Huge numbers of deer would be slaughtered
As chairman and committee member of the Sutherland branch of the SSPCA we are horrified to learn that Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) in its draft habitat management plan for Gordonbush Estate, have recommended that huge numbers of deer from throughout East Sutherland and probably further afield be lured, through rich feeding, to the Gordonbush estate, corralled and then killed.
It is left to the reader’s imagination to picture the panic, fear and terror these animals will endure. By their very numbers it will be horrific! Is this humane?
That some culling is inevitable is a reality of estate management. But it must be controlled and strictly monitored. Do we really want a repeat performance here of the dreadful slaughter that has taken place on other Scottish estates, such as near Fort William? Let us rather follow the example of public opinion in Strathglass, Inverness-shire, which prevented the culling taking place.
It is also a fact that many estate jobs will disappear as the deer herds dwindle. What do we tell tourists who scan our hills for the “invisible stag” – that we have sat back and let it happen? Most animal species can withstand some number loss but few can sustain a huge loss.
We also most heartily object to the planned wind farm access through the villages of Golspie and Brora. What these constant heavy loads will do to the foundations of housing and structure of bridges along the route one shudders to think.
Our daily lives are bound to be disrupted by traffic jams etc. And what of this scenario – doctor or ambulance urgently needed north of Brora bridge but prevented by wind turbines blocking the said bridge? It could, quite simply, cost lives.
Finally, a review of the ornithology data provided by SSE for Scottish Natural Heritage in 2005 is condemning in its deficiency.
The executive summary states that the quality of the data is poor and sketchy. Because of their vulnerability to disturbance there is a very real risk that the only breeding pair of golden eagles on Gordonbush estate will vanish. The plight of the golden plover is equally alarming.
The proposed wind farm site has been recorded as one of the most prolific areas in an otherwise declining Scotland for this species – yet this fact has been conveniently pushed aside. These birds need our protection, not massive disruption of habitat.
Let us never forget that we are the present day custodians of our impressive natural heritage and, as such, have a duty and responsibility not to sign it away but to preserve it for future generations.
Bill and Betty Faassen de Heer, Sycamore Cottage, Mosshill, Brora.
4 September 2008
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