Warning shots have been fired over calls to introduce by-laws to manage wildfowling at a Moray nature reserve.
A voluntary permit system will be used to control goose shooting at Findhorn Bay when the season begins on Friday.
Some hunting groups have vowed to ignore the rules – fearing the system, which will be run by the local nature reserve, could make personal information vulnerable.
The Scottish Association for Country Sports (Sacs) wants Moray Council to take control of the situation.
However, warnings have been issued that by-laws could make shooting rules even more restrictive.
And last night senior councillors urged conservationists and wildfowlers to make the permit system work.
John Cowe, chairman of the council’s economic development and infrastructure committee, said: “In any conflict there has to be a compromise.
“If we are to reach a resolution, which can surely be achieved without resorting to law.
“What’s proposed is a perfectly reasonable and workable system if everyone gets behind it.
“But if the council agrees to go down the by-law route – and that’s a big ‘if’ as we’re not obliged to – that will inevitably involve a public inquiry at considerable cost to the taxpayer.”
Conflict between wildfowlers and the Friends of Findhorn Bay conservation group was sparked in December 2015.
A petition calling for a total ban on goose shooting was followed by a separate petition from a pro-wildfowling group.
The council delayed making a decision on a by-law and called on the parties to resolve their differences through mediation.
Following a series of meetings the permit system was devised by the nature reserve sub-committee, which allows shooting during the season but restricts it to five days a week.
When councillors meet on Tuesday next week they will be asked to delay hearing petitions from both sides until February in order to assess how the permit system has worked.
Council leader George Alexander said: “It’s in everyone’s best interests to ensure this voluntary system works.
“If the council did decide to promote a by-law without any consensus having been achieved, inevitably one or more of the parties involved would feel that their views had not been supported.
“And potentially the by-law scope may well be far more restrictive than what’s proposed by the Findhorn Bay Local Nature Reserve.”
The permits will be free for the trial year before a cost is introduced in the future.