Welcome to our fourth election guide for members.
Like in the 2021 poll, SGA members have asked us to provide information to help them make choices on the ballot paper.
Prior to the Holyrood Parliament being dissolved, we polled candidates from all parties on how they might support gamekeepers, land and river ghillies and deer/wildlife managers, if re-elected.
In this guide, we focus on the response received from Fergus Ewing (Independent candidate for Inverness and Nairn).
Fergus has held the seat since the Parliament’s first election in 1999 and served in an SNP Cabinet as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, as well as holding several Ministerial positions, before standing as an Independent.
Fergus, who will be standing without the backing of the SNP machinery this time, has been a strong advocate for the SGA and the work of its members since the Parliament’s formative days, backing the organisation on deer management, muirburn and hunting with dogs. He argued against full protection for mountain hares.
This time, he will be standing against former colleague, Emma Roddick (SNP) who has also been supportive of SGA work, asking Parliamentary questions and making enquiries to Ministers on members’ behalf on issues such as deer management, salmon farming and muirburn.
On the impacts he believes our sector has on community, economy and biodiversity, Fergus said, simply: “Gamekeepers are the real custodians of the moorlands of Scotland – excellent impact!”
In terms of supporting the sector, in future, he explained: “I will support them in any and every way conceivably possible. I will continue to support fieldsports, venison as a meat and I will seek to cut the money spent by Government on RSPB. I will promote the role of gamekeepers in wildfires while supporting muirburn. Generally, I will be supporting keepers in the excellent work they do.”
On the policies he has been involved in, which impact our sector, he said: “I’ve done everything I could since 1999 when Alex Hogg, the late Ronnie Rose and others educated me and I pressed for the amendments for keepers to be exempt from the Watson Bill (fox hunting).
“I have promoted fieldsports, argued against over-regulation of snaring and worked with keepers on muirburn. I have also worked against the dire regulation that makes your work harder or impossible. I have attacked wastage on rewilding and restoration of peatlands, generally trying to do all I can to try and help.”
*These guides are meant for information purposes. They are not endorsements of any individual candidate or party by the SGA. Voting is entirely down to individual preference/conscience.
If you are a candidate and want to be featured in our member Election Guides, please contact info@scottishgamekeepers.co.uk
Who else is running in Inverness and Nairn?
Neil Alexander (Lib Dems)
Fred Campbell (Reform)
Shaun Fraser (Labour)
Emma Roddick (SNP)
Steve Skerrett (Advance UK)
Ruaridh Stewart (Conservative)
