01 February, 2019
Report finds Scottish raven population healthy
A report published today reveals that raven populations in Scotland are in a healthy condition.
The report, published by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), was commissioned to ensure the number of licences issued to control ravens won’t affect the population in the long term.
SNH issues licences to control ravens when they are causing serious damage to livestock, particularly lambs.
There has been an increase in the Scottish raven population of over 50% over the past 20 years, with Scotland holding the majority of the UK raven population.
Robbie Kernahan, SNH’s Head of Wildlife Management, said:
‘It’s our job to encourage healthy populations of native species as well as support rural businesses.
“Ravens can cause serious damage to livestock, particularly lambs. Where this is a serious problem, and there is no other solution, we issue licences for farmers to shoot and scare the birds.
“This research shows that the number of ravens killed under licence won’t put the Scottish population at risk. However, we will continue to monitor so we can adjust licence numbers when we need to.”
Andrew Midgley, Environment and Land Use Policy Manager at NFU Scotland said:
“NFU Scotland welcomes the publication of this report. The licencing system provides a very important mechanism through which farmers can seek to prevent wildlife, which is legally protected, from causing serious agricultural damage.
“Farmers apply to SNH for a licence to deal with a problem and it is for SNH to make decisions about granting licences on the basis of its knowledge of the population and species ecology. It is therefore vital that SNH has up-to-date population information.”
To download the full report, see https://www.nature.scot/snh-research-report-1012-population-modelling-scottish-northern-raven-population
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Notes to editors
Raven licences granted in Scotland, 2013-2016
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
|
Number of licences granted |
61 |
85 |
122 |
162 |
|
Total no of ravens controlled |
282 |
381 |
561 |
690 |
All wild birds are protected under law. The estimated breeding population of ravens in Scotland is between 12,512 and 18,768. Under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) all wild birds are protected from killing, injury or capture. It is also illegal to take, damage, destroy, obstruct or interfere with their nests while being built or in use, or their eggs or young. Licences are available to enable people to carry out, for specific purposes, activities that would otherwise be illegal. This includes for the purpose of preventing serious damage to livestock.
Scottish Natural Heritage is the government's adviser on all aspects of nature and landscape across Scotland. Our role is to help everyone understand, value and enjoy Scotland's nature now and in the future. For more information, visit our website at www.nature.scot. SNH media is also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nature_scot
NatureScot is Scotland's nature agency. We work to enhance our natural environment in Scotland and inspire everyone to care more about it. Our priority is a nature-rich future for Scotland and an effective response to the climate emergency. For more information, visit our website at www.nature.scot or follow us on X at https://x.com/NatureScot
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