‘Sleepwalking into a heightened wildfire risk’ — Rural organisations warn that muirburn licensing delays could heighten the danger of devastating wildfires

Leading rural organisations are urging the Scottish Government to adopt a pragmatic approach to the introduction of muirburn licensing — or risk exacerbating the growing threat of wildfires across Scotland.

With the muirburn season closing earlier this week (April 15), Scottish Land & Estates, NFU Scotland and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association are among those raising serious concerns over the a new muirburn licensing system being introduced under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

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The warning comes in the wake of a spate of wildfires across Scotland last week—part of an alarming trend that is becoming more frequent and severe as the impacts of climate change intensify and the amount of combustible vegetation – also known as fuel load – increases.

Muirburn is the intentional and controlled burning of moorland vegetation to encourage new growth (either heather or grassland) for the management of moorland game and wildlife or for improving the grazing potential of the moorland for livestock or deer.

The Scottish Fire & Rescue Service has publicly recognised controlled muirburn, when carried out by trained professionals, as a vital land management tool to reduce vegetation fuel loads and mitigate the risk of uncontrolled wildfires.

While the Scottish Government plans to implement a new muirburn licensing regime ahead of the 2025–2026 season, rural stakeholders say the complex technical requirements and application processes expected to be in place before the opening of muirburn season on September 15 could leave many farmers, land managers, and gamekeepers unable to obtain a licence in time.

This, they warn, could lead to large areas of land being unmanaged — increasing fuel loads and “dramatically exacerbating” the risk of serious wildfires.

Concerns centre around the need to avoid muirburn on areas of ‘deep’ peat.

With no national mapping data available to identify where deep peat is present or absent, vast swathes of land face being classified as “uncertain” — triggering the need for thousands of physical soil tests before a licence can be issued.

The organisations said they had already devoted significant time and resources to NatureScot’s Muirburn Code Working Group in an effort to help shape a workable licensing system.

However, with the clock now ticking, they warn that there is still no sign of a practical solution being put in place in time for next year.

Ross Ewing, director of moorland at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “There is widespread agreement that muirburn, when done responsibly and in line with best practice, plays a vital role in preventing uncontrolled wildfires.

“We support a workable licensing system, but right now the process being proposed is overly complex and impossible to deliver within the time available.

“If muirburn is blocked due to licensing delays, we are sleepwalking into a heightened wildfire risk next season.”

Iain Hepburn, an accredited muirburn trainer and committee member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, said: “The sheer scale of surveying required — on some estates running to thousands of sample points—makes it practically impossible to meet the current timetable.

“Gamekeepers want to do the right thing, but we are being set up to fail. If this is not addressed, we could see vast areas of land go unmanaged, increasing fuel loads and heightening the danger of devastating wildfires.

“We know from the recent spate of wildfires that they place a significant burden on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and put firefighters at significant risk.”

Duncan Macalister, vice president of NFU Scotland, said: “This is a textbook example of policy getting ahead of practicality.

“Rushing licensing through for this September will not only burden farmers and land managers with unrealistic demands, but it will actively undermine Scotland’s resilience to wildfire.

“Ministers must pause, listen, and work with the sector to get this right.”

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