Question time, part 3

Last weekend, I posed some questions to the local candidates for the Orkney constituency in the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections. I was able to obtain email addresses for four of the candidates (from a news media source, so hopefully correct!) and a postal address for the fifth one, courtesy of the published electoral agent information on the Orkney Islands Council website. At worst case, I reckoned that the emails would be picked up on Monday morning and the snail mail perhaps Tuesday morning, so no candidate would be unduly disadvantaged in response time.

To recap, here are the questions:

1. In your opinion, how much of a threat to Orkney's wildlife is posed by the presence of stoats?

2. In your opinion, how much of a threat to Orkney's tourism industry is posed by the loss of such iconic species as Orkney vole, Hen harrier and Short-eared owl?

3. Should Scottish Government funding be made available to SNH now (or soon in the next parliament) to implement the full stoat eradication programme immediately?

4. If not, why not?

Currently, as I type this, I have had three responses, including one from the letter which had to go the slow way, so top marks to the Post Office for some slick work.

Here, as promised, are the responses, so far, in the order that they were received...

Dear Graeme

Thanks very much for your detailed email in relation to the threat of stoats and the questions you pose at the end.  

As you may be aware, this is an issue in which I have taken a close interest over the last few years, since the appearance of stoats in the county was first noted.  I have worked closely with the field club, RSPB and SNH over that time, taking the opportunity to raise concerns with SNH and Ministers at various points.

My most recent meeting with SNH came on the back of concerns at what appeared to be a lack of communication with local stakeholders and a fear about budget resources being allocated to the task of trapping and eradication.  The meeting was attended by RSPB representatives and others involved in the trapping programme to date. My impression was that it had proved useful in identifying areas for improvement and obtaining commitments from SNH in those regards. There remained concerns about the adequacy of budgets, though some of this was tied up in the uncertainty of making applications to LIFE and other such programmes.  There also appeared to be some question as to what an adequate budget might be.

In answer to your specific questions, I'd respond as follows:

1.In your opinion, how much of a threat to Orkney's wildlife is posed by the presence of stoats?  I'm not sure I'm best placed to quantify this, but the expert advice seems fairly clear about the seriousness of the potential threat posed. It is all the more disappointing, therefore, that so much time has now passed since the first sightings were made and, as you say, I think SNH now accept that mistakes were made, possibly leading to opportunities being missed to address the problem at an earlier stage.

2. In your opinion, how much of a threat to Orkney's tourism industry is posed by the loss of such iconic species as Orkney vole, Hen harrier and Short-eared owl?  Again I am not best placed to put a figure on this, but I am in absolutely no doubt about the importance of Orkney's bird and wildlife to the success of our local tourism industry.  Some of it may be based on specific species, though I rather suspect that it is the breadth and range of species that proves most attractive to visitors.  In passing, I would note that it is also a factor in people choosing to live and work in Orkney, something that is crucial with regards to population retention in often fragile communities. 

3. Should Scottish Government funding be made available to SNH now (or soon in the next parliament) to implement the full stoat eradication programme immediately?  I think Scottish Government funding should be made available, though from the discussions I have taken part in, I do not think that it can realistically be met solely from that source.  Other programmes of funding do exist, and there seems to be optimism that these can provide some of the support needed.  At the same time, it would be important to understand what the impact is likely to be on other parts of the budget and the work being undertaken by SNH.  I recall from my involvement in parliament's consideration of the 'non-native species' parts of the Wildlife and Natural Environment Bill (now Act) how important prevention and early remedial action are, but also how unbelievably expensive eradication programmes can become in a relatively short space of time.  

4. If not, why not?  I think I've tried to address this in the answer above.

I hope this response is of some assistance, but do please let me know if you have any further questions or points you wish to make.  Meantime, thank you again for taking the time and trouble to get in touch and for setting out your concerns in such detail.  Rest assured, if re-elected on 5th May, as I have already made clear to SNH, RSPB and others involved in this issue, I am determined to remain closely involved in trying to find a solution.

Kind regards, Liam

Liam McArthur
Scottish Liberal Democrat Candidate for Orkney

Dear Graeme

Thanks for writing, and I genuinely do mean that. I appreciate you telling me all about the intricacies and nuances of not only the primary issue of the threat that the non-native predator poses to already vulnerable and in some cases extremely rare species of wildlife on some of the islands, but also pointing out some of the historical measures and funding issues surrounding addressing this real problem effectively.

I want to make it quite clear that it is you, not I, who is the authority on this, and consequently will make no secret of the fact that I am quite prepared to defer to your knowledge and experience on this matter.

This is important, because given that you are the only person who has drawn my attention to this, I have no agenda in defending any previous measures taken to address the issue by any organisation, or the political and/or funding issues behind the strategy (or lack of strategy) to address the issue now.

So, in response to your questions, I will state my position as honestly and as ably as I can.

You present an extremely authoritative and detailed case for the real danger the presence of the stoat poses to Orkney's wildlife. 

My response would therefore be that:

•  A significant, clear and present danger and threat to the sustainability and protection of Orkney's wildlife is caused by the presence of the stoat.

• The tourist industry could potentially suffer significantly with the loss of iconic species as Orkney vole, Hen harrier and Short-eared owl given that there is a whole "Wildlife Tourism" to Orkney whose primary, if not sole interest in visiting Orkney is the viewing and listening of these species in their natural habitat.

• I would support the advice and guidance of experts in this field, to inform the next Scottish Government towards addressing and finding a satisfactory resolution to this issue. I would strongly advocate this included the provision of adequate funding to ensure the matter is finally addressed properly and to everyone's satisfaction.

I hope my honest responses meet with your approval.

Yours sincerely

Gerry

Gerry McGarvey

Scottish Labour Candidate for Orkney, May 2016

Hi,

In response to your questions, i'd first like to say that I believe the persons involved in matters are generally the best placed to come up with solutions to them, that being said... According to your letter: "the most likely scenario would be a catastrophic decline in the vole population" which "would have disastrous consequences" for birds and other predators. I have also had a quick glance online for further information so the answer to your questions are as follows:

1.  There is a great threat to the Orkney wildlife which needs to be addressed.

2. The loss of iconic species would be extremely detrimental to the Orkney tourism industry.

3. I'm personally of the opinion that the issue should be dealt with extreme urgency, given the information I have been presented with.

I will say that i'm personally a pacifist and try my best not to harm any creature, so any decision on eradication is entirely up to yourselves.

I hope this is satisfactory to you and look forward to any more questions you have...

Thanks 

Paul Dawson

Independent Candidate for Orkney 

If any other correspondence arrives from the candidate that have so far failed to respond, then they too will have their responses published here.


Then, after a cogitative pause to consider the candidates' input, I shall offer up a few thoughts on the whole experience.