Current Position
We are now in the middle of the third season of grouse licensing following its introduction under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. The licensing system forms part of the Scottish Government’s wider approach to wildlife management and aims to ensure that grouse shooting is carried out in accordance with legal requirements. The general principle is that it is illegal to take or kill red grouse unless the land is covered by a valid grouse licence, sometimes known as a Section 16AA licence.
The Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 made headlines in the rural sector for the changes it makes to deer management and control. However, it also introduces some important changes to the grouse licensing regime. While these changes received less attention, they could have significant practical implications for licence applicants and holders from Autumn 2026.
Changes to the Licensed Area
The first change modifies how licences are applied for. Currently, the applicant specifies a licence area and NatureScot can grant or refuse the licence. There is no specific ability to refuse a licence simply on the basis of the area specified. Under the new rules, the applicant will propose an area to be licensed and NatureScot will be able to suggest an alternative. If the parties are unable to reach agreement on what should be the licensed area, NatureScot can refuse the licence application. In other words, NatureScot may require an applicant to modify their area in order to obtain a licence.
For existing licence holders, NatureScot have a general power to modify a grouse licence at any time. However, a modification will not be able to change the licensed area, without the prior agreement of the licence holder.
Extended Powers to Suspend or Revoke a Licence
At present, NatureScot can suspend or revoke a grouse licence if satisfied that the licence holder, or a person involved in management of the licensed land, has committed a relevant offence (being an offence under various pieces of wildlife crime legislation) on the licensed land.
This will change so that suspension or revocation can occur where NatureScot is satisfied that the person has committed a relevant offence “that supports or benefits the activities permitted by the licence”, removing the requirement that the offence must have been committed on the licensed area itself.
Why Are These Changes Being Made?
These amendments were introduced by the Scottish Government during Stage 2 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, in November 2025. They were proposed on the basis that they were required to reflect the original policy intention of the 2024 Act.
The interpretation of the 2024 Act is said to have created a “loophole” whereby the licensed area could be very small, whereas the policy intention had been that it would generally cover the whole landholding.
When licence applications were first made available in 2024, NatureScot had initially required that the licensed area be the whole of a landholding, but this position was altered following legal opinion that it was too wide. Among other things, it did not reflect the fact that shooting is often undertaken under a lease of a specific area, with the shooting operator having no rights or control in relation to the wider holding, making it inappropriate for the licence to be over that wider area.
Concern over that interpretation – with the Minister extrapolating to suggest a licence could, in theory, be applied for over just the area of the grouse butts – led to the changes set out above.
When Will the Changes Take Effect?
Commencement regulations have not yet been brought forward. However, the Cabinet Minister advised in a letter over the summer that these provisions, along with various others in the 2026 Act, were intended to come into force in October 2026.
While the practical impact of these changes will only become clear once they come into force and begin to be applied in practice, landowners, sporting tenants, estate managers, applicants and licence holders should be aware of the broader powers they will give NatureScot in relation to both licence applications and enforcement decisions.
If you would like to understand how these changes could affect your rural business, please get in touch with a member of our Land & Rural Business team.
