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Legion
Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland
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 Posted: Thu Nov 25, 04 8:01 am Post subject: Guga. |
 
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I started a discussion on guga - RC site - and stumbled across this old article , its probably 4 or 5 yrs old or so, anyhow though some of you might be interetsted , feedback encouraged.
'Let battle commence'
'Let battle commence', was the comment made by 'Niseach' ( a resident of Ness, Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides) Murdo 'Dods' Mac Farlane. Murdo is just one of a group of men who have been making the annual 38 mile sea journey to Sulasgeir Island each August, in order to 'harvest, 2,000 young gannets and bring them back to Lewis. He is outraged and expressed his anger at Edinburgh based Advocates for Animals as they launched their investigation into why a protected species such as the gannet, is still being 'traditionally harvested', albeit under special licence from the Scottish Office.
Ross Minett, Advocates for Animals Campaigns Director explained, ' We are looking into the situation at the moment. Obviously we believe there are serious animal welfare issues here. We know the way the birds are culled have serious welfare implications , but that is as far as we have got." He went on to say, " We believe it is a brutal practice and the way the birds are killed by strangulation is inhumane - we don't believe it can be justified even on the grounds of tradition. It just isn't right in the 21st Century in a civilised country."
Local New Labour MSP Alisdair Morrison, a resident of Ness, who has previously worked alongside Advocates for Animals, on the Hunting with dogs bill, stood beside his fellow Niseachs, by telling the local press, " I have one quarter of a guga left from last years harvest - I'll be eating it this Saturday whilst looking forward to the fresh haul from Sulasgeir later this year. Meddlesome , misguided activists will not stop the annual trip to Sulasgeir. I wish the Ness men the very best, I hope they have a fruitful good harvest and a safe journey home."
In a previous statement from Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles MSP) (Lab) during the campaign to ban hunting with dogs he stated: "Since the bill was lodged , I have never wavered in my commitment to the bill. My opposition to fox hunting is based firmly on the values that were instilled in me while I was growing up on the island of North Uist (An Island where there are no foxes or hunt, but is an Active Sporting Estate). He went on to say that,
" A child who is brought up in a crofting community is taught to respect nature. I was taught to appreciate the wonder of creation and to treat animals and all wildlife kindly. Those values still permeate the people in the crofting communities whom I represent.
As far as I am concerned, animal welfare always was and always will be the issue. Fox hunting is a pursuit that should not be tolerated in a society that calls itself civilised.
"Some of those who have supported fox hunting�I emphasise that it is only some�have been engaged in a flawed and fraudulent campaign. They have sought to portray the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill as urban Scotland's articulation of its contempt for the countryside. That is a distortion, which is a contemptible campaigning tactic. The debate is
not about urban versus rural Scotland, or urban MSPs versus rural MSPs, or city people versus country people. The debate is about decency on the one hand and barbarity on the other."
SNH, comments on the Annual Guga hunt were, "Clearly the birds have been harvested for hundreds of years and the population is thriving, so it looks very much like a sustainable activity."
Mr Minett countered that the guga hunt was not a conservation issue but an animal welfare one.
It leaves a question as to , What category does the Annual Guga hunt come under ?.
When ten men sail from the Port of Ness on Lewis, to the Island of Sula where they 'harvest' in the name of a '400 year old legacy', 2,000 baby Gannets, as they are about to fledge, by catching them around the neck with a rope noose dangling them in the air from the end of a long pole (some of these chicks weighing as much as 9lbs each). As the chicks are hauled from the safety of their nests perched on the cliff face, many panick and fall to their death being either too young or not large enough to harvest. These young birds, many still alive when they are brought back to the top of the cliff are then hit with a blunt wooden object in order to kill them. Beheaded, plucked, gutted and salted before being taken back to Ness where they are sold as a delicacy from the harbour, all done in true sporting manner? - or in the name of tradition, whatever the justification what is the difference?
Murdo went on to say, "We are licenced to kill the giga so we are not breaking the law - we have a licence to do it" he explained. If they want to go ahead and try to stop us, thats up to them but I hope they don't. Its up to the Scottish Executive , but I dont think they will get anywhere."
He added, "Bit by bit our way of life is being eroded by outsiders. Let battle commence!." |
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Legion
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sean
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Legion
Joined: 24 Nov 2004
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Location: Western isles, Scotland
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Jonnyboy
Joined: 29 Oct 2004
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Legion
Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 170
Location: Western isles, Scotland
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sean
Downsizer Moderator
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Location: North Devon
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