New Petition Calls for Urgent Protection of Scotland's Declining Wild Goat Populations

The Wild Goat Conservation Trust (TWGCT) has welcomed the publication of Petition PE2252, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to introduce a statutory closed season for wild goat shooting and require greater oversight of large-scale culling operations. 

The petition comes amid growing concern over the continued legality of shooting wild goats during the birthing and nursing season, when mothers are heavily dependent on stable herd structures to rear their young. 

Historical evidence shows Scotland's wild goat populations have undergone a dramatic long- term decline. Numbers have fallen significantly from the late 1800s to present day. 

Chairman of The Wild Goat Conservation Trust, David Braithwaite, said: "Scotland's wild goats are disappearing in plain sight. Once found in around 200 locations across the country, they now persist in only a fraction of their former range. With an estimated population of just 4,000 animals remaining, it is extraordinary that they can still be shot indiscriminately during the birthing and nursing season. No reasonable person would consider it acceptable to shoot heavily pregnant females, disrupt family groups and remove nursing nannies at the very time dependent young are most vulnerable. Yet that remains perfectly legal. This is not a call to end population management. It is a call for minimum standards of animal welfare, transparency and accountability." 

The Trust argues that the absence of a statutory closed season leaves wild goats without protections routinely applied to other species managed under Scottish wildlife legislation such as wild deer and is an anomaly that needs fixing.  Concerns have also been raised over the impact of large-scale culling operations, which can cause severe disruption to herd structures that have developed over generations. The Trust believes such operations should be subject to licensing or other forms of independent oversight.   Dr Shirley Goodyer, TWGCT Trustee and founder of the British Primitive Goat Research Group said: “Wild goats are cognitively complex animals, they have long memories, form close and long- established social bonds and live in well organised matriarchal hefts. Culling that takes out many animals from the herd in a short period causes wholesale social upheaval for the goats. Full recovery from these events may take a herd many months if not years. High-impact culling must therefore come under independent scrutiny and should not be regarded as part of routine land management operations.” 

The reform that the Trust is calling for marks a step change in its activities. It was formed to support the conservation of a local wild goat herd in the Langholm-Newcastleton Hills in the South of Scotland. This proposed reform would be a national measure affecting all wild goat herds in Scotland. 

Mr Braithwaite added: “PE2252 presents Parliament with an opportunity to demonstrate that animal welfare, responsible wildlife management and public opinion matter. We are not asking for anything radical; we are asking for common sense; and we are asking for compassion. But most of all, we are asking for action." 

The Wild Goat Conservation Trust is encouraging members of the public, conservation organisations and animal welfare groups to support PE2252 and help secure greater protection and more humane management for Scotland's remaining wild goat herds.