Following this afternoon's debate in the Scottish Parliament on Wildlife Crime, Eradicating raptor persecution from Scotland, an RSPB Scotland spokesperson said: “We welcome today's debate and support the commitment of the Scottish Government to tackle the illegal killing of our native bird of prey species. The introduction of vicarious liability; the current consultation on increasing the investigatory powers of the Scottish SPCA; the review of penalties available to the courts; and the publication of an annual Wildlife Crime Report are all positive measures. We also acknowledge the cross political party support on this matter, including the Scottish Government’s acceptance of…

A new poll has revealed that half the population of the Highlands fear that the spread of large scale wind farm across wild land could damage tourism in the region. The poll, conducted by the polling company for the John Muir Trust, asked found that over 500 residents across the eight Highlands and Islands constituencies ‘What impact do you think the spread of onshore wind farms on wild land in the Highlands and Islands might have on the tourist industry in the region?’ The results were: A positive impact – 5.8% A negative impact – 49.4% No impact – 44.9%…

Over 100 a day walk on the wild side as Trust's Wild Space visitor centre celebrates one year milestone The John Muir Trust Wild Space visitor centre on Pitlochry's main street is set to celebrate a successful first year which has exceeded all expectations. Over 32,000 people – well over 100 a day on average – have visited the centre since it was opened by top landscape photographer Colin Prior on 22 April 2013. The Wild Space is now staging its fifth exhibition in the Alan Reece Gallery. These have included oil, watercolour, photographic and mixed media exhibitions by some…

The Friends of Nevis are holding their first litter pick of the season on Sunday 27 April. All are welcome to the event at which volunteers plan to clean up areas of Glen Nevis and tidy the area around the Curling Pond. The event starts at 10:30 at the Ben Nevis Highland Centre in the Glen and will run until around 3:30pm. All safety and litter picking equipment provided, together with refreshments and lunch. Under 18s need to be accompanied by an adult. Although you can just turn up, it helps the organisers if you could let them know if…