police Scotland to have been 'shot and killed' in the area to the west of Fountainhall, between Heriot and Stow. Please can you advise whether a General Licence restriction decision has been made in relation to this incident, what the decision was, and what is the status of any impending restriction (i.e. If a decision to restrict the GL was made, at what stage is the process currently, e.g. has the landowner/estate been notified, has it appealed the decision, and when will a restriction be imposed?).
2. How many General Licence restriction decisions across Scotland are currently pending and what is the date (month & year) of the alleged offence that triggered each decision-making process?
Our Response
We have discussed your request with our Wildlife Management Team and responded to each of your questions as follows:
1. On 12 October 2023, a satellite-tagged Golden Eagle named ‘Merrick’ was believed by Police Scotland to have been ‘shot and killed’ in the area to the west of Fountainhall, between Heriot and Stow. Please can you advise whether a General Licence restriction decision has been made in relation to this incident, what the decision was, and what is the status of any impending restriction (i.e. if a decision to restrict the GL was made, at what stage is the process currently, e.g. has the landowner/estate been notified, has it appealed the decision, and when will a restriction be imposed?).
We have received an information package from Police Scotland to this case, and it is currently under consideration.
2. How many General Licence restriction decisions across Scotland are currently pending and what is the date (month & year) of the alleged offence that triggered each decision-making process?
There are currently Two cases eligible for consideration of General Licence restriction, pending the provision of information from Police Scotland. NatureScot does not request information from Police Scotland until all lines of the police inquiry are concluded, and it is confirmed that no further action is being taken.
A request was made to Police Scotland in December 2024 for information in relation to an incident that occurred in the Highland Council area in June 2024.
A request was made to Police Scotland in April 2025 for information relating to an incident that occurred in the Angus Council area in September 2024.
A further incident occurred in the Perth & Kinross Council area in February 2024, but this is not being considered for General Licence restriction at this time as it is subject to criminal proceedings.
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
