New powers to shoot ravens after livestock attacks

Summary of the Situation

• Background: Farmers in Orkney report young ravens attacking and injuring livestock—especially lambs, sheep, and calves—leading to distress and financial loss.
• Current Policy: Licences to shoot ravens are granted by NatureScot only when non-lethal methods have failed, and mostly apply to juvenile birds, not breeding pairs.
• Farmer Concerns:
  • Existing licences are too restrictive—both geographically and in timing—allowing birds to evade culling.
  • Only 124 ravens were culled since 2016 out of a larger permitted number, which farmers say is evidence of inefficiency.

NatureScot’s Response

• New Proposal: Develop an area licensing scheme allowing more flexibility:
  • Broader geographical shooting permissions.
  • Longer timeframes to take action.
  • Aimed for implementation by winter 2025, with updates expected later this summer.
• Justification: Acknowledges “significant impact” ravens can have on livestock and says there are “not many alternatives” to lethal controls in severe cases.

Contested Views

• Support for Change:
  • Farmers: Urge for faster, broader measures.
  • RSPB: Supports licences when backed by evidence, and calls for updated population surveys.
  • Local shooters: Argue that wider permissions would increase effectiveness.
• Opposition:
  • Wildlife expert Andy Mitchell argues there’s no recent survey data indicating a rise in raven numbers or confirmed attacks on healthy lambs.
  • Warns against undermining licensing standards for the sake of a few cases.

Key Considerations

1. Data Deficiency: Last detailed raven population survey in Orkney was in 2014—NatureScot plans to gather more, but won’t let data collection delay action.
2. Ecological Balance: Concerns that expanded lethal control could damage raven populations unnecessarily if not strictly justified.
3. Policy Precedents: Similar raven control measures have been adopted in Skye and Argyll, which may serve as a template.

What’s Next

• NatureScot will return with concrete proposals by late summer 2025.
• A meeting is also planned in Shetland, where similar issues are emerging.
• Debate will likely continue around the balance between evidence-based conservation and agricultural protection.