Where scaring techniques alone do not provide a satisfactory solution to prevent serious damage to crops, Scottish Ministers may grant licences to kill or take wild geese under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
All licence applications are carefully considered to ensure compliance with the EU Birds Directive. The legal framework currently meets the UK's nature conservation obligations by ensuring that wild geese in Scotland are accorded an appropriate level of legal protection.
Licence applications should provide details of crop damage and location, and of non-lethal scaring methods being used. Applications will be assessed in consultation with SNH and will usually involve a site visit. All licences issued will clearly state the maximum number of birds that can be taken for each species (if appropriate), and the location where shooting may be used to supplement non-lethal scaring. Licence reports should be provided by the licensee, detailing numbers of each species taken.
Around 254 goose licences which relate to areas covered by goose management schemes were issued between 2000 and 2005, to kill or take geese as an aid to scaring to prevent serious agricultural damage. Currently, the majority of licence applications are handled by local Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate Area Offices in consultation with local SNH staff. A small number of barnacle goose licence applications relating to birds on Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are handled by Rural Directorate staff in Edinburgh, in conjunction with SNH staff. During consideration of an application a joint site visit is usually undertaken by Rural Directorate and SNH staff, to verify information and to discuss the range of scaring techniques/methods used. Licences are issued where scaring alone is insufficient.
More information on geese and licensing will appear shortly in the Licensing and Registration pages.
Latest: Goose-Scaring Leaflet will be available soon.