Red grouse and licensing

All land used to kill or take red grouse must be licensed

The licence for land used to kill or take red grouse was introduced in the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

Upcoming changes

The licence guidance and conditions will soon be changing. 

The changes will mean that applicants and licence holders will no longer be required to provide a landholding boundary on the map submitted with the application. The licensed area will be specified by applicants and licence holders. In addition, we will be introducing a new condition that will allow us to act if raptor persecution which is connected to a grouse moor takes place outside of this licensed area.

These changes are to ensure that the licences are legally compliant while continuing to act as a strong deterrent to wildlife crime, as was the intent of the legislation. The revisions have been guided by legal advice. 

Existing licence holders can re-submit their map if they would like to. We will provide details on how to do this. We will contact licence holders directly and issue modified licences in due course. 

Who can apply

The land on which red grouse may be killed or taken must be licensed. This applies to both walked-up and driven grouse shooting.

The licence holder must be the owner or occupier of the land. An occupier is someone who has shooting rights on the land. For example, a sporting tenant.

It is illegal to shoot or take red grouse from an area without a licence.

Applying for a licence: step-by-step

These steps provide guidance for the online process.

Step 1: Before you start

The application for a licence for land which may be used to kill or take red grouse is a simple online process. The first page sets out everything you need to complete the application:

  • grid reference within the landholding
  • map showing the landholding boundary and area over which you have the right to kill or take red grouse
  • Code of Practice which you must agree to comply with

Step 2: Licence holder details

You must provide some details about the licence holder:

  • full name or organisation name
  • contact details including email address
  • postal address (for correspondence)

The licence holder must be the owner and/or occupier of the land. An occupier is someone who has the right to kill or take red grouse over the land.

The licence holder can be an individual or an organisation (a trust, a business or a partnership).

You can apply on behalf of someone else with their permission.

Step 3: Understanding when a licence may be suspended or revoked

You must confirm you understand the circumstances when a licence may be suspended or revoked. This page includes a list of the relevant offences as set out in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) 2024 Act which could lead to a licence being revoked or suspended. This is a simple tick box.

Step 4: Landholding details

You must provide:

  • Landholding name – for example: the farm or estate name
  • Grid reference – this should be for a point within the landholding and should be between 6 and 12 digits long. For example: NS123456.
  • If you have WES Level 2 accreditation – this is not part of the licence assessment but may be considered for compliance monitoring.
  • A map which shows the landholding boundary and areas over which you have the right to kill or take grouse – this will be the area to which the licence relates and the area over which red grouse may be killed or taken. 

The ‘landholding boundary’ means the boundary of the land registered in the Land Register of Scotland and/or the General Register of Sasines on or within which the area on which the applicant wishes to take or kill grouse is located. For example, the landholding boundary for [INSERT NAME OF ESTATE] is delineated in red on the map below, and the land on which the applicant wishes to take or kill grouse is delineated in blue.

Map showing a landholding boundary and area over which the applicant has the rights to kill or take red grouse.
Example map for licence application.
Click for a full description

Map guidance 

You must provide both the landholding boundary and areas over which you have the right to kill or take red grouse on the map. These two boundaries must be made clear via a map key or by annotation. You must note if those two boundaries are the same. 

We advise you use Ordnance Survey mapping (for example OS 1:25,000 or 1:50,000) and apply a scale bar to the map. 

The file must be smaller than 10MB. Suggested file types include PDF, JPEG and PNG. 

Step 5: Check for errors and confirm the declaration

This is the final stage of the application. You will be shown an overview of the information you have provided. In case of errors, you can change the information before submitting your application. Once you are happy with the information you have provided, you must confirm:

  • the details are correct
  • that you will comply with the Code of Practice and licence conditions
  • that you agree with the privacy policy of the service

Step 6: What happens once I have submitted my application?

If you are the licence holder, you will receive an email which includes a link to download your licence.

If you have applied on behalf of the licence holder:

  • you will receive an email confirming the application has been submitted to the licence holder for approval
  • the licence holder will receive an email with a link for them to approve the application 
  • after the licence holder approves the application, both you and the licence holder will receive an email which includes a link to download your licence

How to apply

Use our online service to apply for a licence for land on which red grouse may be killed or taken. 

