 The final item of business today is members' business debate on motion 8342 in the name of Marie-Gougiant on Heads Up for Harriers project under all of species champions. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would ask those members who wish to take part in the debate to press the request and speak buttons. I call on Marie-Gougiant to open the debate. Seven minutes, please. I really wanted to start this debate tonight by taking the second part of my motion first. I thank Graham Day for all the work that he's done in promoting the species champion initiative, because if it hadn't been for that then I wouldn't have been bringing forward this debate today in my role as the species champion for the hen harrier, which sadly is a red listed species of conservation concern. I think that it would also be quite fair to say that when I took on the role I don't think I knew what I was really letting myself in for, because this role has honestly been one of the most challenging and contentious things I've undertaken in this Parliament, but I am so glad that I did and that we have the dedicated time to discuss this today, because in spite of that, my interest today is exactly the same as it was when I assumed my role as species champion for the hen harrier, and that is the welfare of the bird itself, a magnificent raptor that I want to see flourish in Scotland. Unfortunately, however, we're not at that stage yet, and one of the main reasons for that has been the illegal persecution of the species over a long period of time. Historically, the hen harrier was persecuted to extinction on the mainland UK in the 19th century. A population survived an orcney and during the 20th century harriers managed to re-establish themselves back on the mainland. In some areas, the population grew to the level that you would expect due to the suitability of the habitat. In most areas, though, harriers were still the subject of persecution. That continues to be one of the main reasons why there are so few raptors today. Across Scotland, we have the habitat for the species to exist. Almost half of Scotland has habitat capable of supporting a hen harrier territory, with nearly 37,000 square kilometres predicted to be suitable for breeding harriers. Work carried out by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee based on three national surveys of hen harriers in 1998, 2004 and 2010, and, using their predictive modelling, estimated that the national hen harrier population of Scotland should be in the range of 1,467 to 1,790 breeding pairs. Instead, we have fewer than 500. The latest hen harrier survey shows that there are only 460 breeding pairs, a fall from 505 in 2010. In the last 12 years, the population has dropped by 27 per cent. Harriers are particularly scarce in my constituency of Angus North and Merns, an area where they have existed in the past. The British Trust for Ornithology bird track service recorded only nine sightings of harriers in Angus and eight sightings in Aberdeenshire for 2017 so far. So what is being done about it? Since the Natural Justice Initiative in 2008, the Scottish Government has had in place a process for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of wildlife crime. There is the partnership for action against wildlife crime, or Paw in Scotland, and the Paw Scotland raptor group, whose membership comprises representatives from a variety of organisations and sectors, including the police, shooting industry, the science community and conservation groups, with the ultimate aim of reducing raptor crime. With so many groups on board, you would think that harrier conservation would be progressing, yet that has not necessarily been the case. Only this year we have had the disappearance of hen harrier kaluna and the shooting of a hen harrier in Lead Hills. In terms of enforcement, this kind of crime is particularly hard to prosecute. Evidence that I heard directly is part of my time on the Justice Committee when we held an inquiry into the crime office. The nature of the crime means that it happens in remote areas, particularly hard to police, given the huge areas that wildlife crime officers are expected to cover. I attended the hen harrier day at RSPB Loch Leven reserve in the summer, along with Andy Wightman and Alexander Stewart, where we heard from those involved in investigations across the UK looking at the simply horrific footage of what is being done to those birds and hearing about how hard the cases have been to prosecute, in Scotland particularly because of the laws and corroborations. I will all be aware of the case earlier this year, where there was video evidence of a hen harrier actually being shot, but the evidence was deemed inadmissible in court. The Scottish Government produced the satellite tagging review earlier this year, with measures introduced by the cabinet secretary as a result of that. I look forward to hearing about how those are progressing and the hope that they will tackle some of those issues identified. In terms of prevention of crime and supporting conservation, one issue at the heart of all this is the lack of trust between conservation groups and the commercial interests of the owners of upland habitat—a lack of trust that I completely understand, but something that the Heads Up for Harriers project in particular is trying to tackle. The project is led by Scottish Natural Heritage for Paul Scotland, who works with the states to identify, monitor and protect hen harrier nests. The project is vitally important because it highlights the other reasons why hen harrier nests fail and gives a fuller picture of what the species is up against. I met with SNH the wildlife crime unit in Scotland in the states to discuss the project and saw for myself the other factors that can lead to the failure of nests, including fox attacks and chicks simply overheating. The project is still in its early stages, but the number of states involved has gradually increased over the past few years, from five to years ago to 21 states this year. The number of states managed for driven grouse who are part of the project has risen from three in 2015 to 14 this year. The number of states with successful nests has risen from two in 2015 to six this year, with 37 young successfully fledged. 