Committee
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 10 September 2025
10 Sep 2025 · S6 · Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
New Petitions
Believe it or not, I have been climbing to the Grey Mare’s Tail for many years and I have spent many hours watching the goats there, which has brought great pleasure not only to me but to every scout I take up during the summer holidays. I have a personal connection with the goats at the Grey Mare’s Tail.
Will the committee consider writing to the UK Joint Nature Conservation Committee to seek its views on the matter and writing to the Scottish Government to seek clarity on how it plans to ensure the survival of primitive goat species, given its acknowledgment of their benefits to biodiversity?
In the same item of business
The Convener
Con
Primitive Goat Species (Protected Status) (PE2151) 10:16 The first new petition for consideration is PE2151, lodged by Kenneth Erik Moffatt, which cal...
Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
Thank you for the welcome, convener. I thank Kenneth Moffatt for lodging the petition. He is not able to make it today, but I welcome members of the Wild Goa...
Craig Hoy (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I am attending alongside Rachael Hamilton to speak in support of the petition lodged by Kenneth Moffatt, which reflects the real sense of public anger and co...
The Convener
Con
That is the dead hand of NatureScot—sorry, my prejudice has been provoked again. At times, I find it difficult to understand what the connection is between N...
David Torrance
SNP
Believe it or not, I have been climbing to the Grey Mare’s Tail for many years and I have spent many hours watching the goats there, which has brought great ...
The Convener
Con
We could couple that with a reference to the fact that the petition has attracted an unusual degree of public support and we could draw attention to the numb...
Fergus Ewing
Ind
To follow on the theme of commenting on NatureScot, it seems that all species are equal, but some are more equal than others. Goats seem to be the species th...
The Convener
Con
Are we all content to proceed on that basis? Members indicated agreement.
The Convener
Con
I thank our colleagues for coming along. You will be pleased to hear that we are keeping the petition open and are acting robustly in light of the evidence t...