More than 140 seals were shot by salmon farmers in Scotland after new legislation was introduced, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. 

Shetland News report:

THE SHETLAND salmon industry has admitted shooting more than 140 seals during the first two years of the Scottish government’s latest licensing legislation.

Figures released under freedom of information rules show that Shetland’s Hjaltland Seafarms shot more seals than any other salmon company in Scotland during the first 18 months of the new seal licences being introduced.

Licences should only be issued to shoot seals as a last resort, however government reports show that less than one in seven salmon farms has installed anti-predator nets. A government spokesman added that other measures have been introduced to protect fish farms from seals.

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I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.