21 states is only a fraction of those that exist across Scotland, but I urge the many others to get involved and get onside with the project. While Heads Up for Harriers has its critics, we have seen the number of successful nests and successful fledglings increase, and that can only be a good thing. Another positive is the work carried out by the Langa Mour demonstration project, which has been running since 2008 until this year, where the use of different techniques, such as diversionary feeding, has seen populations of hen harriers grow alongside grouse, though the final findings are still to be published. Again, a project not without its critics but a hugely important piece of work. If my role as species champion has taught me anything, it is that this is an extremely complex issue and that there is such a delicate balance to be found in the conservation of this hugely vital and important species. I genuinely want to thank Kelvin Thompson, Duncan or Ewing, Ian Thompson and the countless others who have taken the time to meet with me and to help me to get to grips with some of the issues involved. Heads Up for Harriers may not be the immediate panacea to this, but it is a promising step in the right direction. Along with the likes of the Langa Mour demonstration project, they show how a balance can be achieved. We need to take every available measure to crack down on the serious crime that takes place against raptors and tackle the illegal persecution that we have all seen the direct evidence of and which has brought this species to the verge of extinction. At the same time, we have to recognise the good work that is taking place. We cannot tar all the states with the same brush and we need to recognise the positive steps that some estates and some gamekeepers are taking to promote the species. We need conservation groups and shooting interests to set aside their natural distrust and try to work together, because only then do we have a hope of protecting and encouraging the growth and numbers of this magnificent species. We move to the open debate. The speeches have up to four minutes, please. I call Donald Cameron to be followed by Christine Grahame. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I refer to my register of interests and the fact that I own a land holding in the Highland region? I would like to begin by thanking Mary Gougeon for bringing this important issue to Parliament. As a species champion for the Merlin, I have a keen interest in the conservation and protection of our indigenous birds of prey, especially the Merlin. Having met recently with the Scottish raptor monitoring scheme, I would like to recognise their crucial work in surveying birds of prey in Scotland. Indeed, members of the SRMS won the Political Advocate of the Year award at the recent Nature of Scotland awards—further proof of the important work that they have carried out. It is important to appreciate, as Mary Gougeon has already said, the wide range of factors that influence raptor populations. In other words, in addition to human persecution, birds of prey face existing underlying pressures through indirect human activity and processes such as urbanisation, which may cause habitat loss, for instance. Merlin populations were heavily affected by organ chloride pesticides from the 1950s and the species hit an all-time low in the 1960s. Despite a decrease in pesticide contamination levels since the 1980s, the Merlin is still the most heavily contaminated species of raptor in the UK, according to the RSPB. Although populations have been slow to recover, they have been hindered further by human activity, which can directly affect the success rate of breeding, for instance. In 2015, Merlin had the highest percentage of breeding failures caused by direct human activity. However, as we are all aware, deliberate and illegal persecution continues to threaten the very existence of raptors. We need to end the persecution and find a way in which we can grow and sustain raptor populations within Scotland. There has been much criticism of those in the grouse industry who actively persecute birds of prey. We all acknowledge that grouse shooting is an important industry for the rural economy of our country, and the vast majority of land managers, whether they are owners or employees, use sustainable environmental management practices to a high standard and operate within the law. It is important to note that many estates carry out measures to conserve and preserve raptor populations. Although I have become quite ingrained in issues around Merlin, I did not know a lot about Harriers until the Heads Up for Harriers project debate. I commend Mary Gougeon for promoting that work, and I was delighted to see that 21 estates have signed up to the project. Raising awareness is only one side of the coin, and we need to work with those projects and estates to encourage an active role in the protection of birds of prey. In my view, collaboration is key, and I note the supportive brief ring from Scottish Land and the States provided today. The Heads Up for Harriers project is certainly a model to be followed in other parts of Scotland. We have to acknowledge that there remains a small minority of people who continue to take extreme and illegal measures to increase grouse populations and do so by a number of actions, including unlawful persecution of raptors. Those actions are deplorable and should be condemned by us all. One of the main challenges that we face in the conservation of these birds is collecting data. The number of confirmed cases of persecution fluctuates, notably largely due to the fact that cases are stumbled upon by chance. The Scottish raptor study group insists that those cases are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the real figure of crimes committed. That is why the work of groups, such as the Heads Up for Harriers project and the Scottish raptor monitoring scheme, is so important because their continuing efforts to gather more data will help us to establish how best to deal with the issue. However, and I would like to close on that, there is room for optimism. That problem is not beyond our control. Over the past 30 years, we have seen several raptor species recovering numbers such as buzzers, which are now common in many parts of Scotland, and ospreys that have seen significant investment in nest protection schemes. I am acutely aware of ospreys' success in my own home of Lochaber. Through raising awareness and encouraging active engagement with conservation schemes such as this, I am confident that we can save our indigenous birds of prey from extinction. I call Christine Grahame to be followed by David Stewart. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I congratulate Mary Gougeon on securing this debate and declaring an interest as a member of the RSPB. I speak in a more light-hearted vein as species champion for the house sparrow. With every right as every morning without fail, I feed a flock of some 20, which commute from my neighbour's holy tree to my plentiful feeding stations, take a dip in another neighbour's bird bath, preen themselves, perch to my weeping birch and then return to the safety of the holy tree. They have living the good life down to a tea. However, let me take you back 66 million years when dinosaurs rule the world. Then an asteroid struck what is now the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, sending a rain of debris around the world that set every forest ablaze and blocked out the sun for several years with the soot, ash and debris thrown into the atmosphere. Life on earth was devastated, but the sun blocked out plants that would have died off around the whole globe, decimating the plant-eating dinosaurs and the carnivores that preyed on them. Only seeds may have survived, so to a small group of dinosaurs existing primarily on seeds and insects, something teeth wouldn't be necessary for. Birds have no teeth. That brings us to the house sparrow. As a small seed-eating bird, it's very close to the kind of dinosaur that would have survived that mass extinction, whose size would have allowed some to be hidden and sheltered when the blast wave came and its seed-eating habits would have given it a plentiful supply of food. That leads me to the observation that we don't hear very often. Are we listening to bird song, or is it dinosaur song in the morning? That diversion explains why that wee unglamorous bird to this day knows how to make it through life's challenges. I conclude as I have before quoting Norman Macaig's poem, Sparrow, that wraps it all up. Sparrow, he's no artist, his taste in clothes is more dowdy than gaudi, and his nest, that blackbird writing pretty scrolls on the air with the gold nib of his beak, would call it a slum, to stalk solitary on lawns, to sing solitary in midnight trees, to glide solitary over great Atlantic, not for him. He's rather a punch-up in a gutter. He carries what learning he has likely. It is in fact based only on the usefulness whose result is survival, a proletarian bird, no scholar, but when the winter soft shoes in and these other birds, ballet dancers, musicians, architects, die in the snow and freeze to branches, watch him happily flying on the O-levels and A-levels of the air. Yes, his dinosaur predecessor survived the asteroid attack, so really it's no skin of his beak to survive a Scottish winter. I call David Stewart to be followed by Graham Day. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I start by congratulating Mary Gougeon for securing the debate in the chamber this evening. I thank her also for her work for species champion for hen haliers, and she seemed to be extremely conscientious in that, and I think she gave her excellent speech this evening. I myself am species champion for the great yellow bumble bee, and once a year at these debates the great yellow bumble bee badge gets taken out of the box, so I can proudly wear it in the chamber. A species once found across the whole of the UK, but now only on the north coast of Scotland and some of the islands. Like the great yellow bumble bee, hen haliers are facing, as we've heard, serious decline and need urgent help. This is why it's so important that we get the opportunity to congratulate the Head Sat for hen haliers project and discuss the further work that needs to be done to protect these birds. According to the latest study by RSPB, numbers of this iconic raptor have fallen by nearly 10 per cent since 2010. Hen haliers, as we've heard, are down to 500 breeding pairs, which makes the species vulnerable to the effect of habitat, degradation and wildlife crime. Studies suggest that the main reason to decline in hen haliers numbers is persecution, illegal killings and trapping of nesting pairs, and the number of haliers near driven grousmure areas is particularly low, and in some areas are even regionally extinct. The hen haliers are wonderful birds of prey, native to Scotland and hold much interest due to the male skydancing mating display to attract females, circling the ground and then plummeting to the earth before sweeping up at the last moment, rolling over and head down again. I would recommend that perhaps for Christmas parties that people want to try and intimidate that or interpret that. With over 80 per cent of the UK population being based in Scotland, it's extremely worrying sound when the numbers here drop. By the end of the 19th century, the Kurumi found in the northern and western isles where there was no persecution of them, and conservationists have been working extremely hard since then, and for numbers peaked in the 1960s and 70s, they've started to decline again. As we've heard in 2017 this year, 21 estates signed up to the Head Start for Hen Haliers scheme, and seven estates, a successful nest with 37 young fledgings, but still more