News

Decision to enhance SSPCA powers runs the risk of hindering wildlife crime prosecutions

Press Release

A decision to extend the investigatory powers available to the SSPCA goes against the advice of an independent taskforce set up by the Scottish Government to examine the issue, Scottish Land & Estates said today. The government said today that new powers will “allow the Scottish SPCA to in certain circumstances search, examine and seize...

Clear vision for Scottish agriculture crucial to unlocking potential and innovation in rural Scotland

Press Release

Achieving certainty about the direction of Scottish agriculture policy is critical to fostering innovation and supporting a new generation in farming, Scottish Land & Estates said today. The rural business organisation was speaking as the Royal Highland Show began at Ingliston and said that opportunities for progress were being stifled by...

SLE reiterates call for immediate bracken control authorisation

Press Release

Scottish Land & Estates has urged the Scottish Government to grant immediate authorisation for Asulox to control bracken following news that it has been permitted for use south of the border. SLE wrote to the Scottish Government last week, as it has in previous years, asking for permission to be granted as a matter of urgency before...

Approval of asulox/asulam for bracken control urgently required by land managers

Press Release

Scottish Land & Estates has joined other rural stakeholders in asking the Scottish Government to permit the use of Asulox/Asulam in Scotland for the control of bracken as urgently as possible. Writing to Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon and Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater this week, SLE has said authorisation needs to be provided...

Business hub pioneered by Scottish rural estate visited by parliamentarians

Press Release

An innovative business hub pioneered by a Scottish rural estate has been visited by the three of the SNP’s Westminster group including its leader, Stephen Flynn MP. Rosemains Steading, located on Preston Hall Estate to the south east of Edinburgh, is a collection of nine workspaces completed in 2021 designed to provide small businesses...

SLE responds to Scottish Government's tenants' rights statement

Press Release

Following the statement today from Patrick Harvie, MSP, the Scottish Government’s Tenants’ Rights Minister, Scottish Land & Estates, whose members provide thousands of rented properties across rural Scotland, issued the following statement. Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said: “Yet again, we have an...

SLE statement on Labour MSP's land reform proposals

Press Release

Following the publication today of land reform proposals by Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba, Scottish Land & Estates issued the following statement. Sarah-Jane Laing, Chief Executive, Scottish Land & Estates, said: “Land owners of all types whether they be private individuals such as farmers and estate owners, charities, local authorities or...

Dee Ward elected Chair of Scottish Land & Estates

Press Release

Dee Ward has been appointed as the new chair of rural business organisation, Scottish Land & Estates. Mr Ward was appointed to his role at SLE’s Annual General Meeting, held at Dunblane Hydro Hotel today. He succeeds Mark Tennant who has been SLE chair since April 2020. Dee is the owner of Rottal Estate, an upland estate in the Angus...

Young people connect with nature across Scotland

Press Release

The Estates that Educate initiative has returned for 2023 offering young people a hands-on experience of the variety of activities undertaken by Scottish estates to maintain the unique biodiversity of the uplands. From the Southern Uplands to the Angus Glens, Grampian, Tayside and the banks of Loch Ness, nearly 2,000 young people will...

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater visits pioneering Pentlands wildlife collaboration

Press Release

The innovative conservation work of land managers in the Pentland Hills has been explored during a visit and meeting with Scottish Government Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, Lorna Slater MSP. In collaboration with the Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES) accreditation scheme, a group of six privately-owned...