Guga hunt island is ‘Scotland’s worst performing gannet colony’

Sula Sgeir is Scotland’s worst-performing gannet colony. But the body responsible for protecting it is still allowing hunters to kill gannet fledglings. A freedom of information request has exposed the colony’s collapse, even as the nature agency continues to permit the controversial seabird hunt.

Each year a group of men from the Isle of Lewis travels to the remote uninhabited island of Sula Sgeir. They go there to kill young gannet seabirds, known as “guga”, as part of a traditional hunt. It is the last legal seabird hunt in the UK. The activity is carried out under licence from NatureScot, and the bird’s flesh is eaten as a local delicacy.

The hunt has become increasingly controversial, triggering protests, political pressure in the Scottish Parliament, and even a dramatic rooftop occupation by activists calling for it to be banned. 45,000 people have now signed a petition against the guga hunt.

Last year, NatureScot allowed the killing of 500 birds and said this number is unlikely to affect the long-term stability of the gannet population.

An underperforming gannet colony

But wildlife advocacy group Protect the Wild obtained relevant documents via a freedom of information request. And the data shows Sula Sgeir is uniquely underperforming relative to every other comparable gannet colony in Scotland.

In a scientific assessment used to inform the 2025 licence, NatureScot’s adviser warns that Sula Sgeir is the only Special Protection Area (SPA) for gannets in Scotland whose population has shrunk.

Between 2001, when the island first became an SPA, and 2024, the number of apparently occupied nesting sites at Sula Sgeir fell by almost 2%. Meanwhile, all other colonies showed increases between 9% and 314%.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreaks caused a further 23% crash in 2023. But the decline was already in progress.

As NatureScot’s adviser states:

This indicates that the population growth rate has been suppressed compared to other gannet populations outwith the influence of HPAI.

In other words, bird flu didn’t cause the gannets’ decline – it only worsened a problem that was already underway.

Devon Docherty, Scottish campaigns manager at Protect the Wild said this shows the Guga hunt is driving the colony’s decline:

NatureScot says the Guga hunt does not negatively impact the gannet population. But their own data says otherwise. Sula Sgeir is Scotland’s worst performing gannet colony – the only one in decline while every other comparable colony grows.

This is not a coincidence. The hunters slaughter hundreds or thousands of chicks every year at their most vulnerable and critical life-stage, while causing chaos and distress throughout the entire colony.

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NatureScot must use their discretionary power and stop licensing this cruelty immediately.

Featured image via John Ranson / the Canary