needs to be done. Getting more estates, particularly those with grouse moors, signed up to the project, would increase research on how many young there are, but their work can't stop at the nest. Once the chicks leave, illegal persecution is still a problem. Almost all the losses have occurred in areas managed intensively for driven grouse shooting. There should be more investment in satellite tagging. The birds must be monitored so their progress can be followed. I would strongly endorse the RSPB's life project, which incorporates satellite tagging on-the-ground monitoring, nest protection and work with volunteers to protect hen haliers across Northern England, Southern and Eastern Scotland. We also need to support the SSPC and the police in cracking down on wildlife crime across Scotland and ensuring that the penalty's unconviction rates are increased significantly. I thank the member again for initiating the debate. Hen Haliers, in my view, is a barometer of the health of a biodiversity in rural Scotland. We must support every initiative and every opportunity to support the iconic raptor. I call Graeme Dey to be followed by Andy Wightman. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Allow me to begin by congratulating Marie Gougeon for securing the debate. I apologise to you in the chamber for having to leave before the debates concluded to another engagement. The issue of hen haliers or lack of in areas of Scotland is a deeply serious matter. The polarised nature of the views on the subject also sadly reflects the nature of the wider argument around raptor persecution. There is nothing that can be done to change the past, the unacceptable criminal historic persecution of the birds. Without seeking to gloss over what may have happened, I want to focus on the here and now and the future, which, undoubtedly, must have the heads-up for Haliers project at its heart. Although the headline figures of having 21 estates participating in the scheme that was produced 37 young this year are pleasing, particularly when 11 of those estates are located in the Angus Gwends in Aberdeenshire, which has such a poor reputation around hen haliers, I was more intrigued by some of the underlying data. I told a lot of 11 nests that were monitored with nine producing those 37 birds. Incidentally, that compares with five nests fledging 14 chicks in 2016. However, the reasons behind the failure of the other two nests were what caught my eye. In the first instance, it was down to fox predation, and with the other, which was located on a grouse moor in the Angus Gwends, an area where notoriously no hen haliers have been recorded for many years, natural causes was at the root of it. In the black and white world of raptor persecution, the absence of hen haliers or nest failure is almost inevitably blamed on illegal activity. Let's be clear that such activity is utterly unacceptable, but here we have evidence to back the counter argument that sometimes, although not as often as some might argue, there are other explanations. That is why we need to clamp down hard. On human predators, so there has to be a role for managing others. For those of us who occupy that middle ground of whoring raptor persecution but frustrated by the attitude and approach adopted by some at the other end of the argument, evidence is the key to making progress. I would contend that enforcing the moored burn code by ensuring that potential hen harrier habitat is not removed by burning health sides of a certain gradient in breach of the regulation. That is the only way in which we will challenge those who are absolutely— Claudia Beamish I agree with the member that, in terms of persecution, it is very important that we analyse the possibility of not having to be corroboration for the terrible crimes that go ahead because of the remoteness of the areas in which they happen. Led Hills in my constituency is an example of this possibility. Graham Dey I think that that is a difficult subject to address in a debate of this nature tonight. As I say, I think that it is only with evidence that it is only by enforcing the moored burn code properly will we challenge those who are guilty of exaggeration and those who are indulging in deflection and denial and make the kind of progress the overwhelming majority of us want to see made. To that end, let's send a message from this Parliament tonight that we want to see many more estates, particularly those involved in driven grouse shooting, participating in the scheme, thereby restoring species numbers and developing our understanding of the impediments to that. Mary Gougeon's motion references not only her champion of the hen harrier but the wider species champion programme. I am proud to be an active participant in that. Rather than wax lyrical about my role, I want to highlight the work of some of the real heroes of the scheme, not the MSPs who front it, not necessarily even the Scottish Environment link or their member organisations, but the people who are out in the field almost daily seeking to save these species. Right at the heart of that stands the staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. I had previously visited the botanics to learn of the work that they were doing to restore woolly willows and heard about their replanting activities in Gwendolyn, my constituency. Three months ago I joined the staff on an expedition to Corrie-Sharwick and saw up close and personal the lengths that they go to in order to deliver those objectives. They were in an area to replant alpine blue-sau thistle, another of the 181 threatened Scottish plant species. I tagged along in order to view nearby woolly willows. Well, I say nearby, the woolly willows were in some rather high altitude inaccessible locations. The heights, the botanists were scaling to plant alpine blue-sau were on another level quite literally. It was dangerous work. These guys are the real heroes of the champions programme. The irony is that, as a non-NGO, the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, are not