An alternative paper form is available which you can submit by email or post.

If you need help completing this form, contact our Licensing team.  

Email 

Telephone 

01463 725 364 

Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm (except public holidays) 

 

Determining the area of land to which the licence relates

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (the ‘2024 Act’) introduced a licensing framework for grouse moors into the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the ‘1981 Act’), designed to reduce raptor persecution by those involved in the management of grouse moors.

By its nature, the criminal persecution of raptors for the benefit of a grouse moor could occur anywhere within the territory of a particular raptor. That territory will inevitably extend beyond the perimeter of the grouse moor.

The licensing framework introduced by the 2024 Act, provides for suspension or revocation of a licence where NatureScot is satisfied that the licence holder or a person involved in managing the land to which the licence relates:

“(A) has committed a relevant offence on the land, or

(B) has knowingly caused or permitted another person to do so.” (emphasis added)

Accordingly, to give effect to the intention of the 2024 Act, the area of land to which the licence relates must be larger than the grouse moor itself, if it is to capture raptor persecution undertaken for the benefit but outside of the perimeter of the grouse moor.

In the application process, NatureScot requests that the applicant specifies the landholding boundary on the map submitted with any application for a licence and, separately, the area on which the applicant wishes killing or taking the to take place.

In most cases, a licence will be issued showing the entire landholding as the area to which the licence relates for the purposes of section 16AA(6)(a)(ii) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with a smaller area within the landholding specified as the area on which killing or taking can occur. 

It is acknowledged that, for the purposes of section 16AA(4)(c) of the 1981 Act, an application for a licence must specify the area of land to which the licence is to relate, however, NatureScot is empowered by 16AA(6)(ii) to itself identify the area of land, by reference to a map, to which the licence shall relate.  Accordingly, even where an applicant specifies a smaller area (only the grouse moor, for example),  NatureScot may issue a licence over an area which includes but is wider than the area specified (in most cases, the entire landholding), should it consider that to be appropriate.

This approach is in line with the recommendations of the Werrity Report (which the 2024 Act was designed to implement), particularly:

“That as much as possible should be done to change the culture of grouse moor management to accept more loss of grouse to avian predators and to allow these predators to nest locally.”

“We unanimously recommend that a licensing scheme be introduced for the shooting of grouse if, within five years from the Scottish Government publishing this report, there is no marked improvement in the ecological sustainability of grouse moor management, as evidenced by the populations of breeding Golden Eagles, Hen Harriers and Peregrines on or within the vicinity of grouse moors being in favourable condition” (emphasis added).

It is also consistent with the explanatory notes to the 2024 Act which acknowledge, in relation to the “relevant offences” which can give rise to suspension or revocation, that:

“These offences have been identified as being relevant as the grouse moor management review was undertaken to examine ongoing evidence of raptor persecution on or around grouse moors.” (emphasis added)

 

Approach to enforcement

In terms of section 16AA(9) of the 1981 Act, NatureScot may:

  1. modify a section 16AA licence at any time,
  2. suspend or revoke a section 16AA licence if—
  3. the licence holder—

(A) fails to comply with any conditions attached to the licence, or

(B) ceases to be in a position to ensure compliance with the conditions,

  1. NatureScot is satisfied that the licence holder or a person involved in managing the land to which the licence relates—

(A)has committed a relevant offence on the land, or

(B)has knowingly caused or permitted another person to do so.

In relation to NatureScot’s power to suspend or revoke under section 16AA(9)(b)(ii), where the relevant offence has been committed on the land to which the licence relates but outside of the area on which killing or taking is permitted by the licence, NatureScot will only suspend or revoke where it is satisfied that there is a connection between the relevant offence and the management of the area on which killing or taking is permitted by the licence.

Code of Practice on Grouse Moor Management

The Code of Practice sets out what you must do to ensure that your grouse moor management complies with all the relevant regulations. The Code also provides links to moorland management best practice guidance. It is a condition of the licence that you must have regard for the Code of practice.

Read the Code of Practice.

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