Scottish government increases funding for culling Uist geese

The Scottish government says it has provided an additional £20,000 to pay for culling greylag geese in North and South Uist in the Western Isles.

Thousands of greylag geese feed on machair, which are coastal meadows also used for growing crops and grazing livestock.

The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) said last month there were too many geese and requested more support for culls so crofters and birds could "live in balance".

Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie said the extra money meant the annual budget for controls in Uist would now be £30,000.

Fairlie said machair was one of Scotland's" most remarkable living landscapes".

He added: "We have a responsibility to protect its existence and maintain internationally important biodiversity benefits, iconic species of wildflowers, waders, corncrake and bumblebees.

"Traditional crofting on the machair is about sustaining people and nature."

The agriculture minister said increasing numbers of greylag geese had been causing "considerable damage" to crops, and crofters were having to cut silage earlier in the year to secure winter feed for cattle.

The minister said this was having a knock-on effect on rare birds called corncrake, and wild flowers.

Holyrood's cross-party group on crofting had also written to the Scottish government to call for more funding for shooting schemes.

Crofters have previously warned of the threat posed by geese to their way of life.

Four years ago, SCF claimed there had been an "explosion" in numbers of the birds.

Greylag are the largest breed of wild goose native to the British Isles, and their preferred habitat is farmland, wetland and grassland.