members of the environment link and therefore are not formally part of the species champion programme. I wish there was time available for me to more fully illustrate the role being carried out by the botanics around this subject, but frankly we would be here all night and I noticed you warning me to wind up. So I'll settle simply for this, for reiterating my absolute respect and admiration for the work that they do. You milked that rather well, Mr D. I'll call Andy Wightman to be followed by Liam McArthur. Thanks, Presiding Officer, and thanks to Mary Gougeon for this debate, which covers two topics, the Heads Up for Harriers project and the role of species champion. I agree with her and other members that the role of these champions is important for raising awareness and promoting the protection of various threatened wildlife. I'm delighted to be one of the 90 species champions currently lending support to this initiative, in my case to the mountain everlasting wildflower. I also endorse the member's concern about her species, the hen harrier, and the need for action to protect the declining Scottish population. However, I cannot support the member's view that the Heads Up for Harriers project has undertaken an, I quote, intense efforts to protect the hen harrier from extinction, nor her assertion that this project has made an, I quote, considerable efforts in trying to reverse the declining population. Rather, the project fails to address the fundamental threat to hen harriers, which is the illegal persecution of the species on some intensively managed driven grouse moors, a fact that is recognised by decades of scientific publications and also acknowledged in the Scottish Government's most recent annual wildlife crime report published just the other week. Indeed, I believe that this project is being used as a greenwashing exercise to hide the criminal activities undertaken by some within the driven grouse shooting industry and to promote the misleading impression that it is voluntarily cooperating to clean up its act. The main objective of this project is, and I quote, to better understand the threats facing hen harriers and ultimately promote recovery of the species by working in partnership with land managers. This is to be achieved by placing cameras at hen harrier nests situated on private estates to identify the cause of nest failure. This is a flawed approach because those intent on killing hen harriers will not target a nest if they know that a camera is present, and so illegal persecution will not officially be identified by the project as a cause of nest failure. Whereas natural causes that we have heard from Graham Day, such as poor weather or fox predation, will be disproportionately recorded when Graham Day talks about an evidence-based approach, the project will obviously result in bias data. Indeed, the grouse shooting industry has already pointed to this as official evidence that hen harrier breeding attempts are only failing due to natural causes and have suggested that illegal hen harrier prosecution is, and I quote, an historical controversy, as Tim Baines of Scottish Land and Estates Moorland Group wrote in June this year. I am happy to do so. I thank you very much for taking a brief intervention. Would the member agree with me that consideration of a consultation on the licensing of driven grassmores would go some way towards analysing this very serious problem of persecution in an appropriate way? Andy Wightman It may do, but the problem with this crime is that it is committed out of sight with no corroboration, as the member herself was pointing out. Therefore, I think that we have limited value in targeting and resolving and getting better data on illegal persecution. In addition to this flawed approach, the issue of transparency, or more important, the lack of it, has been stated and members have raised this, that in the three years that the project has been running, seven of the 11 successful nests were situated on estates managed from driven grouse shooting. This claim is disputed by conservationists who believe that nest cameras have only been deployed on estates where intensive management for driven grouse shooting does not take place. However, when a freedom of information request was submitted, asking for the names of those estates to enable scrutiny of the claim, Scottish Natural Heritage refused to release the information. This is a publicly funded project being used to portray an image of positive co-operation from driven grouse shooting estates in the name of Hen Harrier Conservation, yet the names of the participating estates are being kept secret from the public and even from one of the project's partners. I commend Mary Gougeon for her work and taking up this difficult species, Hen Harrier, but Heads Up for Harriers is a flawed project, which I believe risks undermining the hard work that is needed to eliminate wildlife crime. I thank Mary Gougeon for not just her motion in securing the debate, but, as others have said, for her work as a species champion on behalf of the Hen Harrier. I think that the species champion initiative has been one that has innovative captured the imagination game day, rightfully pointed to the fact that the real champions are those that are doing this day and daily on behalf of the various species. Nevertheless, I think that it has given a profile to an issue that very much needed to be bumped up the agenda. I take my responsibilities as champion of the Scottish Primrose seriously, and I will return to that later on. However, Hen Harriers, as others have said, is certainly in need of championing, as David Stewart indicated. We are the stronghold here in Scotland of 80 per cent of the UK's population, but the most recent Hen Harrier survey showed a worrying decline between 2010 and 2016 of around 9 per cent, the second successive decline in such surveys. I am pleased to say that Orkney, along with the Western Isles, has bucked that trend in that, over that same period, the numbers in Orkney of territorial pairs