20,000 Voices Call for Change in Scottish Wildlife Laws

Wild goats have always been regarded as lowly animals in wildlife legislation terms. In fact, in Scotland, they have no specific legal protection at all.

But there is a now a groundswell of public opinion saying this must change. Campaigners seeking to protect a herd of wild goats that roam over a large area of uplands between Langholm and Newcastleton in the South of Scotland from overzealous shooting have been gaining huge support.

A Scottish parliament public petition calling for this rare and distinctive herd to be granted protected status was opened in March this year. That petition has now amassed over 20,000 signatures making it the biggest ever petition linked to wildlife protection to be put before Scotland`s decision makers; and the numbers keep on growing.

David Braithwaite, Chairman of the campaigning group The Wild Goat Conservation Trust (TWGCT) said “Given the diabolical way the wild goats are being treated by new landowners It comes as no surprise that so many people are signing the petition and standing up for these defenceless animals.”

A company called Oxygen Conservation that acquired almost 12,000 acres of the moorland in 2023, that was previously Hartsgarth and Blackburn hill farms, stated that they wanted to plant trees to gain carbon credit income and have just revealed plans to erect a 130MW windfarm on their estate. 

In February of this year, the company started shooting the wild goats on its land to reduce a population of 138 goats by a staggering 86%.

Gail Brown, Vice-Chair and Secretary of TWGCT and who started a local petition to “Stop the Cull” back in February, commented that “Local people were furious that a company like this could just come along and start the slaughter of over 100 wild goats in the middle of their breeding season. They said they were focussing only on males, but how could that be when at least half of 138 strong herd were obviously females and they intended to reduce the numbers to a mere 20 animals … it just didn`t stack up.”

“The goats have roamed these hills for centuries, harming no one and contributing to the ecology of a moorland that is recognised both nationally and internationally for its diverse wildlife. People from near and far value these magnificent animals and want to see them left alone.” 

Oxygen Conservation has stated that the profit they make from their enterprises at Hartsgarth and Blackburn will be reinvested into what they are calling “natural capital” on this and other of their estates.

Mr Braithwaite commented that “If this is truly their intention then why have they not become a registered charity like the National Trust for Scotland? People might then be a little more inclined to believe their marketing rhetoric which comes across as nothing more than hollow greenwash.”

The enormous public support that the campaign is generating is, Mr Braithwaite thinks, down to people just wanting to see a fair deal for a charismatic animal that links the present day to Scotland`s crofting heritage. This type of goat is rare and in 2011 the Langholm-Newcastleton herd was recognised by the government nature conservation agency as being genetically distinct and requiring protection. These wild goats are direct descendants of the original goats that arrived in Britain 4000 years ago with Neolithic herds-people. Today they only exist in the wild and in conservation grazing projects.

Without protection and properly regulated management through a wild goat conservation management plan covering the whole 30,000 acres of moorland, TWGCT believes these wild goats are seriously endangered. Many herds recorded in the Scottish/English border region are now extinct because of this kind of persecution, such as with the Bewcastle goats that were last seen in 1980.

Commenting on the significance of reaching 20,000 signatures Mr Braithwaite said “With every day that goes by and with this burgeoning public support for these wild goats, the government will find it ever more difficult to just brush this under the carpet. Something must be done and the government must take positive action to protect these endangered wild goats, otherwise people might rightly question Scotland’s commitment to democracy.”