Campaigners demanding an end to hunting at a Moray beauty spot have claimed a ban would boost the area’s economy.
Members of Moray Council’s economic development and infrastructure services committee will meet today in an effort to resolve a dispute surrounding the future of wildfowling at Findhorn Bay.
Protestors have argued the practice is at odds with the area’s status as a nature reserve, but huntsmen maintain it is a traditional boost to the region’s coffers.
The authority’s head of direct services, Stephen Cooper, has tabled a report outlining several options available to the council, which could reduce tensions at the bay.
Mr Cooper has suggested a ban could be introduced on a stretch of council-owned land near Kinloss which has caused most contention between hunters and protestors.
The Friends of Findhorn Bay group amassed more than 800 signatures on a petition calling for the council to outlaw shooting entirely, and has staged passionate demonstrations against wildfowling.
Last night, lead campaigner Lisa Mead welcomed Mr Cooper’s suggestion that a ban be implemented in the south-east of the bay.
But she has written to councillors, advising them his report fails to take into account the financial rewards which the abolition of wildfowling might yield.
Her letter stated: “Council officers consistently refer to the unaffordable cost of implementing a by-law.
“However, no-one ever seems to talk about the economic benefit that would accrue if goose-watching and other bird-watching was possible on Findhorn Bay in the autumn and winter months.
“Currently, bird-watching activities cannot be promoted or encouraged because of the shooting.”
The local authority previously opted against imposing a by-law, due to a prohibitive cost of up to £30,000.
Councillors sought to forge a compromise between the two sides by organising a voluntary agreement, whereby shooting was limited at certain parts of the bay and times of the day.
But the deal collapsed when a national wildfowling organisation declared it “unnecessarily restrictive” and refused to abide by it.
Martin Gauld, who launched the Support Findhorn Bay Wildfowlers campaign, has insisted he is willing to compromise with campaigners.