Islanders find anti-guga hunt activists cost the public purse £110,000
Thousands of pounds were spent on repairs and improving security measures.
Threats, vandalism and demonstrations led by animal activists protesting against the guga hunt have cost the Scottish Government some £110,000 so far this year, it has been revealed.
The costs to the public purse were reported in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which examined the financial burden of the protests since the beginning of this year.
Between January and May, £84,708 has been allocated to “additional security” and an “on-site guard” following vandalism and menacing messages at NatureScot’s headquarters in Inverness. Some £6,000 was used to repair damage to the building while other costs covered legal fees and applying ‘anti climb paint’, according to the FOI.
The findings emerged as islanders, who are involved in and support the annual hunt, grow more concerned that the activists’ tactics are paying off and NatureScot, the body in charge of licensing the practice, is “moving the goalposts.” The agency will make a decision on whether or not the guga hunt can go ahead this year on August 3.
The 500-year-old tradition is carried out each year by a group of ten men from Ness, a community of about 1,000 people at the northern tip of Lewis. Known as the Men of Ness, they travel to Sula Sgeir, a rocky outcrop that lies about 40 miles north of their home to a breeding ground for some ten thousand pairs of gannets. They harvest around 2,000 of pre-fledged birds to bring back home to eat.
The hunt went ahead for the first time in three years last summer after a hiatus due to avian flu. The number of birds that the Men of Ness could take once the hunt returned was also restricted to 500 to ensure gannet numbers could fully recover. Each year, the hunters carefully monitor the population to determine whether the harvest is sustainable or not.
The 2025 hunt, however, sparked outrage among animal activists. A petition was launched to ban the harvest, which garnered more than 100,000 signatures and fuelled a feud on social media.
In March this year, two leading activists, Jamie Moyes and Allan Jackson, spent 60 hours on the roof of the NatureScot headquarters demanding the hunt be banned. They were subsequently charged with breach of the peace and culpable and reckless conduct. Campaigners also smashed a glass door and windows at the offices and sprayed graffiti on the property.
Ness resident Lorna Thomson, who made the FOI inquiry, said: “I wanted to understand the true impact that this nasty and abusive campaign and protest activity surrounding the guga hunt has had on the public purse. Like other people here, I was appalled by what it revealed and we believe the actions that have led to these costs are totally unacceptable.
“As someone from Ness, I'm also deeply concerned by the level of hostility directed towards our community by people from far away who have no understanding of our island or our customs. People have every right to oppose the guga hunt and to campaign peacefully, but there is a clear difference between criticising a practice and vilifying an entire community.”
Agnes Rennie, chair of Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn, the local community estate for the north of Lewis, said: ““It should not be a surprise that, as a community-owned land trust, we feel we should speak out in support of those families upholding a centuries old tradition which is an important part of the cultural heritage of the area.
“The indigenous rights associated with such a rich heritage, and the families who uphold them, should not be threatened in the manner we have seen over recent months.”
On Wednesday, guga protesters held another demonstration, this time at a biodiversity conference being held at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh. The protest is believed to have taken place because NatureScot staff were in attendance.
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