rose from 74 to 83 per cent, but overall the picture is not at all good. I think that it provides the context for this debate. For considering the heads up for Hen Harriers project, I think that Mary Gougeon very helpfully did this in pointing out the ongoing problems with illegal and deplorable raptor persecution, as well as the impact of habitat loss. I am not wishing in any way to denigrate the efforts of the estates that are participating in the project. They deserve to be commended for what they are doing. However, it should be borne in mind that none represents a raptor persecution hotspot, or it has been suggested that it operates as an intensively managed driven grouse movement. I think that until that is addressed, we would be perhaps well advised not to draw too much comfort or potentially misleading conclusions from what emerges from the project. As I say, it is not a criticism of those taking part, but a cautionary note that I think needs to be entered into this debate. In terms of the current project itself, I think that it might be helpful either for the minister or for him, through one of his colleagues, to confirm whether or not the birds and their observations are tagged. There certainly seems to be a case and a logic for doing so. However, in the limited time that is still available to me and with Mary Gougeon's indulgence, I, like others, will make mention of the Premier of Scotland, whose behalf I have happily volunteered to take up the cudgels. Gail Ross, I thought rather impudently, was laying claim to Orkney's KW postcode in a debate last week. No doubt, she will be quick to point out that the primrose is the county flower of Caithness. On this occasion, I am happy to share with her this most iconic and rarest of flowering plants, the entire global population of which is to be found only in our respective constituencies. In Orkney, its location of choice tends to be the windswept cliffs, dune stacks and headlands along the Atlantic coast. Yesnabee, Hoi and South Walls, Rousey, Westray and Papi—although I gather there are some outliers in Shatonsie as well, which books that trend—but say what you like about the Scottish primrose. It may be tiny, but it is tough as old boots. It does, though, need a helping hand. It needs grassland to be grazed, so the traditional farming practices that have maintained those habitats in the past are vital for its future. In turn, we need to support those farmers committed to carrying out this type of grazing management. If we do not, if we fail to make progress in tackling climate change, flower of Scotland, when will we see your like again? It may be a question that we are asking ourselves sooner rather than later. In conclusion, I thank and congratulate Mary Gougeon again for bringing this debate to the Parliament. I wish her all the best in her endeavours on behalf of the henharrier population. I thank my friend and colleague, Mary Gougeon, not just for bringing this debate to the Parliament, which allows us all to speak about our own species as well, but for all the work that she does to highlight the issues that henharrier faces. When you get made a species champion, you could go down the route of championing something cuter cuddly, or, like Mary Gougeon, a species to campaign for, but you could, like me, go for the high drama and choose something that is a sprawling behemoth, a lifesaver, a record breaker and a spiritual icon. I figured that if you are going to champion anything, best go big or go home, and that is what I have done in choosing to be the champion of the EU, Scotland's oldest tree. When I was a teenager, I can reveal that I was a bit of a goth. It's hard to imagine now, but 16-year-old Gillian Taylor, as I was then, loved a bit of Bauhaus, and this is a mercy. I like to crimp my black-dyed hair, I wore the odd crucifix for non-religious reasons, and never ever wore anything that wasn't black. When the Woodland Trust told me that the EU tree was the tree of death, I was sold. The tree of death, you say? That's a bit depressing, but it's far from depressing because the EU symbolises death and resurrection, mainly because it resurrects itself all the time. When its branches touch the ground, it forms new trunks and so, effectively, it's immortal. It regenerates itself. It's like the Doctor Who of trees. It's the Time Lord of trees. Throughout history, the EU has also been one of the most spiritual of trees. It was a sacred tree for the Druids, representing longevity and regeneration, and for us, kilts, it symbolises death and resurrection. For Christians, it's often associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, hence why it makes an appearance in so many of our churchyards. Of course, the proximity to graves in churchyards might be the reason why, depending on your perspective, it's either very unfortunate or very cool emo nickname. The Fortingall EU, in the constituency of Rosanna Cunningham, is thought to be Scotland's oldest tree. It stands within the churchyard there and has been there for between 3,900 years. One of the myths surrounding it is that Pontius Pilate was born under its branches. That EU is one of the oldest living things in Europe. People like to make connections between their species on why it's appropriate for them. I could be negative about the age thing, but I've decided that I very much like the idea of being associated with longevity. Anyone who's been to see the Fortingall EU will know that the old girl is looking pretty great for her age, so I'd like to try and associate myself with that sentiment also, particularly as next year is the last year of my 40s, so I need all the positive vibes that I can get. The EU is also a lifesaver. Its toxic needles are harvested and used to produce cancer-combatting drugs. In fact, in the incredible pit-medden gardens in my constituency, it has got some of the most stunning new hedges and trees in the whole of Europe, and it sends its new hedge cuttings to pharmaceutical companies for that very purpose. When I visited in the summer, the head gardener gave me my own little yehi, little yew tree, which I now have in my own garden, and I like the idea of us both growing very, very, very old together. The last of the open debate speeches is John Scott. