NatureScot Faces Backlash at Biodiversity Conference Over Gannet Chick Hunt

Campaigners gathered outside the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh to protest NatureScot's involvement in the controversial guga hunt, which threatens gannet populations.

The annual guga hunt has sparked intense debate as wildlife campaigners staged a vocal protest outside the Biodiversity + Business Live conference in Edinburgh. The demonstration, organized by Protect the Wild targeted NatureScot Scotland’s nature agency, for its role in licensing the hunt that results in the death of up to 2,000 gannet chicks each year.

The protest took place on 15 July 2026 outside the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on Queen Street. Protesters, equipped with placards and megaphones, accused NatureScot of undermining its own biodiversity commitments by permitting the hunt on the remote island of Sula Sgeir located approximately 40 miles north of the Isle of Lewis.

The Controversial Guga Hunt

The guga hunt is a centuries-old tradition where hunters travel to Sula Sgeir to capture and kill young gannets, known as guga, for a traditional delicacy. The hunt involves using noose-ended poles to take the chicks from their nests before killing them with repeated blows to the head.

This year, the hunt has become particularly contentious, with NatureScot’s board set to decide on 3 whether to grant the licence for the 2026 hunt.

This decision marks the first time the licence application has been escalated to NatureScot’s senior leadership, reflecting the growing controversy and scientific evidence against the hunt. The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission recently concluded that there is no feasible way to carry out the hunt humanely, citing risks of unnecessary suffering to the gannet chicks.

Protesters’ Demands and NatureScot’s Response

Protesters chanted slogans such as “NatureScot, shame, shame! Gannets killed in your name!” as delegates, including Scottish government ministers and UK business leaders, arrived at the conference. Devon Docherty, Scottish campaigns manager at Protect the Wild, emphasized the contradiction of a nature agency facilitating the mass-slaughter of protected seabirds while co-hosting a biodiversity conference.

“It’s hard to imagine a more striking contradiction than a nature agency co-hosting a biodiversity conference while facilitating the mass-slaughter of protected native seabirds,” Docherty stated. “NatureScot’s job is to protect nature and wildlife, not outdated cultural traditions that harm them. It’s baffling that we’re even having to be here reminding them of that.”

Protect the Wild argues that the hunt is inhumane and that the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s findings should be the final nail in the coffin for the guga hunt. They urge NatureScot to refuse the licence, stating that the decision on 3 August will be a defining test of NatureScot’s commitment to protecting Scotland’s biodiversity.

The Future of the Guga Hunt

NatureScot has previously stated that it will consider the 2026 guga hunt licence application as required by the relevant legal frameworks and using the most recent scientific evidence. The agency reduced the maximum number of birds that can be taken from 2,000 to 500 in 2026, following bird flu outbreaks, and granted a licence on the condition that all birds must be killed humanely.

As the debate continues, the protest serves as a reminder of the ongoing tension between cultural traditions and modern wildlife conservation efforts. The decision on 3 August will be crucial in determining the future of the guga hunt and NatureScot’s stance on biodiversity protection.