Jail for Shetland seal killer

Key facts

Some fishermen and fish farmers shoot seals because they eat fish. A seal swimming close to a fish farm, in a salmon river or near coastal nets is seen as a competitor for fish.
There is no legal requirement for good marksmanship when shooting a seal, so there is a high risk of wounding which can lead to prolonged suffering.
In almost forty years, there has only been one successful prosecution under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970.
Populations of common seals have declined dramatically - by around 40 per cent - in some parts of Scotland over the last 5 years.
Incredibly, no-one knows how many seals are being killed - because there is no requirement for seal killings to be recorded.
We need a new law that will change the present seal-killing culture to one which is more humane.

Wednesday, 25 March 2009 14:13

The Shetland fisherman who clubbed 21 grey seal pups to death in November last year has been jailed for 80 days under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.

In response to the sentencing of James Stewart who plead guilty to killing 21 seal pups on the Shetland Isle of East Linga, Advocates for Animals' Campaigns Director, Ross Minett, said:

“We welcome the Sheriff’s decision to award a custodial sentence and by doing so to acknowledge the severity and brutality of the offence. What worries us, however, is that the prosecution could never have been brought if had had to rely on the Conservation of Seals Act which, bizarrely, allows thousands of seals to be killed – perfectly legally – in Scotland every year."

"Advocates for Animals continues its call for an outright ban on the killing of seals, supported by 75% of the public and undoubtedly by the outraged majority of Shetlanders who are appalled by the actions of James Stewart. The Scottish Government has an opportunity to give seals full legal protection in the forthcoming Marine Bill and we call on them to do so urgently.”

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