Island MP backs men of Ness in guga harvest

Until now I have hesitated to comment on what its own organisers pronounce as the campaign to “Abolish the Goo-ga Hunt”. It struck me as another one of these boring examples of attention-seeking behaviour, enabled by social media and fuelled by a lack of real purpose in life.

The “Goo-ga” campaign does fall into the virtue-signalling camp of activism and to prove their commitment someone undertook a sweat-drenched election campaign in a penguin suit (he didn’t look anything like a gannet) and was willing to put others at risk by climbing onto the roof of a public building. I am sure the activists involved saw these as selfless endeavours.

But if the attendant publicity is having the slightest effect on the scientific considerations of NatureScot then it is time to speak out. The science is clear that the bird population levels on Sula Sgeir can easily accommodate the Ness harvest.

The guga harvest is an essential part of the history, culture and identity of Ness. It is conducted with due reverence to sustainability and importantly to what it means to the continuation of the living tradition of the islands. 

This egotistical campaign is at the extreme end of the kind of green neo-colonialism we last saw with the attempt to impose Highly Protected Marine Areas to close down the seas around the Hebrides.

The human population of these islands have lived in harmony with the environment for centuries. We don’t need campaigners with a saviour-complex to tell us what is good for us.

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