A significant change is on the horizon that will affect all gamekeepers and land managers involved in wildlife management. The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 is a crucial step in ensuring the ethical and effective management of game… Read More »Get ahead of the game: mandatory Trapping training courses in Scotland
NatureScot announced that the grouse shoot licensing scheme will launch on 15 July 2024. Guidance on how to apply for a grouse shoot licence and other guidance is set out here. The process is simple and straightforward. The key bits of… Read More »Grouse shoot licensing scheme launching in Scotland on 15 July
By Dr Felix Meister, Advisor Scotland During the last week of May and the first week of June, GWCT staff were active across Scotland assessing tick burdens on red grouse chicks. This was the third year of surveys within a five-year… Read More »Ticks on chicks
GWCT research has repeatedly demonstrated the importance and benefits of targeted, legal and humane predator control for the conservation and management of game and wildlife. Controlling predation using spring traps, corvid cages and snares/humane cable restraints are vital to achieve… Read More »Are you trapping in confidence and knowledge?
By Fiona Torrance, Farmland Biodiversity Advisor, GWCT Scotland Last year I was given the unenviable challenge of developing farmer clusters in Scotland. Although farmer clusters have been going in England since 2012 and have been immensely successful (with over 100… Read More »Farmer clusters in Scotland: Time for take-off or indefinitely delayed?
Now that the shooting season is over, many gamekeepers in the uplands are able to dedicate more time again to the condition of their grouse populations. February and March is the ideal time for assessing the infestation with strongyle worms… Read More »Caecal egg counts
Since the enactment of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011, due diligence in avoiding unintentional wrongdoing has become a prerequisite for managing game and wildlife in Scotland. Training courses offered by GWCT Advisory Services are designed to help all… Read More »Training courses 2024
NatureScot has now published detail of its General Licences for 2024. The operational detail of General Licences for birds 01, 02, 03 and 04/2024 remain the same as those issued from 1 January 2023. It is likely that anyone relying on… Read More »Scottish General Licences for 2024