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03/08/2021

Police Scotland refuse to name 112 marksmen licenced to kill seals!

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch's Freedom of Information request to Police Scotland for the names of marksmen licenced to kill seals on salmon farms and any prosecutions has been refused (2 March 2021).

 

Police Scotland FOI refusal 2 March 2021 re marksmen & prosecutions #1

Police Scotland FOI refusal 2 March 2021 re marksmen & prosecutions #2

 

 

 

Police Scotland FOI refusal 2 March 2021 re marksmen & prosecutions #3

Police Scotland FOI refusal 2 March 2021 re marksmen & prosecutions #4

 

Police Scotland FOI refusal 2 March 2021 re marksmen & prosecutions #5

 

Download letter in full as a PDF online here

 

 

Here's Scottish Salmon Watch's FOI request filed with Police Scotland on 8 February 2021:

 

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 8, 2021 at 1:17 PM
Subject: FOI re. Licences to Kill Seals Issued by Police Scotland for Marksmen since 1 Jan 2020
To: FOI <[email protected]>
Please provide information on licences to kill seals issued by Police Scotland - including the names of 'nominated marksmen' - since 1 January 2020.
 
Please include copies of any firearms certificates, licences and any other official documents pertaining to the legal discharge of guns by marksmen to kill seals. 
 
Please include information on cases involving the illegal use of firearms by marksmen, salmon farmers or any other parties in relation to the killing of seals on salmon farms. 
 
As context, information disclosed by the Scottish Government on 1 February 2021 via FOI-202000118346 redacted the names of 'nominated marksmen' which were "issued by Police Scotland" for dozens of licences to kill seals. 
 
These included three nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for Scottish Sea Farms:
 
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Nine nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for Cooke Aquaculture:
 
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Four nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for Mowi:
 
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Six nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for The Scottish Salmon Company:
 
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Three nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for Loch Duart:
 
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Eight nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for Mowi (in relation to other sites);
 
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Five nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland to Kames:
 
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Six nominated marksmen issued by Police Scotland for Scottish Sea Farms (other sites named):
 
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Another licence for the North West Salmon Management Group (which includes salmon farms operated by Wester Ross and Loch Duart) is so redacted it is difficult to say if Police Scotland issued the nominated marksmen licences or how many marksmen are listed but it could be 10:
 
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Scottish Salmon Watch assumes that the nominated marksmen may be the same or contain repeat names on different licences but there may be over a dozen marksmen.  Please therefore provide their names and the documentation pertaining to their licence to kill seals on salmon farms in Scotland.  
 
Scottish Salmon Watch strongly belives that naming the marksmen is a public interest issue.  In fact, back in 2012 an article in The Scotsman newspaper featured a marksman who killed seals on behalf of salmon farms: https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/seal-killing-vital-part-preserving-scottish-salmon-1640353
 
 
 
The Scottish Government FOI disclosure (FOI-202000118346) on 1 February 2021 also cited a case involving a seal killed by Mowi in Loch Ewe which was outwith their licence (i.e. illegal) which Scottish Government officials stated was passed onto Police Scotland's Wildlife Crime Unit.
 
Here's the relevant emails:
 
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Please therefore provide any information held by Police Scotland in relation to this case and any others involving seals killed by salmon farms since 1 January 2020. 
 
Please consider this a formal request for information under the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.
 
Please provide a receipt for this FOI request.
 
Please provide the information electronically.
 
Thanks,
 
 
Don Staniford
 
Director, Scottish Salmon Watch

 

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch is calling on workers inside the salmon farming industry in Scotland to blow the whistle on the illegal killing of seals, mass mortalities, disease problems, toxic chemical use, welfare abuse and any other cruel practices (please email Don Staniford via [email protected]).  Last week's press release - and The Daily Mirror expose - stemmed from a tip-off from a whistlelower in October 2020:

 

PR Illegal Killing of Seals by Scottish Salmon Farms 25 Feb 2021 #7 Mowi whistleblower

 

 

 

 

 

 

PR Illegal Killing of Seals by Scottish Salmon Farms 25 Feb 2021 #14 Marksmen redacted

 

 

A video published by Lush in August 2018 featured five dead seals washed up on a beach near salmon farms in Shetland.

 

 

 

The Sunday Post reported in February 2019:

 

Sunday Post Feb 2019 #2

Sunday Post Feb 2019 #3

Sunday Post Feb 2019 #4

 

 

 

In March 2019, the Scottish Government replied to a Freedom of Information request filed by Scottish Salmon Watch:

 

Cooke £2 000 fine March 2019 FOI SG

 

Read more news via:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data Analysis of 1000 Seals Killed by Salmon Farms (2011 to 2020) #1

 

Download PDF in full via: Data Analysis - Lethal Scottish Salmon: the Norwegian-owned companies killing seals in Scotland! (1,000+ seals slaughtered since 2011)

Posted at 03:39 AM |

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