Hunts for the few

Published on Tuesday 19 January 2010 20:16

So the Scottish Government has refused to ban snares yet again (your report,13 January), using the old excuse that it wants to maintain Scotland's world famous, £240 million shooting industry, boost conservation and assist farmers in protecting their animals.

As a Scots exile of 30 years, I look north from Somerset, where privileged landowners are paving the way for a Tory government and the return of legal hunting.

These vast shooting estates exist because the Caledonian forests were destroyed and the remaining native Highlanders physically and violently removed from their homes during the Clearances. Anyway, how many average Scots take to the moors to bag a few grouse? They simply cannot afford to. Shooting is the preserve of the wealthy. What we are seeing is the Tartan Tories – the SNP – pandering to their true masters, the Scottish Countryside Alliance, bringing wealthy landowners, hunters, shooters, stalkers, farmers and gamekeepers together to protect their own narrow interests.

GRAHAM FORSYTH

Fairway Rise

Chard, Somerset