Crofting
Just a load of old bull.....?
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- Saturday, 13 December 2008 16:37 Tamsin Morris Hits: 646
Concerns have risen in crofting communities over the planned closure of the Crofting Cattle Quality Improvement Scheme, otherwise known as the bull hire scheme. Now the Scottish Crofting Foundation are calling on the Scottish Parliament to debate the issue in full.
Under the Crofting Cattle Quality Improvement Scheme, crofters can hire a bull from a central stud facility. This means that high quality breeding stock are available where crofting enterprises may be too small to justify the expense of keeping their own bull. But over recent years, use of the scheme has declined, with the Government claiming that only 400 out of 13,000 crofters have been using the animals. So, in their response to the recent Shucksmith report on the future of crofting (see previous article), the Government has suggested the closure of the scheme and replacing it with support for private bull hire in some areas.
Since then, MSPs Rhoda Grant and Peter Peacock have written to grazing clerks asking for their views on the planned closure and included a link to a petition asking the Government to re-consider and reverse its decision. At present, just over 200 people have signed the petition, many of whom have included comments on the importance of the scheme to their own enterprises.
To see the Scottish Crofting Foundation's comments, go to http://www.croftingfoundation.co.uk/uploads/news/Bull_scheme.pdf and to see the MSP's letter, go to: http://www.rhodagrant.org.uk/bullhirescheme.pdf
