Firearms Licensing

Torcuil Crichton Excerpts

Monday 23rd February 2026 Westminster Hall

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for South Norfolk (Ben Goldsborough) for the balanced way in which he introduced the debate. I will say at the outset that my constituents completely understand the need to consult on regulations. The fatal shooting involving a shotgun on the neighbouring Isle of Skye some two and half years ago cast a shadow over all highland communities, and my sympathy and concern go out to everyone affected by that incident.

Notwithstanding that, I come to this debate not in support of shooting but with a conservation concern. Being a Labour MP who believes in radical land reform, I hold no more of a candle for the shooting and fishing brigade than for the urban rewilders who, through the power of their laptop, want to reintroduce rapacious species to hunt flocks of sheep in the countryside. My concern is with conserving the human population and the agricultural and crofting economy that sustains the livelihoods of my constituents in Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

We often hear that in New Zealand, sheep outnumber human beings four to one. In my archipelago, greylag geese outnumber our sheep 10 to one. Literally thousands of these marauding greylags, the largest breed of geese in the British Isles, now find their permanent home feeding on the machair grass on the crofts of the Western Isles, which my crofting constituents crop and use to feed livestock. According to the Scottish Crofting Federation—I declare my membership and support for that organisation—we have gone beyond the tipping point, and these birds are causing significant damage to crops and grass.

The problem is particularly acute in Uist and Benbecula, where the geese can be seen feeding on the precious grassland at any time of day or night and in any season. The damage that they are causing to the crofting system, and dare I say to the distilling process—the North Uist Distillery, which produces Downpour gin, relies on locally grown grain—is now dangerous. Uist short oats, over 1,000 years old, are a dying strain of seed in such short supply that it is now not available for crops all year round. As one of my correspondents put it:

“We are unable to buy because it is in such short supply—because the flippin geese have eaten it all.”

What does all this have to do with shotgun licensing? There is a cull of the geese, fully supported by NatureScot, the national nature agency, but it—and by implication the oats and the economics of crofting in Uist—depends on having local marksmen to shoot the geese. I met the Uist goose group a few days ago to hear members’ concerns. They, like the vast majority of people who hold gun licences, are the most law-abiding people one would care to meet. They take their firearm licensing and culling work responsibilities very seriously, and they are seriously good marksmen. One member represents the Western Isles at clay pigeon shooting, which would also be affected by the change in regulation, and competes at national level. The shooters have been reporting difficulties in getting gun licences of late, which has occasionally led to individual marksmen not being available to take part in the cull when required.

The islanders are not against firearms regulations—far from it. They see the logic in consolidating licences, but they see practical difficulties, too. The reclassification of shotguns would increase their own administration in getting properly certified, and the rising cost of licences acts as a disincentive to new entrants to the scheme. There is also concern that shooting and culling skills will not be passed on if no new entrants come through from clay pigeon shooting or from holding and handling shotguns. They worry that their skill, which must be maintained and repeated to be kept at a high level, will be lost as well.

There are administrative concerns and practical difficulties for island and rural geographies involving the storage of weapons and ammunition, with shotgun cartridges being much larger than the .223-gauge bullets commonly used in shooting. There is also the issue of transferring shotguns between licence holders and dealers. Borrowing and lending under current regulations is a common enough practice, where there are a limited number of guns or shooters and not all are available at the same time. The burden of administration would fall not only on the licence holder but on the police firearms licensing unit. My constituents speak highly of the highland firearms officers and their expertise. The measures would also have an effect on the limited number of licensed firearms dealers in the Western Isles and the west coast.

We must also consider the tourism impact; there is concern that shooting parties would decrease under the new legislation, but, as I said at the start of my speech, I hold no candle for the sporting or shooting lobby, any more than I do for radical conservationists. My concern, which I hope the Minister and the Government will take into account when considering any changes, is with the protection of crofting and croft land from the menace of greylag geese and, perhaps, the unforeseen consequences of a change in regulation.

Our manifesto in 2024 promised to promote biodiversity and protect landscapes and wildlife. When it comes to crofting agricultural practice in the Hebrides, especially on the machair, we need to cull the geese to maintain the biodiversity of the ecosystem, to maintain the rural population, and to protect us all.