Crofters have given a lukewarm welcome to a 'derisory' funding package for projects to manage the impacts of greylag geese on Scotland's islands.

There has recently been 'concerted lobbying' of Scottish ministers to do something about the significant damage being done to crops and pasture by the burgeoning population of geese feeding off Scotland's islands.

Environment and Land Reform Minister Mairi McAllan responded this week by announcing new funding for goose control. Visiting Rennibister Farm on Orkney, Ms McAllan said: “I have listened to the concerns of farmers and crofters on Orkney, Lewis and Harris, Uist, Tiree and Coll about the difficulties they have had in controlling resident greylag populations.

“I understand how serious the impacts can be for crofting communities, and for the unique machair habitat and biodiversity that their traditional form of agriculture supports. That’s why we are contributing up to £50,000 towards resident greylag goose control on these islands over the next two years to mitigate the impact on agriculture and support unique and important habitats."

The Scottish Crofting Federation welcomed this funding – but pointed out that it would 'barely keep numbers static let alone reduce them to a sustainable figure'.

SCF chair Donald MacKinnon said it was encouraging that there had at least been acknowledgement of the threat to crofting and island biodiversity – but said that the amounts being offered were derisory.

"There are far too many birds to be sustainable so, whilst it being a step in the right direction, the amount needed to reduce the goose population is far higher than that offered. And this funding is only for two years so what happens after that?

“For example, let’s look at Uist, where crofting agriculture is High Nature Value and the resulting biodiversity world-renowned," said Mr MacKinnon. "The adaptive management scheme on Uist used to have a budget of £40,000 per year. This was reduced until it tottered along with about £10,000 per year. Then this was cut to zero.

"Crofters have agreed that they can live with about 2500 birds, and occasional rises to 4000 may be tolerated for short periods. We now have over 8000 birds grazing, trampling and polluting the crops. Crofters in Lewis, Harris, Coll and Tiree face a similar situation. It’s sad that the unique biodiversity of these islands is not valued by Holyrood more highly.

Read more: Hebridean crofting won't continue if goose numbers don't come down

“So, yes, an annual £6000 promise for each of these crofting areas is something," concluded Mr MacKinnon, “but it has a bitter-sweet taste – is it really a genuine attempt to help or is it window-dressing?”

NFU Scotland, which hosted Ms McAllan's visit to Orkney, was more diplomatic in its response: “We welcome the Scottish Government announcement that £50,000 of financial support will be made available to help farmers and crofters on Scotland’s islands effectively manage local populations of greylag geese.

"This issue is something that NFU Scotland has specifically taken up with the Scottish Government and NatureScot, and the funding provided to existing adaptive management projects on Orkney, Uist, Lewis and Harris, and Tiree and Coll will go some way to help Scottish farmers and crofters control greylag goose populations without harming conservation interests. Growing resident populations of greylag geese on many Scottish islands continues to have a devastating impact on farming and crofting businesses, with numbers increasing due to Covid pandemic restrictions limiting sporting activity, contractor and volunteer shooting on the islands, and the ability to meet bag targets”.

The union's regional policy advisor for Orkney, Kerry Omand, added: “NFUS Orkney and Nature Scot met with Environment and Land Reform Minister Mairi McAllan whilst she was in Orkney. The meeting allowed us to highlight the significant impact and damage caused by the high numbers of Orkney’s resident greylag geese. It also gave us the opportunity to discuss the trials that have already taken place and offer practical solutions going forwards, both in the short and longer-term. This is a huge issue which affects every corner of Orkney, and so we welcome the announcement of funding towards addressing it.”

ScotGov also indicated that NatureScot will carry out a five-yearly review of goose policy in 2022. Among the issues this will look at will be the balance between funding for management of high conservation value geese such as barnacles against the much smaller sums available for greylag goose control.