Oxygen Conservation, a company that owns 11,000 acres of moorland between Langholm and Newcastleton in the Scottish Borders, have confirmed that they have started shooting wild goats on their land.
In an email to Gail Brown, a local wildlife enthusiast, the company stated that a cull, focusing on male goats, was underway and that meat from the wild goats had been sold to butchers’ shops. The email did not rule out the possibility of female goats also being shot.
The timing could not be worse, said Gail, as the herd is right in the middle of giving birth to this year`s kids.
Dr Shirley Goodyer, of the British Primitive Goat Research Group, commented that “even if a cull of goats has its focus on males, at this time of year there may well be unacceptable disturbance to pregnant females and those nannies who are nursing young kids. For the first couple of weeks of life the nannies leave their kids hiding in vegetation while they go off to feed. With disturbance from shooting, it would be easy for parents and offspring to become separated. Also, any lone females should most definitely not be shot at this time of year as it cannot be assumed they are without kids or not heavily pregnant.”
The issue was raised in Parliament by David Mundell, MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, where Oxygen Conservation was publicly chastised for not making better efforts to consult locals and listen to their concerns. A petition that has been signed by thousands of locals in Newcastleton, Langholm and surrounding areas, calling for a stop to the culling of the goats, was also mentioned in The House.
The role of NatureScot, the Scottish government agency that looks after nature conservation issues, was questioned by Councillor Denis Male. In his reply to Cllr Male, Ian Bray, Head of Operations-South for NatureScot, confirmed that the goats are wild animals and as such have some protection under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. However, it was clear in the email sent to Cllr Male, that NatureScot did not consider the goats to be of any particular significance to the ecology of the protected moorland and have issued a licence allowing Oxygen Conservation the right to shoot the goats on their land.
Newcastleton resident and conservationist, David Braithwaite, who previously lectured in applied ecology at Hull University, said “I think that someone should call `time out` on this so that things can be properly reviewed. None of this is making any sense and I would have expected the government agency to have worked out that the conservation priority for this highly protected landscape is assisted by the wild goats.” He added that “the hen harrier, one of the rarest breeding birds of prey in the UK, is the specific reason why the highest level of wildlife conservation legislation is applied to Langholm Moor and the Newcastleton Hills. Hen harriers are birds that hunt over open landscapes, they are not woodland or forest dwellers. Extensive tree cover is very bad for them and of course, the wild goat herd certainly does its bit to ensure the habitat remains healthy for the hen harriers. “I don`t understand why licences are being issued by NatureScot to shoot goats; what do they expect landowners to do? Remove the goats and in order to maintain good habit for hen harriers, then employ contractors with chainsaws and herbicides to get rid of the trees that will inevitably grow?”
The wild goats are nomadic animals and roam across an extensive range in these uplands, commented David. The herd may be on one landowner’s patch one day and another’s the next. They don`t actually belong to anyone. “I remain hopeful that a long-term strategy for the management of the goats can be worked out and agreed by all of the landowners involved,” he concluded.