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I begin by declaring an interest as a farmer and an owner of land, which is part of a hen harrier special protected area. I can also congratulate Marie Gougeon on securing her motion for debate this evening and ask members to note that I am the species champion for the grayling butterfly. Presiding Officer, this is a welcome debate tonight, largely on the future of hen harriers, which, as we all know, is regrettably a species very much under threat, and that is why I support the Heads Up for Harriers campaign. It is, of course, a matter of regret that the number of sightings in Scotland in 2016 has fallen by 9 per cent since an earlier study in 2010, but I would note that 2016 was a particularly poor breeding year, and the vagaries of nature have a dramatic effect on breeding patterns of all our birds on our Scottish hills and mountain sides. Andy Wightman I am curious to know how he knows that, given that we do not know the numbers that are illegally killed. John Scott If you check the record, you will find that I said that weather has an effect on the breeding patterns of the mountain sides, but I will check my own notes for myself. Yes, it is a poor breeding year. That is a recorded fact that 2016 was regarded as being a poor breeding year. Having lambed a black-faced sheep in what is now protected hen harrier habitat, I know from bitter experience that lamb crops can vary hugely between good years and bad in the same habitat as hen harriers are trying to breed in. I know all too well what an impact bad weather such as late snow, heavy rain, high winds and frost can have on the survivability of chickens and lambs alike on those moors. In addition, snow, frost, wind and rain and often a lack of sunshine also affects the food supply of hen harriers as well, because in bad weather voles that are a natural food supply of harriers and the staple of fledging chicks also do not breed easily or well either, and so the survivability of hen harrier chickens becomes harder. For example, on 21 April 1981, it is forever enched in my memory when a freak snow storm hit south west Scotland where I farm and I spent days four digging out of snow drifts, using lambs buried in snow at this most unexpected time of year for snowfall. Working from dawn till dusk and beyond on that occasion, we only lost about 25 lambs that year because of this unseasonal blizzard, but neighbours I know lost over 100 lambs and I would constantly bet that 1981 was also a bad year for hen harrier chick survival. In addition, fox control or the lack of it, particularly on land adjoining forestry, reduces all-round nesting birds' abilities to rear chickens, affecting peeweats, curlews and snite, as well as hen harriers. That is a growing problem with forestry planting targets increasing—of course I am in favour of that—but nonetheless, it is a growing problem with foxes coming out of forestry areas on to open moorland to hunt for food. While it may be different now that the Forestry Commission is coming under control of the Scottish Government, certainly in the past the Forestry Commission did not control foxes or other vermin within its forests. While forestry land provides terrific breeding habitat for foxes and crows, its natural food supplies are much reduced by blanket, sick or spruce afforestation, and those predators have to find food on adjoining moorland and farland, namely ground nesting birds. Given that the Forestry Commission has historically not controlled foxes or carrion crows, will the new Forestry Commission under the Scottish Government control now consider taking on that responsibility in order to play their part in reducing fox predation of hen harriers and other ground nesting birds? Indeed, it is worth noting the correlation and the decline of other moorland ground nesting birds, where there is no suggestion of human persecution and comparing the rates of decline of hen harriers. I welcome the fact that 21 estates have now signed up to the Heads Up for Harriers project. Notwithstanding the alleged predation of hen harriers by land managers, I still believe that the safest place for hen harriers to raise chicks is on a well-managed grouse moor, where foxes are kept under control and a good supply of voles and grouse chickens exist. I hope that more estates will join in this scheme and I hope that hen harriers numbers are restored in the future, notwithstanding the pressures that they face. I now call Jo FitzPatrick to respond to this debate. I want to start by congratulating Mary Gougeon on securing the opportunity for the Parliament to help to raise the profile of the hen harrier and the challenges that the iconic bird faces and to allow our other species champions to raise awareness of their species. I think that what was important was that we heard that this is not just about cuddly animals, it crosses the animal plant kingdom and we heard from Liam McArthur, I can't read more writing, Gillian Martin and Andy Wightman that they are champions for plants of different sizes. I think that there has been a very interesting debate and there has been many valuable points that have been made. As I mentioned, the hen harrier does indeed face some serious challenges. There has been a worrying 27 per cent decrease in territorial pairs in Scotland over the past 12 years. Over the past six years, we have seen a further 9 per cent decline in the Scottish population down from 505 territorial pairs in 2010 to 460 pairs in 2016. Those falls in population numbers are particularly important for the conservation status of the hen harrier because, as David Stewart said, Scotland has around 80 per cent of the total UK population of hen harriers. We know that there are a number of factors that can affect hen harriers, for example habitat loss and the