'Someone might lose their life before government listens' - Young gamekeepers on muirburn clampdown
Young gamekeepers have called for an urgent meeting with ministers.
Young gamekeepers have warned someone might have to die putting out a wildfire before ministers listen to rural workers on muirburn policy.
The calls come after nearly 100 gamekeepers put themselves at risk to help the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service extinguish flames that ripped through Moray and part of the Cairngorms about a month ago.
The two separate fires raging at the same time were recorded as the biggest in Scotland’s history, according to a Scottish Land & Estates report commissioned by the Scottish Government.
The group of young gamekeepers, who are members of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), have called for an urgent meeting with ministers to warn them that their goodwill hangs in the balance due to “unworkable” new licensing restrictions on muirburn, which they claim will cause more wildfires.
Gamekeeper Ed Jaundrell said: “Sadly, I think it might take someone to lose their life before Government listens. If we don’t manage fuel, it will simply get too dangerous.
“I am relieved we avoided that, this time, in the Cairngorms because it was close at times.”
Rules on the age-old land management practice tightened with the introduction of the new Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill last year.
Anyone wishing to carry out muirburn, used for both wildfire management by reducing “fuel load” - the build up of vegetation - and game conservation, will be required to measure peat depth using probes before applying for a license to see if burning is appropriate.
The new rules have been criticised as being complex and unworkable, with the SGA claiming probing survey work could take some up to 60 days at “vast financial cost”, with no licence guaranteed. One Scottish estate said some 12,000 individual points would have to be probed on just one section of the land if the new rules were followed.
Gamekeeper Craig Hepburn, a member of the SGA’s Youth Committee, said: “The licensing scheme and proposed new [Muirburn] Code are completely unworkable. Even where licences are granted the Code will make it almost impossible to carry out prescribed burning, which will have a negative impact on biodiversity and wildfire mitigation.
”As people, it goes against the grain for us to turn our backs on anyone but, if Government is going to tie us in knots when we are trying to help, why should folk keep putting their lives at risk?
“There are NGOs and government agencies that don’t help at any wildfires and don’t have any mitigations in place, either. Yet we are having our hands tied everywhere.”
There are concerns the new peat probing laws and curbs on steep slope burning will take vast hectares of ground out of fuel load management. With 2025, so far, seeing more wildfires than any year bar 2017 and 2018, gamekeepers said this is a dangerous approach.
Young keeper Malcolm Downie said the new laws on peat depth and slopes will severely limit controlled burning where he works, with rocky ground making access for cutting, an alternative method to reduce fuel load, too dangerous.
“There seems to be confusion between wildfires and prescribed burning,” he said.
“Wildfires burn uncontrollably causing extensive damage to habitat and soils whilst controlled burning removes the top layer of vegetation reducing fuel and encouraging regeneration of plant species.
“We don’t believe there is any damage done to peatland during muirburn. It would be of no benefit to us, or the environment, if it was.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson pointed to agriculture minister Jim Fairlie’s visit to the recent wildfire locations last month, adding: “During that visit we discussed the permitted purposes in the licensing scheme to create firebreaks and reduce fuel load, the changes we’ve already made to the implementation date to make the transition easier and how open we are to working together to ensure the scheme is pragmatic and workable, while delivering the benefits we know responsible muirburn promotes.
“We would be happy to meet with SGA again to discuss how best to implement the licensing scheme effectively.”
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