Seòmar agus comataidhean

Given that the cause of deaths of the whooper swans in the Fairnington area of the Scottish Borders in December 2017 and January 2018 were inconclusive, there is no guarantee that any steps the Scottish Government takes would prevent a repeat scenario.

The Scottish Government is not aware of any issues that make the regulation system for the use of lead ammunition in firearms not fit for purpose.

For any goose shooting under publicly funded schemes, non-lead shot is required to be used over wetlands as set out in The Environmental Protection (Restriction of Use on Lead Shot) (Scotland) (No.2) Regulations 2004.

For the Greylag Adaptive Management Pilots in Orkney, Tiree & Coll, Lewis & Harris and Uist, only non-lead shotgun ammunition was purchased by Scottish Natural Heritage.

For the Islay Adaptive Management Scheme, where lethal control is undertaken by a combination of farmers and employed marksmen, non-lead shot is used over wetlands and additional training is provided on the use of non-lead shot.

In addition, over non wetland areas, practitioners are strongly encouraged to move to using non-lead shot through awareness raising and training.

Five of the sixteen recovered whooper swan carcases found dead in the Fairnington area in the Scottish Borders inDecember 2017 were identified as having died from lead poisoning as a result of ingesting lead of an unknown type and that they had not been shot.

The cause of death for the remaining eleven whooper swans was not identified although, as they were found in exactly the same set of circumstances, it is highly likely they suffered the same fate. However, this could not be confirmed during post mortem due to the advanced state of decomposition in most of the carcases.

It is not possible to say where and when the swans ingested the lead. It is understood the swans migrated from Iceland to the UK for the winter and the lead could have been ingested anywhere on that journey or before, during or after. There is no evidence to suggest the swans ingested the lead over a wetland area, although this remains a possibility. There is no wildfowling undertaken at the location where they were found.

The Scottish Government has regular contact with its major animal welfare stakeholders. Scottish Government officials have discussed, and corresponded on, an increase to the penalties for animal cruelty offences with a number of animal welfare organisations, including the Scottish SPCA, and a number of representatives from Scottish local authorities. Officials last met representatives of the Scottish local authorities and SPCA on 3 May 2018 to discuss this topic.

The Scottish Parliament was informed, in response to S5W-16095 on 1 May 2018, the Scottish Government will introduce the legislation when the most suitable legislative vehicle has been identified and it will come into force on approval by the Scottish Parliament.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Whilst there are constraints, under State Aids regulations, on the public sector in terms of the financial support available to large seafood businesses such as Young's Seafood, since 2008 Scottish Enterprise has provided £70,500 of financial support to Young’s Seafood covering a number of projects across their three core sites at Fraserburgh, Livingston and Annan. This support covered a range of projects, including training, innovation and capital expenditure. In addition, Scottish Enterprise Account Managers and Technical Specialists have provided intellectual advice and support covering business efficiency, environmental and renewable issues, workforce programmes and innovation.

In 2015 a Scottish Government task force worked closely with Young’s Seafood at its Fraserburgh site following the loss of a large contract. The task force initiated a range of small projects with Young’s in an effort to continue production at that site, including a market analysis, training plan, and an environmental assessment.

The Scottish Government has not awarded any contracts to the Kier Group over the period from May 2016.

Scotland remains well connected through a range of multimodal services operating from ports throughout Scotland. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the specific impact to the economy of the withdrawal of the DFDS Rosyth-Zeebrugge freight ferry service. However I have been in contact with various stakeholders, including Forth Ports, to ensure that efforts are being made to minimise disruption to those who used the route and that they are aware of alternative services available to them.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with the UK Government regarding the fire on the Finlandia Seaways vessel. However, I have held discussions with both Forth Ports and DFDS following the announcement that the route was to be cancelled and will be meeting with Forth Ports in the near future to discuss this further.

The terms for purchasing the MV Hamnavoe, the MV Hjaltland and the MV Hrossey are commercially sensitive. Release of this information would be in breach of the confidentiality agreements with the vendor, the Royal Bank of Scotland.