For the first time in 400 years, the annual guga hunt on the island of Sula Sgeir in Scotland has been cancelled. NatureScot, a government agency that protects Scotland's wildlife, refused to grant a licence for the 2026 hunt. The agency said new scientific research showed the hunt could harm the gannet population, the seabirds that are hunted NatureScot.

The hunt is legally recognised under a law called the Wildlife and Countryside Act, which gives it special protection. This decision does not ban the hunt forever. The hunters can apply again in future years. Each season, up to 2,000 gannet chicks are killed over about 10 days on Sula Sgeir, an island with no permanent residents that sits about 40 miles north of Lewis and Harris The Guardian.

The hunters, known as the Men of Ness, catch gannet chicks from their nests using a noose on a long pole and kill them with a blow to the head. The meat, called guga, has been a traditional food source for the community of Ness on the island of Lewis for centuries.

NatureScot based its decision on a type of scientific study called a population viability analysis. Think of it as a forecast that predicts whether a wildlife population will stay healthy or decline over time. The study found that hunting could harm the gannet colony even if the number of birds killed was reduced from 2,000 to 500. NatureScot also said it will keep studying the gannet colony with new population counts planned later in 2026 NatureScot.

BBC News also reported the refusal, confirming that the cancelled hunt would have seen hundreds of young seabirds killed on the uninhabited island BBC News.

The decision follows months of public pressure and protest. A petition to the Scottish government to end the guga hunt gathered more than 100,000 signatures. Another petition, from the charity Protect the Wild, passed 250,000 signatures. Some protests went further than petitions. NatureScot's headquarters in Inverness was sprayed with graffiti and had windows smashed in separate incidents. In March, two men dressed in gannet costumes were arrested and charged after spending several days on the roof of the building The Guardian.

The broader context is a clash between cultural tradition and wildlife protection. The guga hunt has a legal status that most hunting does not, and NatureScot's decision does not remove that status. Instead, it means that scientific evidence about bird populations will now decide whether the hunt is allowed to go ahead each year. The key idea here is the precautionary principle, which means that if something might cause harm, you do not need to wait for proof before acting. The science did not have to show that gannets were definitely declining. It only had to show that harm was possible.

For anyone who follows environmental policy, this case shows how wildlife agencies can use an evolving approach to licensing. NatureScot's plan to keep counting gannets in 2026 means future applications from the Men of Ness will be judged against new data, not just against the fact that the hunt has happened for centuries. The decision sets a standard for how conservation bodies weigh scientific models against long-standing traditions, especially when the numbers suggest stress on a population even at much lower hunting limits.