Protect the Wild

This is it. Our final chance to stop the Guga hunt going ahead this year. And with just 24 hours until NatureScot' decision, you’d think I’d be feeling more optimistic. After all, the latest scientific assessment shows the Guga hunt would decimate Sula Sgeir’s Gannet population, and both their licensing and Marine Ornithology teams have recommended the licence be refused.

Exciting news! We’ve released new t-shirts! :) Our new Protect the Wild Tees are a simple way to show that you stand with wildlife and to help fund the work needed to defend it. A Summery design filled with the animals we are fighting to protect, these shirts are a statement. A statement that foxes deserve protection. That birds are not targets. That badgers should not be killed. And that wildlife belongs in the wild.

In July alone, our undercover investigations exposed the bird-shooting industry, we ensured the release of dozens of Jackdaws, helped stop a proposed pigeon cull, challenged the Guga hunt in Scotland with two public demonstrations, forced a Govt debate on a proposed badger cull in Wales, reached more than 40 million people online, produced an animation to change the narrative on pigeons seen by 7.5 million people, put Nigel Farage’s support for fox hunting on the front page of the biggest...

Welcome to the tenth edition of Eye on the Wild, our new weekly roundup designed to keep you up to date with the latest stories concerning British wildlife. If you have a story you think we should cover, email us at contact@protectthewild.org.uk Badgers in parts of Northern Ireland are now being trapped and tested for bovine TB, with any that test positive slaughtered, under a new pilot scheme that began on 14 July.

We’re trying something a bit different. From today onwards on the last day of the month I’m going to send you a recap video of what we’ve been up to at Protect the Wild. I figured it would be a nice way to talk through our campaigns, our victories and everything in-between :) Please do take 5 minutes to give it a watch. I’m beyond proud of the incredible team at Protect the Wild working tirelessly for British wildlife.

The government has launched a public consultation on fireworks, asking for views on issues including noise limits, banned products, and the rules around sale and use. It’s a rare opportunity to tell the government directly that the harm fireworks cause to wildlife can no longer be ignored. At Protect the Wild, our position is clear: we’re calling for a complete ban on the use of fireworks by the public. The government's consultation stops short of this: it doesn't propose a full public ban.

If you haven’t already seen the news on our social media, NatureScot has published the papers for its upcoming board meeting on 3 August, and its own licensing and marine ornithology experts have made a clear recommendation: The 2026 Guga hunt licence should be refused. I hesitate to celebrate too soon, but this almost certainly means the Guga hunt will not be going ahead this year. Let me explain what’s happened.

The Guga hunt is a secretive practice. It involves Gannet chicks being captured and killed on a remote, unmonitored Scottish island 40 miles from the nearest inhabited land. We know that the chicks are killed by being struck over the head with a blunt weapon. But we didn’t know the details. Until now. We’ve been able to get our hands on a letter from the Guga hunters that describes the killing and capturing process via a Freedom of Information request.

Andy Burnham has appointed the aptly named Angela Eagle as head of Defra. For anyone who cares about ending the cruelty of hunting, this is a moment of real opportunity. Eagle has a genuine anti-hunting record, with knowledge of exactly how hunts behave. So we are calling on her to examine new evidence, outlined below, that drag hunting - where dogs follow a non-animal based scent - could be used as a loophole if trail hunting is banned.

A few days ago, I sent you shocking new footage showing the Guga hunters displaying utter contempt for the welfare of the Gannets they kill. The now-deleted Youtube video shows them charging through the middle of a breeding Gannet colony, sending terrified adult birds into flight and forcing chicks to scramble out of the way to avoid being trampled as they take part in a sack race. Here it is if you haven’t seen it.