Activists scale NatureScot HQ in guga hunt protest

Two activists have climbed onto the roof of NatureScot's headquarters calling for an end to the centuries old guga hunt in the Western Isles.

The men, dressed as gannets, scaled the building in the Leachkin area of Inverness at about 04:00, where they unveiled a banner calling on the public body to revoke the licence issued permitting the hunt.

The annual guga hunt dates back to the 15th Century and involves the killing of young gannets on the small uninhabited island of Sula Sgeir, approximately 40 miles (64km) north of Lewis.

NatureScot has closed its offices for the day for staff safety, with police, fire and ambulance personnel all in attendance.

Each year, a group of men from Ness in Lewis head to Sula Sgeir for two weeks, where about 500 young gannets are killed for their meat.

The group, Abolish the Guga Hunt, said it believed there was no reason for the hunt to continue, describing it as "morally wrong".

NatureScot said the hunt was recognised in law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, with a licence granted for the purpose of providing food.

The nature agency added that after reviewing survey data, it had reduced the number of birds that could be taken from 2,000 to 500 on the condition that all birds were killed humanely.

A spokesperson said the measures would ensure the gannet population on Sula Sgeir remained "stable for the future".