Latest news with #RachaelHamilton
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Feral seagulls 'close to killing a human' as stark warning issued to tourists
A warning has been issued after a child was left with "blood running down her face" in flurry of horrific attacks from the flying gulls with politicians calling for more to be done Feral seagulls are edging closer to killing a human, it's been claimed. n what is seen as the most alarming warning yet over the terrifying flying threats, a summit to deal with them is set to get off the ground. Former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who previously called a debate on the issue at Holyrood, told Parliament humans risk being killed over the "growing problem" of kamikaze-diving seagulls. The politician said: 'The strength of the cross-party support in my debate should be all the SNP government need to finally act before we see someone killed due to being attacked by a gull.' Adding fuel to the flames, Tory Rachael Hamilton claimed "aggressive" seagulls had attacked seven children in just one month in Eyemouth last year. She went on to highlight how one girl had gashes to her scalp and "blood running down her face" after a "divebombing attack," the Daily Star reports. The MP added: 'Aggressive seagull behaviour continues to cause a real concern amongst businesses, amongst tourists, amongst everybody that has anything to do along the harbour. 'And it is not just a seasonal nuisance. It is a serious, growing health risk. It's a safety risk, particularly for children and elderly residents.' The latest flap over gulls comes after the people of Moray in Scotland were dive-bombed by the birds. In one case, an elderly woman broke her leg during a gull swoop. But other ministers are urging Brits to hug a gull. MSP Jim Fairlie said a summit on tackling the scourge of demented seagulls should not 'demonise' the pests. His fellow Nationalist MSP Christine Grahame added: 'Language such as 'mugging' and 'menace' can be applied to us, or our counterparts, but it is not appropriate to demonise an animal simply looking for food. 'What we mustn't have is people versus gulls, or gulls versus people.' Highlands and Islands MSP Mr Ross said he has been 'inundated' with reports about the dangers of gulls from constituents. They included a couple in the village of Hopeman who were 'worried about going out of their home' due to the aggressiveness of the birds. Jeff Thornhill, a Moray pensioner, said he and his wife were 'dive-bombed' by gull on Monday morning while they were out for a stroll. Among the other victims of the birds is terrified Caroline Mackay, who has lived in the coastal town of Nairn for almost 50 years. She said: 'I know they are part of living beside the sea, and I accept that, but they are quite a danger.' Lucy Harding from Nairn Business Improvement District said they had received 85 reports of gull attacks in the last year alone.
Scotsman
10 hours ago
- Business
- Scotsman
Silence of the Goats: Slaughtered animals reveal how SNP is creating £4.7bn black hole in public finances
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... My MSP of the week, she might be surprised to learn, is Rachael Hamilton, the Tory who represents Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, for an eloquent plea on behalf of goats, in a Holyrood committee. In a week when the SNP admitted it has dug a £4.7 billion black hole for itself – or rather, for all of us – it is a significant story not only for goat-lovers but as an illustration of how money is squandered without any understanding of what it is intended to achieve. I'll get back to the goats. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The bleak warning from Shona Robison, the hapless Finance Secretary, was slipped out in time for MSPs to go off on a two-month break. If I were taking a scythe to public expenditure, Holyrood and its countless apparatchiks would be a symbolically good place to start, before moving on to the quangos. A feral goat with a kid in the Tarras Valley near the town of Langholm | Katharine Hay Bad spending decisions For openers, Ms Robison promised cuts of £1bn a year to 'administration costs'. These are a symptom of the malaise as well as a cause but at least it seems to have dawned that spending money they don't have, then blaming 'Westminster' for not sending enough, has hit the buffers of credibility. The mission of the devolved government should be straightforward if the rules are observed – ie, you have a fixed budget, plus tax-raising powers, and your job is to spend it efficiently and effectively. The SNP have never respected these rules because they crave for entirely different ones. That conflict is incapable of resolution. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad By any reasonable standard, the Scottish Government is very well funded and receives far in excess – £22bn at the last count – of the revenues raised in Scotland. So get on with it. Instead, there has been no real fiscal discipline because the escape clause will always be to blame someone else. The £4.7bn black hole is made up of hundreds of spending decisions, few of them open to meaningful challenge at Holyrood, and many devolved to quangos which control massive budgets. There is no equivalent of the Public Accounts Committee at Westminster, which might penetrate the culture of waste and obfuscation. Ancient, wild herd But let me return to the goats of Newcastleton, whose plight is deserving of attention in its own right. They are, Ms Hamilton explained, victims of the Scottish Government's efforts to promote a market in 'natural capital' which