MEAT from wild geese shot on Orkney will go on sale across Scotland for the first time.
Islanders have been able to legally cull a set number of greylag geese since 2012 after the birds’ booming population damaged farmers’ crops. The meat has been licensed for sale on Orkney, with products on offer including goose burgers.
Now Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has announced a trial project to sell the meat across Scotland. Sales will be licensed from August 1 to October 31. SNH head of natural resource management Claudia Rowse, said: “Wild geese are an important part of Scotland’s nature but their rapid rise in numbers has been challenging for farmers and crofters.
“Our goal is to give farmers and crofters the tools they need to safeguard their crops, enabling them to control goose numbers sustainably and sell goose meat for profit.”
RSBP figures show there were 10,000 greylag geese on Orkney in 2008, but just 300 breeding pairs in 2002. The sale of wild goose meat shot outwith the project remains illegal.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel