The Scottish Wildlife Trust is pleased that the Scottish Parliament has passed the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill. 

Our Head of Policy, Tony King, said:  “We are particularly pleased by the introduction of vicarious liability to stop rogue landowners pinning the blame for wildlife crime on their staff and by the new and very welcome requirement on public bodies to report on their compliance or otherwise with their duty to further the conservation of biodiversity.” 

“These  changes, while welcome, are only half the story.  Scotland failed to meet the 2010 target of halting biodiversity loss, and there are now even tougher targets as a result of the Nagoya summit last year.  We need to embed ecological coherence, restoration, recovery and connectivity in legislation if we are to have any chance of meeting our international commitments and properly protecting Scotland's biodiversity.”