Shooting of seals limited

LAWS have come into force that make it an offence to kill any seal at any time, unless holding a specific licence or for animal welfare reasons to end suffering. However, owners of fish farms who ‘need to manage seal numbers to prevent serious damage to their fishery or to protect the health and welfare of farmed fish’ are still permitted to shoot seals that they regard as harmful marauders.

John Baxter, Scottish Natural Heritage’s principal adviser on seals, said: ‘Given the serious and worrying decline in the numbers of common, or harbour, seals, these new measures are particularly important. They are a considerable improvement on provisions contained in previous legislation. The fact that all shooting will be licensed means that we can gather much more comprehensive information on seal populations, which will be extremely useful when making decisions on the future management of seals.’

Unlicensed shooting can bring a penalty of up to six months imprisonment or a heavy fine.