Man dressed as giant gannet launches Edinburgh Central election challenge against SNP's Angus Robertson
A man in a bird costume is challenging SNP heavyweight Angus Robertson for his Edinburgh seat at the upcoming Scottish Parliament Elections
Robert Pownall has announced that he is standing as a candidate in the Edinburgh Central seat at the upcoming election this May.
Mr Pownall is the founder of the wildlife advocacy organisation Protect The Wild and is using his animal advocacy to inspire his MSP bid.
Dressed as a giant gannet, Mr Pownall is standing in the election in a push to end the controversial Guga hunt.
He said: “I’m standing as an MSP candidate to force the Guga hunt out of the shadows and into the political spotlight.
“Gannet chicks are being snatched from their nests and bludgeoned to death for nothing more than a tradition.
“That clearly shouldn’t be happening, especially not in the middle of a biodiversity crisis.”
The Guga hunt is the UK’s last legal seabird hunt which takes place every August on the remote Hebridean island of Sula Sgeir.
The event, which is believed to date back to as early as the 15th century, involves ten men from the Isle of Lewis travelling to Sula Sgeir to kill and harvest months old gannet chicks before preparing the meat as a traditional delicacy.
Although the killing of wild birds is illegal, the Guga hunt is legally exempt under Section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
However, campaigners have ignited a drive to ban the controversial hunt.
A Scottish Government petition, backed by Mr Pownall’s advocacy group Protect The Wild, has earned more than 100,000 signatures and is set to be debated by the next parliament.
Mr Pownall’s campaign will focus on removing the Guga hunt exemption in the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and banning the annual event.
He added: “Polling shows the vast majority of the Scottish people want the Guga hunt to end.
“It’s high time this outdated exemption was removed from the law, and these magnificent Gannets given the protections they deserve.”
Standing in the Edinburgh Central seat, the wildlife campaigner will be going up against SNP’s heavyweight Angus Robertson.
The former SNP deputy leader and ex-Westminster MP for Moray has held the Edinburgh Central seat since 2021 and is running again to retain his seat.
In the 2021 election, Mr Robertson won with 39% of the vote, marking a 6.6% swing to the SNP from the Conservatives, who previously held the Edinburgh Central with Ruth Davidson.
Other candidates running in the Edinburgh Central seat at the upcoming election include Conservative’s Jo Mowat, Labour’s James Dalgliesh, Liberal Democrats' Charles Dundas, Reform UK’s Gary Neill, Green’s Lorna Slater, Scottish Libertarians' Tam Laird, Alliance to Liberate Scotland candidate Craig Murray, and independents Bob Bonnie Prince and Chris Creighton.