Police are probing a threat to blow up a community hall at a Moray peace retreat – to send a message to “do gooders” campaigning against wildfowling.
Protestors are urging the local authority to impose a ban on the shooting of geese and other birds over Findhorn Bay.
They presented the council with a petition against the practice, which attracted more than 800 signatures.
But hunters keen to ensure the tradition continues launched their own online counter-campaign calling for councillors to ensure its future.
The bitter dispute reached boiling point when one anonymous backer in favour of wildfowling suggested that a hall run by the Findhorn Foundation spiritual community group be blown up.
The unnamed supporter, who claimed to live beside the bay, said the shooting “did not bother them in the slightest” and called for action against those fighting for a ban.
They added: “I often wonder what these ‘do gooders’ do for a living, with nothing else to occupy their small minds.
“5kg of semtex in their Universal Hall may put things right.”
Horrified protestors notified the Findhorn Foundation, who reported the threatening outburst to the police.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the force confirmed that officers were investigating the comments and urged anyone with information to come forward.
And huntsman Martin Gauld, who launched the Support Findhorn Bay Wildfowlers crusade on the internet, condemned the comments and apologised for any distress they may have caused.
Mr Gauld said: “That is not what we are about, and I’m absolutely disgusted somebody has written that on our petition.
“We are trying our best to come to some sort of compromise with the campaigners, and work out a sensible way forward.”
Mr Gauld pledged to remove the offending remarks from his online petition, which has already won the support of about 1,400 people.
Lisa Mead has led the campaign to end wildfowling on the shore between Findhorn and Kinloss.
Members of her group claim the practice conflicts with its status as a nature reserve.
And Mrs Mead said it was wrong for the anonymous poster to assume that the Friends of Findhorn eco-community is wholly against wildfowling and stressed that 811 local people have backed its abolition.
However, Mr Gauld defend the pastime, and accused those trying to get it banned of making exaggerated complaints.
He added: “It’s been claimed that shooting begins at 5am every morning but that simply isn’t true, and nor does it continue for as many hours as those protestors say.
“Wildfowling is something we all love doing, and we do it to put food on the table.
“We do our utmost to retrieve every bird we shoot so that carcasses aren’t left behind.
“By thinning their numbers, we are actually helping the environment and we would like to meet the campaigners to have some sensible discussions.”
Last month, Mrs Mead urged the council’s economic development and infrastructure services committee to outlaw wildfowling along the bay.
But she and her fellow campaigners were left disappointed by members’ apparent reluctance to impose a ban.
Local authority officers said the costs of imposing and enforcing it could be high, and councillors moved to strike a compromise between the protesters and the hunters.
Forres councillor Anne Skene suggested an existing “no shooting zone” be extended to direct the activities away from residential areas.
On Monday, April 11, representatives from both sides of the debate will argue their cases before Moray Council.