psychological nature of pre-availability, as was raised by John Scott and Graham Day. However, hen harrier populations remain in good health in areas of Scotland such as Argyll and the Western Seaboard and Orkney. Most of those areas are not optimal for the hen harrier in terms of habitat and pre-availability, so is that because those areas have little or no driven grouse shooting? Conversely, there are areas such as the Central Highlands, North East Glen, the southern uplands, where there is good pre-availability in habitat, but hen harriers are not thriving. Those are areas that are associated with driven grouse shooting. It is our view that there is no coincidence here and that illegal persecution is on-going in those areas. We know that the recorded crime figures for hen harriers are low, but we also know that there are no carcasses or other hard evidence of criminal activity. It is difficult for the police to record each missing bird or missing tag as a crime. However, the Golden Eagle report, published at the end of May, made a powerful case that a significant volume of illegal killing is taking place and that it does not make it on to the official recorded crime figures. There is no reason to suppose that that same analysis would not also apply to hen harriers. In the case of the Golden Eagle report, there was a degree of reliance on the tags. I cannot confirm whether that opportunity is also available for the hen harriers, but I am sure that the cabinet secretary will hear that. That does not mean that unrecorded crime goes unnoticed or that we are actively seeking to tackle it. However, in order to understand what is happening, we need good data. Donald Cameron told us about the work of the Scottish Raptor monitoring group in that field. We have a track record of bringing forward innovative measures to tackle raptor persecutions, including the introduction of the carious liability, the development of a poisons disposal scheme and the restriction of the use of general licenses where it is suspect that wildlife crime has taken place. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform announced a further package of measures at the end of May this year to tackle the issue. That included the strengthening of police resources to tackle wildlife crime in the Cairngorms national park and the establishment of an independent group with a remit to look at how grouse moor management can be made sustainable and compliant with the law. Licensing will be one of the options that the group will be examining. However, to be quite clear, we do not think that all grouse moor managers are persecuting hen harriers. There are those who are working positively to find ways for grouse shooting to co-exist alongside harriers. I need to encourage and support those businesses that bring me to the Heads Up Harriers project. The project is working well with a growing number of estates up from 5 in 2015 to 21 this year. It is led by a partnership of the RSPB, Scottish Land Estates, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and SNH. The partnership and co-operation are good for hen harriers. To some extent, Andy Wightman's point, I do not think that anyone is suggesting that the project alone is the answer. However, I think that it is about bringing together all those groups in partnership to change the culture. The project has to build on the progress that it is making in some parts of the country in order to encourage more estates to work with it. The Heads Up Harriers partnership deserves a lot of credit for its collaborative approach and for the excellent on-the-ground relationships that it has established. I should stress that the Heads Up Harrier project has never intended to catch criminals. It was set up to raise public awareness of the hen harriers to gain information of nest failures and, most important, to build trust and partnership with land managers to encourage the outlook of hen harriers on the estates that are managed for shooting. It is succeeding in meeting those objectives. Of course, we want to push the project in areas where harriers are not thriving, and we are doing that already. For example, the Heads Up Harriers is now working with estates in Angus Glen where we know that there is a history of lack of tolerance. Rather than saying that this is not the answer, we should be encouraging that work to continue. I want to speed on to the other section of Mary Gougeon's debate. I hope that I have time to say a few words about the wider species championship initiative before the PO ticks me off. It is an innovative and a fun way of raising awareness for species that need conservation attendance. We have heard a number of our colleagues raising their own species. Christine Grahame told us how she was single-handedly saving the house sparrow and making sure that it sustained and was well washed. She then gave us a lecture on the evolution and the links between dinosaurs and birds, which, as a scientist, I find very interesting. Grahame Day's tales of the Willy Willows and his expeditions were very interesting. Gillian Martin gave us a vivid picture of her youth. I love her quote about how the ewe is the time-lord of trees. Can I ask if it is not too shaky? Is the minister himself a species champion and, if not, would he be prepared to become one? That was Grahame Day in now, Joe FitzPatrick. That was well below the belt, Mr Day. I am not and I suppose I will. I have accomplished my mission. Mr Day told me that there was a difficult question coming up, and I should have pre-armed myself for it by signing up before coming to the debate. The Scottish Government is very supportive of the initiative and is gratifying to learn that the idea has not just been copied across the Parliament but has been copied down south and in other countries. To conclude, I take the opportunity to congratulate Environment Link and Dr Elinor Harris for coming up with and developing the idea and, of course, Mary Gougeon for bringing it to the chamber. That concludes the debate and the meetings. Closed.