SLE welcomes delay to muirburn licensing implementation

Press Release

A decision to postpone the introduction of muirburn licensing has been welcomed as a ‘pragmatic and necessary step’. 

Scottish Land & Estates, the rural business organisation, commented after the Scottish Government confirmed that it would delay the start date for licensing until January, 1, 2026 – just over three months later than the previous intended start date of September 15, 2025. 

When commenced, the provisions of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 will require a licence to be in place for all muirburn activity, including on non-peatland. However, the complexity of mapping peat depth, establishing survey data and preparing licence applications had raised serious concerns among rural stakeholders, who warned that rushing the system into place before the start of the 2025–2026 muirburn season would have created unworkable conditions and significantly increased wildfire risk. 

Scottish Land & Estates has worked closely with NFU Scotland, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Scotland’s Regional Moorland Groups and BASC to make the case to Ministers for a more realistic timescale.  

Ross Ewing, Director of Moorland at Scottish Land & Estates, said: 

“We welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to delay the introduction of muirburn licensing until January 2026. This is a pragmatic and necessary step that reflects the serious technical and logistical challenges raised by stakeholders across the rural sector. 

“There is broad consensus that muirburn, when conducted responsibly and in line with best practice, is an essential land management tool – not least in helping to reduce fuel loads and mitigate the growing threat of wildfires. However, introducing a licensing system without giving land managers sufficient time to comply would have been counterproductive and potentially dangerous. 

“We are grateful to government and NatureScot for their engagement on this matter, and to our colleagues across the rural sector for their collaborative efforts in making the case for this postponement. This outcome is positive for rural Scotland and will allow for better preparation ahead of the next muirburn season and also reduce the risk of unintended wildfire impacts.” 

The licensing portal is expected to open this summer, giving applicants time to prepare application materials before a licence becomes mandatory. The interactive muirburn peatland map is already available for reference (see here). NatureScot is continuing work on the updated Muirburn Code, with further stakeholder engagement planned over the coming months.