Permission sought for traditional guga hunt to take place this year

Permission has been sought for a traditional hunt of young seabirds to take place on an uninhabited Hebridean island later this summer.

For centuries, gannets have been killed for their meat during an annual hunt on Sula Sgeir, a small rocky island 40 miles (64km) north of Ness on Lewis in the Western Isles.

Public body NatureScot issues licences for the hunts and is assessing the latest application.

The organisation's board will be asked to note that this process is under way at a meeting later. It will make a decision on the licence at a future date.

The practice, called a guga hunt and dating back to the 15th Century, usually takes place in August.

Animal rights campaigners, who oppose the hunt and say it is no longer needed to provide food for islanders, have held a protest outside NatureScot's headquarters in Inverness.

NatureScot said the cultural significance of the hunt was recognised under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and hunters must apply for permission every year.

Last year the agency granted a licence allowing up to 500 birds to be killed, following three years when the hunt had not been held due to bird flu.

The agency said the number had been reduced from 2,000 in recent times to allow the population to recover from the impact of the disease.

A total of 485 birds were taken at the 2025 hunt.

In a report to Thursday's meeting of NatureScot's board, officials said: "We have now received an application for a 2026 licence which we are currently assessing.

"The NatureScot board has confirmed that it will take the decision on whether to grant the licence when the assessment has been completed."

More than 104,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Scottish government to prohibit the hunt.

Holyrood's petitions committee is considering whether the call should be debated by MSPs.