Rural and country sports businesses have called on the Scottish Government to provide support to help them deal with the devastating impact of recent storms.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and Country Sport Scotland (CSS) say country sport tourism businesses have been hard-hit by recent storms.
They have written to Deputy First Minister John Swinney asking for an urgent meeting to explore possible support measures for the sector, which contributes an estimated £200 million to the Scottish economy every year and supports more than 8,800 full-time jobs.
BASC and CSS say a survey of businesses across Scotland found average losses of more than £12,000 per business due to cancellations and infrastructure damage caused by windblown trees.
They say the destruction caused by the storms has made accessing land for shooting impossible in many places and equipment – such as feeders, pens and virtual deer fences – have been destroyed.
They are also concerned about the long-term implications for deer management and predator control as a result of windblown trees.
Aberdeenshire country sports tourism business owner Calvert McKibbin says the windblown tree damage from the storms has been “absolutely catastrophic” for his business.
“I have lost nearly half of my pheasant drives, which has fundamentally changed the way my business operates,” said Mr McKibbin.
“It is going to take at least five years of cleaning up before we have any semblance of normality.”
He accused the Scottish Government of not acting swiftly enough to get support out the door to affected businesses and said: “Most businesses I know have endured thousands upon thousands of pounds worth of damage to key infrastructure; it really is unprecedented and yet there does not seem to be any support available.”
BASC Scotland director, Dr Colin Shedden, said rural country sports businesses were just starting to recover from the economic losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic before Storms Arwen, Barra, Corrie and Malik hit.
He said: “We are extremely concerned about the number of shoots that have already reported that they will be shutting shop as a consequence of the storm damage.
“The Scottish Government needs to step up its support for rural businesses in the aftermath of extreme weather.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said the government will respond to the letter from BASC and CSS in due course.
He said: “We are aware that the devastating impacts of the recent severe weather conditions will have created difficult operating conditions for affected businesses.
“Scottish Forestry is fast tracking felling permission applications to help rural businesses get back on their feet as quickly as possible, and this includes businesses where there is also a sporting interest.”
The spokesman said guidance was in development for farmers and rural businesses to help them recover from the storm effectively, and information on available business support from public sector organisations could be found on the Find Business Support website at findbusinesssupport.gov.scot