NatureScot has refused a license for the annual guga hunt on the uninhabited Hebridean island of Sula Sgeir. The decision marks the first time in 400 years that the hunt on the island, located 40 miles north of Ness on Lewis, has been cancelled.
The agency cited concerns regarding the potential adverse impact on the gannet population, based on updated population modelling. Hunters had applied for a license to take either 500 or 2,000 juvenile gannets.
The guga hunt is a centuries-old tradition that reinforces a unique communal identity and helps families keep ancient Gaelic customs alive, according to Agnes Rennie, chair of Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn, a local community land group for the north of Lewis.
Hunter practices, performed by the Men of Ness, involve using long poles fitted with a noose to catch chicks in their nests before killing them, usually by a blow to the head. The hunt is recognized under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Conflicting perspectives and protests
Historian Donald S Murray, author of 'The Guga Hunters', stated that hunting seabirds on Sula Sgeir dates back to the time of the Vikings. Murray described the campaign against the guga hunt as 'monstrous'.
Devon Docherty, Scottish campaigns manager at Protect the Wild, called the refusal a 'victory for compassion, for science and for common sense.' Docherty added that 'Thousands of young seabirds have been spared from a brutal death because NatureScot chose to follow the evidence.'
Murdo MacRitchie of the Save Our Guga Harvest group said that people in Ness will understandably feel the recommendation risks rewarding a campaign in which members of a small island community have been bullied, abused, and wanted publicly-owned property vandalised.
Tensions surrounding the hunt have led to legal action. In March, two men dressed in gannet costumes were arrested and charged following a rooftop protest at NatureScot's Inverness headquarters, Great Glen House.
Petitions and previous harvests
Public opposition has been reflected in significant petitions. A petition calling for the Scottish government to prohibit the hunt received more than 106,000 signatures, while a petition from the anti-hunting charity Protect the Wild surpassed 250,000 signatures.
The event has seen disruptions in recent years. Harvests did not take place in 2022, 2023, and 2024 due to concerns regarding bird flu.
Reached by the anti-hunting charity Protect the Wild in a petition against the hunt.
Environmental protection and tradition
Sula Sgeir and nearby North Rona are designated as Special Areas of Protection (SPA) due to their seabirds, including fulmers. Historian Donald S Murray noted that in New Zealand, sooty shearwaters are traditionally hunted on Rakiura (Stewart Island).
Descriptions of the taste of the gannet chick meat vary widely. Various sources have described it as a mix of kipper and steak, 'salty goose', 'rotten leather and fishy beef', or 'anchovy paste and high-strength cod liver oil'. However, it has also been described as 'absolutely revolting' and 'without doubt the most disgusting thing.'
