Usan salmon fishers at work.
An open letter from John F. Robins, Animal Concern Scotland
Aileen McLeod, MSP
Aileen McLeod
Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG
Scotland
Dear Minister:
I write concerning Usan Salmon Fisheries Ltd., which trades as the Scottish Wild Salmon Company. Last month at Forfar Sheriff Court, Usan director George Pullar admitted nine breaches of salmon conservation legislation. Yesterday Usan was fined £7,000 for these serious crimes against wildlife conservation law.
George Pullar is a member of the Stakeholder Reference Group established to advise you on the detailed proposals for new legislation on wild fisheries in Scotland arising from the Wild Fisheries Reform consultation.
Nine organizations were chosen by the Scottish Government to form this Stakeholder Reference Group. Regretfully and astonishingly not one of those nine organizations has fish conservation, fish welfare or wildlife protection as their main remit.
George Pullar in 2013, complaining about abundance of jellyfish in depleted Scottish waters. (Usan Salmon photo)
I ask you to immediately remove George Pullar from the Stakeholder Reference Group and replace him with someone whose main concern is fish conservation, fish welfare, and wildlife protection.
Failure to do this would indicate that the Scottish government prefers to take advice from wildlife criminals rather than conservationists and animal welfarists. Are people who commit wildlife crimes really the type of people who should be advising the Scottish government on wildlife conservation legislation?
Now that Usan Salmon Fisheries Limited has been convicted and sentenced on numerous counts of wildlife crime, I also request that you immediately rescind all seal shooting licenses issued to USAN and/or directors and employees of the company.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Usan salmon nets.
John F. Robins
Campaigns Consultant
Animal Concern
Post Office Box 5178
Dumbarton, Scotland G82 5YJ.
(See also Scottish minister admits allowing Gamekeepers’ Association to write policy.)
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Horrible, hypocritical in the extrme, and unfortunately, all too common.
I am flabbergasted that the fox should be in charge of the chickens, so to speak. What the heck is the Scottish government doing here? It is showing that it has basically scant regard for salmon, game, or whatever else it wants to abuse, against many voters’ wishes and against the pretty name of ‘conservation. OK, so let’s have criminals in charge of the justice system, but give it an authoritative name, to show willing. But show is all it is. Now the Scottish government has joined certain corporations in whitewash/greenwash – or basically lying, in my opinion. Are they really that desperate?