A hunting group embroiled in a row over wildfowling at a Moray nature reserve has pledged to support a byelaw regulating the practice.
Moray Council held talks on the future of shooting at Findhorn Bay earlier this week, and launched new measures to strike a compromise between hunters and the campaigners who want it banned.
The authority aims to create a regulation which will not be contested by either party.
A voluntary agreement between the opposing factions had been drafted prior to the shooting season beginning earlier this month.
But it was torn apart when the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (Basc) declared its terms “unnecessarily restrictive” and advised its members to ignore them.
The organisation has now welcomed the local authority’s decision to allow the management committee that oversees the coastal nature reserve to determine terms agreeable to hunters and protestors.
Basc conceded that concerns regarding the number and behaviour of wildfowlers on the bay had stoked calls for a ban.
The group’s Scotland director, Colin Shedden, said a permit scheme would reduce those concerns.
He said: “The nature reserve committee was created to deal with these issues and is best placed to handle this matter.
“We look forward to working with all parties to find a workable solution, and to facilitate the introduction of a permit scheme at the earliest possible opportunity.”
Following the meeting on Tuesday, the Friends of Findhorn Bay protest group voiced reservations that the committee which runs the reserve could lean towards the interests of the hunters.
Lead campaigner Lisa Mead was left “aghast” by the council’s decision and heaped doubt on the committee’s ability to find a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead recently met Basc officials in an attempt to find a resolution to the longstanding wrangle.
Last night, he said its pledge to support a byelaw could ease some of the frustrations campaigners felt following last week’s council meeting.
Mr Lochhead said: “I appreciate that the decision taken is frustrating for many people who are keen to see action taken now to improve the situation at Findhorn Bay.
“There is, however, the potential now to reach agreement involving the introduction of a permit system with bye-laws, which I think all parties would welcome.”