Campaigners calling for a ban on shooting birds at a Moray beauty spot are seeking a compromise with wildfowlers that will “substantially” alter the practice before the hunting season begins.
For nearly three hours yesterday afternoon, leading members of Moray Council moderated a tense summit between the Friends of Findhorn Bay protest group and shooters who want the pastime to remain a part of the region.
Both sides presented the local authority with petitions clearly stating their arguments for and against the practice, and the meeting was convened at Elgin Library in an effort to identify some middle ground.
Last night, wildfowler Martin Gauld said he and his fellow huntsmen would voluntarily extend a no-shooting zone at the bay in a bid to ensure the group’s future.
Mr Gauld said: “We have shifted our goalposts to compromise with the council and the campaigners, because, otherwise, we were at risk of losing the shooting altogether.
“We have volunteered to increase a no-shooting zone, though not as far as some had suggested.
“This is on a voluntary basis for now, and nothing is set in stone.”
However, their opponents remained adamant that their “preferred option” was for a total ban on the slaughter of geese and ducks at the nature reserve.
But they said they would try to work in tandem with shooters ahead of the next hunting season if the only alternative was the practice continuing unabated.
Their leading campaigner Lisa Mead said: “Expanding the no-shooting area to the extent suggested by the wildfowlers just isn’t going to work, as it won’t improve things in the problem area that is the south-east corner.
“We want there to be some substantial improvement on the status quo by the time the shooting season begins in September.
“There still seems to be little recognition by the wildfowlers of how the shooters’ presence on the bay excludes the majority of people from enjoying the reserve and watching the great migration of geese each autumn.”
Forres councillor George Alexander helped oversee the talks, and said he was encouraged by their “positive” outcome.
Moray Council will now write to each group asking members to outline how they would like to see a permit system work in practice.