The Islay goose strategy and why we have complained to Europe
Barnacle geese (Andy Hay rspb-images.com)
Of all our extraordinary wildlife, some of our most significant responsibilities in global terms are the populations of Arctic-breeding wild geese which migrate south annually to spend the winter in our country. I’m always moved as the first skeins of geese appear out of the northern skies.
These geese come to Scotland to feed on saltmarsh or merse, as well as pastures and stubble fields, and escape the harsh arctic winter weather. The Hebridean island of Islay is one of the key sites for wintering geese, hosting large proportions of the world populations of Greenland barnacle geese (more than half of the world population winters on Islay), and Greenland white-fronted geese (a quarter of the world population winters on Islay). The geese have arrived each autumn since time immemorial and, in the past, fed on the merse, and boggy grasslands. But over time these have been improved for agriculture, and many geese are now found on farmers fields.
Geese feeding on agricultural land has been a longstanding issue in Scottish conservation. Farming is an important industry on Islay and it benefits a range of key wildlife, including corncrakes and choughs. Indeed, RSPB Scotland owns and manages farmland nature reserves on the island, notably at Loch Gruinart - where we raise prize-winning beef cattle as part of our conservation operation. Our reserve hosts tens of thousands of geese in winter, and breeding waders and other species in summer.
Wintering barnacle goose numbers increased on Islay throughout the late 20th century until 2005/6, since when the population has levelled-out, fluctuating at around 40,000 birds. Greenland white-fronted geese, in contrast, have been in steady decline since 1995 and are a species of serious conservation concern across their global range.
RSPB Scotland Loch Gruinart on Islay (Andy Hay rspb-images.com)
Grazing geese can undoubtedly impact farm pastures – this fact is not at issue. Nor is the fact that Scotland has a global conservation responsibility for these migratory goose populations, and for implementing wildlife legislation properly. Following some intense exchanges between agricultural interests and conservation interests in the 1980s and 1990s, culminating in court cases brought by RSPB Scotland and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), the Scottish Government established Local Goose Management Schemes in areas of conflict, including Islay. The court cases established some ground ‘rules’ that helped establish a working arrangement to manage this issue. The local groups were advised by a National Goose Forum (later the National Goose Management Review Group), on which conservation bodies – including RSPB Scotland and WWT - sat, alongside agricultural representatives, notably the National Farmers’ Union of Scotland (NFUS). In this forum balance was struck between the two sides of the debate. The local schemes combined management payments to affected farmers, with the designation of protected goose feeding areas, alongside programmes of scaring to protect vulnerable fields. Some of that scaring involved the shooting of a limited number of barnacle geese under licence and in a way that met the legal constraints set by the EU ‘Birds’ Directive. The hard-won consensus between farmers and conservationists called for some flexibility on both sides but we felt a workable deal that met the needs of farmers and geese had been found.
This ‘deal’ lasted up until the financial crisis when the Scottish Government sought to save money, and in the process its policy changed. An unexpected doubling of the numbers of barnacle geese allowed to be shot under license intensified the concerns of conservationists, and an attempt to cut payments to Islay farmers was criticised from all sides. Payments were increased again in response, but the plans for shooting protected geese have taken a worrying turn. Late last year, the Scottish Government, and its agency Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), teamed up directly with the NFUS to produce a new strategy for Islay geese. This strategy proposes:
“... that the Islay barnacle goose population is lowered, in increments, to a minimum range of 28,000 to 31,000 geese and is then maintained at that level. This represents a maximum reduction of 25-30% of barnacle geese…”
This is a huge shift in policy, and points to a major increase in the number of barnacle geese shot under SNH licence on Islay. In our view, this new strategy:
We have made our concerns clear to the national goose group and to Scottish ministers – but the Scottish Government/NFUS Strategy is now being implemented.
White-fronted goose (Andy Hay rspb-images.com)
I and my colleagues have strived for years to be flexible and helpful in building a consensual approach to goose management – but we believe that this approach has now been abandoned by government. Accordingly we have, reluctantly, resigned our seat on the National Goose Management Review Group, and have lodged a formal complaint to the European Commission. We feel this situation is deeply regrettable – but at the very least, we hope to ensure that the EC will thoroughly scrutinise the Scottish Government/NFUS plan and that in this way a damaging precedent in the Scottish Government’s application of international wildlife law can be avoided. As for the affected farmers – we believe that they should be given the practical support they need to farm, as well as to support our globally important wildlife populations. We see this as the delivery of a precious public benefit in today’s Scotland, and deserving of sustained investment.
Geese will remain fully protected on RSPB Scotland’s reserves on Islay. If you are concerned about this shift in policy by the Scottish Government you can make your views known by contacting your MSPs (if you live in Scotland) or MEPs (in any UK country).