Fox hunting license to protect black grouse rejected for controversial 700-hectare Scottish Sitka forest

An application to use dogs for hunting foxes as a means of protecting black grouse in a controversial commercial forestry plantation has been rejected.

Guernsey-based True North Real Asset Partners, which manages the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, is behind planting swathes of moorland in the Scottish Borders area with trees, predominantly Sitka spruce.

Stobo Hope, where campaigners forced the planting of a commercial forest on black grouse moorlands in the Scottish Borders to be halted after taking the decision to court over environmental concern. | Supplied

The firm confirmed an application was submitted to use more than a dozen dogs to hunt foxes at the site once the trees grow as part of its predator control plan to protect existing black grouse. This has since been rejected by NatureScot.

The project at Stobo Hope, near Peebles, has been paused by Scottish Forestry after a local opposition group warned hundreds of hectares of the area had been sprayed with herbicides, which campaigners said would impact the local black grouse population.

NatureScot, the Government agency that manages forestry regulation, said it was not informed that large-scale overall herbicide spraying was planned prior to the application being submitted. Since September, the planting has been on hold until new information can be “reassessed” under a new screening decision.

Scottish Forestry, which granted more than £2 million in funding from the Scottish Government’s forestry grant scheme for the planting, claimed in its initial screening opinion the Stobo scheme was “not likely to cause a significant effect to black grouse”.

The Black Grouse or Blackgame is a large bird in the grouse family. Picture: Getty Images

The agency said “the applicant has provided a predator control management plan to target particular species, which could adversely impact upon black grouse”.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request, seen by The Scotsman, showed forestry agents Pryor and Rickett Silviculture applied to NatureScot for a licence in March to use 19 dogs to hunt foxes for “environmental benefit” at the site as part of its predator control plan.

The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 limits the number of dogs that can be used for hunting to two, unless a license is granted.

In response to campaigner speculation over the number of dogs requested, a spokesperson for True North said: “To be very clear, the license application was for fox control, not for any leisure activity.

“This is not hunting in the field sports sense. There would have been no spectating followers or pageantry. This was purely about licensed fox control using dogs to flush to guns for conservation purposes as intended under new legislation.”

The firm said the decision to introduce any form of animal control “was not taken lightly”, while stressing fox predation “is the single biggest threat to ground nesting birds, particularly black grouse, and NatureScot insisted on a predator control plan as part of the planting application”.

For the licence to have been granted, NatureScot said three tests had to be met: a licensable purpose; that there were no alternative solutions to achieve purpose; and a contribution to long-term environmental benefit.

According to the FOI, the nature agency said it was satisfied there was a purpose in controlling foxes to potentially reduce black grouse predation.

However, NatureScot rejected the application on the grounds the applicants had not fully demonstrated there were no alternative solutions to controlling the fox population without increasing dog numbers, and that it was not satisfied a long-term environmental benefit would be achieved.

Research has shown black grouse require several hundred of hectares of contiguous moorland habitat at a minimum for breeding.

In a report submitted to the Stobo scheme, the RSPB said it predicted the lek site would become extinct with the plantation. The charity warned black grouse were continuing to decline locally and regionally, with less than 100 lekking males recorded in the Scottish Borders in 2022 and last year.

In the application response, NatureScot noted research showed loss, fragmentation and deterioration of suitable habitats in the uplands from commercial forests was leading to a decline in black grouse.

The agency said the proposed mitigation measure in the plan “to plant commercial plantations with edges of mixed broadleaves will still unlikely sufficiently limit the impacts of the planting of the large conifer plantations on the open moorland that black grouse prefer”.

NatureScot also questioned why it was not possible to use two dogs to flush foxes to waiting guns. The agency confirmed this year it had only issued one other licence with a maximum of two dogs for an environmental benefit case.

True North said it was “disappointed” the licence was rejected “as it removed the most effective and selective means of fox control available to us in preserving the black grouse population”.

True North chief executive Harry Humble said the company had actively engaged with the RSPB on the grouse situation, but were advised by the charity to consult the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), from whom the Fund commissioned specific independent advice for Stobo.

Mr Humble said: “In their report, the GWCT said that ‘black grouse can significantly benefit from the legal control of generalist predators, particularly foxes and crows, but small mustelids such as stoats and weasels will also predate nests.’

“It continued: ‘Committing to undertake a rigorous predator control regime targeted around the key breeding areas will help reduce pressure from predation.

“In the predator control plan for the Stobo scheme, formally approved by Scottish Forestry and reviewed by NatureScot, it stated that rifle shooting at night was the most effective method to combat fox predation. However, should that prove ineffective, the method of fox population control would be revisited to consider hunting with dogs under the 2023 Hunting with Dogs Bill. This licence would enable foxes to be flushed towards marksmen in daylight safely and humanely.”

He said the firm will wait to be guided by NatureScot on how they propose to protect the black grouse.

A spokesperson from the Stobo Residents Action Group said: “NatureScot refused the licence on the basis that fox hunting would not help with black grouse conservation as the commercial spruce plantation will cause the black grouse to leave the site as the habitat is lost. NatureScot also said the proposed mitigation measures for the plantation would be ineffective.

“The RSPB predicted that the black grouse lek at Stobo would be be lost. Black grouse are threatened with extinction in southern Scotland and Scottish Forestry are contributing towards the loss of this iconic species.”

The Scotsman exclusively revealed last week the developers had lodged an application for judicial review against Scottish Forestry’s decision to halt the work.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh will determine whether the investment firm has a legitimate claim for judicial review. If permission is granted, a full court hearing is expected later in 2025, unless Scottish Forestry decides to settle.

A Scottish Forestry spokesperson said: “The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, which is developing the woodland creation scheme at Stobo, has served a petition for a judicial review challenging an enforcement notice served by Scottish Forestry on September 10, 2024. Now that legal proceedings are live, it is not appropriate to comment.”

Asked what the strategy was to protect black grouse in the region, a NatureScot spokesperson said: “We are collaborating with partners to re-establish the Scottish black grouse steering group, while maintaining active involvement with the South Scotland black grouse steering group.

“Additionally, black grouse conservation forms an integral part of our assessment process for all development proposals.”