Homepage
Accessibility links
Skip to contentAccessibility Help
BBC iD
Home
More
Search
News BBC News Navigation
Sections
Scotland
Scotland politics
Anger after 'hardcore huntress' shoots goat on Scottish island
1 hour ago
Share this with Facebook Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share
Image copyrightTWITTER/@LSWITLYK
Image caption
Ms Switlyk posted a photograph of herself next to a dead goat on Tuesday
A Scottish government minister has called for an end to the hunting of wild goats on Islay.

Mike Russell was responding to social media posts showing American TV presenter Larysa Switlyk posing beside dead goats on the island.

Ms Switlyk, who describes herself as a "hardcore huntress", hosts the Larysa Unleashed programme.

Mr Russell, who is the local MSP for the area, told BBC Scotland that the images were "horrific".

He said he had contacted Scotland's environment secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, to call for goat hunting to be "stopped immediately" on the island.

Several tourism companies offer the chance to stalk and shoot wild goats in Islay, Dumfries and Galloway and other parts of the UK.

Skip Twitter post by @Feorlean
As the local member of @ScotParl I am raising this as a matter of urgency with @strathearnrose - if this is actually happening on #Islay , and laid on by some sort of tour company I would want to see it stopped immediately https:///wnr0yJ6n4A

— Michael Russell (@Feorlean) October 24, 2018
Report
End of Twitter post by @Feorlean
The animals, which have no natural predator, are classed as an invasive, non-native species in the UK, and hunting them on private land is not illegal.

Controversial culls have been carried out in some areas to reduce their numbers, while contraceptive darts have also been used to stop the animals reproducing.

In her social media posts, which were made on Tuesday, Ms Switlyk is shown wearing camouflage clothing and aiming a sniper rifle on the island.

Two photographs show her posing next to a dead goat, while another shows a dead ram.

Skip Twitter post by @LSwitlyk
� that curl ~ having the time of our lives hunting Scotland ������� � https:///0jDLamADi6 pic.twitter.com/hLSkWPSZoS

— Larysa Switlyk (@LSwitlyk) October 16, 2018
Report
End of Twitter post by @LSwitlyk
The caption on one photograph says: "Beautiful wild goat here on the Island of Islay in Scotland. Such a fun hunt!!"

She added: "They live on the edge of the cliffs of the island and know how to hide well. We hunted hard for a big one for 2 days and finally got on this group.

"Made a perfect 200 yard shot and dropped him."

Other posts from earlier this month show her posing next to dead red deer stags at Mingary Castle in Ardnamurchan.

Skip Twitter post 2 by @LSwitlyk
In awe of my Scottish Stag ~ can’t wait to bring it back to the castle for the chefs to cook it up ! https:///e3chDTZf5Y pic.twitter.com/XOfngcAOhs

— Larysa Switlyk (@LSwitlyk) October 11, 2018
Report
End of Twitter post 2 by @LSwitlyk
Speaking to BBC Scotland's John Beattie programme, Mr Russell insisted that Ms Switlyk's goat hunting was worse than the hunting of red deer, which he said was "very firmly regulated" and "you don't see people glorifying in it very often."

The Brexit secretary added: "The pictures are horrific. Obviously deer culling and deer stalking is established on the island and it's a necessary thing to do considering the lack of control of deer numbers.

"But to see people in camouflage with highly powered sniper rifles rejoicing at the killing of a goat, let alone a ram, is simply unacceptable.

"The vast majority of people would just not regard this as something that should be happening in their country.

"There has been something of an outcry already about it and as a local MSP I have now raised it with the environment minister because I think it's really undesirable and unpleasant."

Mr Russell said it was not clear whether anything could be done to stop goat hunting from happening, but he said he had a duty to raise it as "this isn't 21st Century Scotland. This isn't 21st Century Islay".

'Barbaric practice'
Ms Switlyk was also condemned by Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell, who urged the Scottish government to "make it known that bloodsport participants are unwelcome to visit Scotland for the barbaric practice".

But the Scottish Country Sports Tourism group said country sports tourism was worth £155m to the Scottish economy every year.

Ms Switlyk, who is understood to have been filming in Scotland, has not yet responded to requests for comment.

The Larysa Unleashed website says the presenter "promotes the outdoor lifestyle, offering a taste of the adventure as she blossoms into a hardcore huntress.

"Along the way Larysa wants to encourage the public, especially kids and females, to go hunting and experience the great outdoors.

"Whether it's teaching them to shoot a gun for the first time, or hunting alongside her for an amazing trophy, it will be nothing less than an extreme adventure".

Feral goats are thought to have roamed parts of Scotland and the north of England for about 5,000 years, when they were introduced by Stone Age humans.

There are currently estimated to be about 3,000 animals in herds spread across the country.

Related Topics
Isle of Islay
Share this story About sharing
Email
Facebook
Messenger
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
LinkedIn
Scotland
Men jailed over Gleneagles jewellery raid
24 October 2018
From the section Tayside and Central Scotland
Full article Men jailed over Gleneagles jewellery raid
Dull as ditchwater - or a best-kept secret?
24 October 2018
From the section Scotland politics
Full article Dull as ditchwater - or a best-kept secret?
The bridge is ok... but not the cars
24 October 2018
From the section Tayside and Central Scotland
Full article The bridge is ok... but not the cars
Top Stories
'Explosives' sent to Clintons and Obama
Winning ticket in $1.6bn US lotto draw
China's secret in the desert
Features
China's secret in the desert

A river of people: The migrant caravan in pictures
The evangelical women who reject Trump

Why author Judy Blume's classic still inspires
Growing up with lions, tigers and leopards

The battle to curb our appetite for concrete
Five things about Freddie Mercury's Zanzibari roots

Meet Candy Floss and other women wrestlers
VIDEO
The city that gives you free beer for cycling
Elsewhere on the BBC
Football phrases
15 sayings from around the world

Full article Football phrases
Most Read
1
'Explosive device' sent to Hillary Clinton and Obama
2
Anger after 'hardcore huntress' shoots goat on Scottish island
3
Luxury cars crushed as transporter hits low bridge in Perth
4
Gourmet Burger Kitchen earmarks 17 stores for closure
5
Cot bed designer admits York baby choke death failure
6
Court stops Telegraph publishing 'sexual harassment' story
7
Winning ticket in $1.6bn US Mega Millions lottery jackpot
8
Prime Minister's Questions: The key bits and the verdict
9
Two convicted of running illegal school
10
Blackpool police hunt David Schwimmer lookalike
Ads by Google
Why you can trust BBC News
BBC News NavigationSections
BBC News Services
On your mobile
On your connected tv
Get news alerts
Contact BBC News
Explore the BBC
Home
News
Sport
Weather
Shop
Reel
Travel
Capital
Culture
Future
Sounds
CBBC
CBeebies
Food
Bitesize
Arts
Make It Digital
Taster
Nature
Local
TV
Radio
Terms of Use
About the BBC
Privacy Policy
Cookies
Accessibility Help
Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC
Get Personalised Newsletters
Advertise with us
Ad choices
Copyright © 2018 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.