requires large areas of Scotland to be flogged off to 'green' speculators intending to make large profits out of carbon credits. To be fair, she didn't put it like that, but it is a fair summary. In this case, an Exeter-based outfit called Oxygen Conservation Capital acquired 11,400 acres of Langholm moor in 2023 and now intend 'to cull 85 per cent of the ancient herd of wild goats on the moor'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This, Ms Hamilton told the Scottish Parliament, 'is causing distress in the community. Those goats are not only of ecological importance but are of significant cultural and heritage value. More than 12,000 local residents have signed a petition for the goats' protection'. Alas, Ms Hamilton reported, the cull was already underway and 'the goat meat is in the butcher's shop'. Then came the nub of her argument. 'I do not think that the issue is really about goats, though… my point speaks entirely to the fact that grants from the Scottish Government have gone to an offshore investment company that is creating very few jobs and has upset 12,000 people,' she told MSPs. She added: 'The government needs to look at this, because we are at the very start of the natural investment process. Pension companies will buy up swathes of land and do pretty much what they want, without the say of communities.' Well spoken, Ms Hamilton. Carbon credits That, in SNP terms, is what passes for 'land reform' and, of course, it is also inflating land values to make Scotland's land ownership structure even more grotesque. Simple question: Why are many million pounds of Scottish Government money encouraging this speculative process rather than taking community interest as the starting point? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I can find no trace of that fundamental question having been debated at Holyrood before it became an assumed good that subsidising speculators in carbon credits should be the preferred approach on the road to net zero. Once that silo was created, it was there to stay. For the sake of completeness, I should acknowledge that Ms Hamilton moved an amendment to the Land Reform Bill calling for an 'ethical framework for natural capital investment... developed in consultation with individuals and communities that have a legitimate interest'. That sounds pretty reasonable but it was defeated by five votes (four SNP, one Green) to four. Greens Against Goats, apparently. Proper funding for high priorities The Scottish Government's approach to spending imposes no requirement to take an overview of priorities in order to review them. Just keep adding… more commitments, more quangos, more civil servants. It has taken nearly 20 years to embed these silos and they have no intention of being disturbed. Ms Robison certainly isn't going to do it. A day-one commitment by the SNP's opponents must be to a Comprehensive Spending Review, with no line of expenditure exempt. The highest priorities must be funded properly. However tenaciously guarded by vested interests, the spending silos, large and small, must be challenged. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There has to be a real sense of change from a devolved government which respects the rules and has no agenda other than to deliver for Scotland. And if that involves not handing money to 'green' speculators to slaughter much-loved goats, I will make sure Ms Hamilton gets her share of the credit.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
‘Lives at risk' due to aggressive seagull population
Scottish ministers are facing calls for a national summit to address the increasingly aggressive seagull population as attacks are recorded across the country. Former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and fellow Tory Rachael Hamilton warned that gulls pose a serious health and safety risk, with people's lives now at risk. Critics accused the Scottish Government of inaction and NatureScot's licensing system of being bureaucratic and having a conflict of interest. Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie acknowledged the issue's seriousness but stated he could not intervene in the licensing system due to potential judicial review, attributing the problem to people feeding gulls. NatureScot emphasised its role in balancing public safety with conservation, noting a decrease in lethal control licenses and advocating for long-term co-existence with gulls.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Fears ‘deadly' Scottish seagulls could kill someone after spate of attacks
A nationwide summit to tackle Scotland's increasingly aggressive seagull population must be held before someone is seriously hurt or killed, Scottish Parliament has been warned. Former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross called the debate in Holyrood, arguing the threat posed by 'nuisance' gulls has escalated to a 'deadly' level, with people's lives now at risk. Fellow Tory Rachael Hamilton backed the call, demanding immediate action as more Scots report being 'scared, attacked and traumatised' by the birds. She urged ministers to convene a Scotland-wide summit, warning that localised efforts won't be enough to address the growing crisis. While agriculture minister Jim Fairlie has pledged to host a seagull summit in the north of Scotland, Ms Hamilton, who represents the south of the country, insisted the problem spans far beyond one region. 'This isn't just a local issue,' she said. 'It demands a national response.' The Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP highlighted a spate of attacks in Eyemouth, where seven children were targeted by gulls in a single month last year. One girl was left with deep cuts to her head and blood streaming down her face. Describing the birds as more than a nuisance, she warned they now pose a serious health and safety risk. Yet despite mounting public concern, Ms Hamilton said NatureScot's licensing system for managing the birds remains tangled in bureaucracy and is failing to deliver results. She told MSPs the debate was 'important' and criticised the Scottish Government for failing to take meaningful action. 'Absolutely nothing is getting done. I don't believe the Government are listening to us because the issue continues in my constituency in Eyemouth.' Ms Hamilton added: 'Aggressive seagull behaviour continues to cause a real concern amongst businesses, amongst tourists, amongst everybody that has anything to do along the harbour. 'And it is not just a seasonal nuisance. It is a serious, growing health risk. It's a safety risk, particularly for children and elderly residents.' She said one business owner had described the situation as 'people being scared, attacked and traumatised'. Opening the debate, Mr Ross said people often 'smirk' when hearing that the Scottish Parliament is debating the problems around gulls – but he said it was an 'extremely serious issue'. The Highlands and Islands MSP said constituents have told him they are worried about leaving their homes for fear of being 'divebombed', while others have suffered mental health issues thanks to a lack of sleep caused by noisy gulls. He accused NatureScot of having a conflict of interest as the body responsible for both the licensing to control birds and to conserve them. He said: 'The time has come to break up NatureScot. There is a clear conflict of interest in the fact they are responsible for considering licences to control gulls but are also responsible for protecting bird numbers. 'If the minister cannot see that is a problem, then he is divorced from reality. 'The strength of the cross-party support in my debate today should be all the SNP Government need to finally act before we see someone killed due to being attacked by a gull.' Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said while people often 'chuckle and laugh' about gulls, it was a 'deadly serious' issue. But he told MSPs he could not intervene in the licensing system, warning that doing so could open the government to judicial review. He said the root cause of the problem was people feeding the birds, either directly or via food waste and litter. SNP MSP Christine Grahame cautioned against 'demonising' gulls, describing them as 'clever, adaptable' animals. 'Language such as 'mugging', 'menace' can be applied to us, our fellow counterparts,' she said. 'But it is not appropriate to demonise an animal simply looking for food.' A spokesperson for NatureScot said: 'We understand gulls can sometimes cause problems in our towns and cities. At the same time, gull populations are facing serious declines.' The body said it must balance health and safety concerns with conservation and had supported individuals, businesses and communities to manage gulls without killing them. As a result, licence applications to destroy nests and eggs and kill chicks fell from 2,633 in 2023 to 1,601 in 2024. 'In the longer term, we will need to find ways to live with gulls and other wildlife,' the spokesperson added.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Hold ‘gull summit' before birds kill someone, Scottish Tories say
The Scottish Tories have called for a summit on gulls before one of the birds kills somebody. Rachael Hamilton MSP said a nationwide discussion must be held, with Scots left ' scared, attacked and traumatised '. Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands agreed the birds were a growing problem and suggested it was only a matter of time ' before we see someone killed due to being attacked by a gull'. It follows reports of people in Moray being dive-bombed by gulls. In one case, an elderly woman broke her leg in a gull attack. Mr Ross highlighted 'bizarre' advice from the NatureScot watchdog advising people to patrol potential nesting areas before the birds settle in. He accused the watchdog of failing to protect coastal communities and said the quango – which has dual responsibility for issuing control licences and protecting bird numbers – had 'lost the plot.' Mr Ross added: 'The time has come to breakup NatureScot. There is a clear conflict of interest in the fact they are responsible for considering licences to control gulls but are also responsible for protecting bird numbers.' The row follows a cross-party debate on urban gulls in Holyrood on Thursday. Jim Fairlie, the agriculture minister, said he sympathised with communities that suffer from aggressive gulls and said removing food sources was 'the most effective route to avoiding issues'. He added: 'In cases where it is justified, NatureScot provides licences for control when public health and safety is at risk. In the UK and Europe gulls are protected by law, with their overall numbers declining, so lethal measures must be a last resort.' Mr Ross said: 'If the minister cannot see that is a problem, then he is divorced from reality. The strength of the cross-party support in my debate today should be all the SNP government need to finally act before we see someone killed due to being attacked by a gull.' People living in the coastal town of Nairn are among those who believe more action is needed to tackle the birds. Caroline Mackay, who has lived in Nairn for almost 50 years, told BBC Scotland: 'I know they are part of living beside the sea, and I accept that, but they are quite a danger.'
