The vital role of grouse moor management in supporting Scotland’s wildlife and landscapes has been highlighted as the 2025 grouse season opened today in Perthshire. On the Glorious Twelfth, the first shooting party of the season took to the heather-clad hills of West Glenalmond Estate, near Crieff, where gamekeepers and land managers work...
Rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) says millions of pounds of investment has already been scrapped and more will follow, as the UK government ignores the concerns of family farms and businesses. The policy paper published on 21 July ( Agricultural property relief and business property relief reforms ) shows little...
SLE's Director of Policy, Stephen Young, has released a statement in response to recent proposals from Scottish Green Party leadership candidate Ross Greer MSP regarding rates relief and farm subsidies for 'shooting estates'. SLE Director of Policy Stephen Young said: “Politicians and decision makers should make every effort to ensure...
Targeted exemptions from proposed rent controls are vital in sustaining and increasing the supply and quality of rented housing available in rural Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) said today. The rural business organisation has responded to a Scottish Government consultation on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, which is currently at...
Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has today published a major new report detailing the exceptional response by land-based and rural businesses to the devastating wildfires near Carrbridge and Dava, which burned across an unprecedented 11,827 hectares of moorland and woodland in late June. The release of the report coincides with a visit to...
The 2025 NatureScot-commissioned report , authored by EKOS, examines the persistent underperformance of Scotland’s Rural Skills and Game & Wildlife Management (G&WM) apprenticeships. Despite being introduced in 2016 and 2018 respectively, both apprenticeship pathways have seen consistently low uptake and high non-completion rates -...
Scottish Land & Estates has announced that 104 nominations have been received for the 2025 Helping It Happen Awards, marking the highest number in several categories in the event’s history. Now in its ninth year, the Helping It Happen Awards – sponsored by NatureScot – celebrate the vital contributions made by rural businesses, estates...
Three Scottish estates – accounting for over 120,000 acres – have been awarded prestigious international accreditation for their work in wildlife management and conservation. The award of Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES) accreditation was made today at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair by Scottish Government Minister for Agriculture and...
Rural business organisation Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has welcomed the update from the Shared Rural Network project, indicating that the number of 4G masts planned in remote areas of Scotland will be scaled back from 258 to 44. Following pressure from SLE and partner organisations including community councils, the John Muir Trust and...
The devastating wildfires in Speyside and Morayshire must act as a wake-up call for the Scottish Government to urgently prioritise investment in wildfire prevention and response, Scottish Land & Estates said today. Following several days of intense firefighting, aided by rainfall overnight, the immediate situation on the ground has...
