Dear Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government,

We are writing collectively as members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) to register our profound concern at the Scottish Government’s decision, announced in the 2026–27 Budget, to remove eligibility for small business non-domestic rates relief for shootings and deer forests.

We believe this decision is fundamentally flawed. The requirement that land be used solely for deer management, environmental management or vermin control bears no relation to the realities of rural land use in Scotland. Sporting rights are, by their nature, integrated with other legitimate rural business activities. The practical consequence of this policy is therefore the widespread removal of rates relief from shoots across Scotland.

We are clear that this change will have grave consequences. In terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), shooting contributes around £340 million annually to the Scottish economy, supporting around 5,600 full-time equivalent jobs. Taking into consideration the wider range of activities linked to shooting, the total value is estimated to be £780 million. It will undermine the financial viability of many shoots, place skilled rural employment at risk, and significantly weaken the delivery of wildlife management and conservation across large areas of Scotland. In some of the most fragile rural communities, the loss of gamekeeping and deer management roles will have a direct and damaging knock-on effect on local economies and services.

The removal of rates relief also threatens the continued delivery of significant public benefits. Shooting businesses underpin habitat management, biodiversity enhancement, woodland creation, peatland restoration and carbon sequestration. Independent natural capital assessments demonstrate that Scotland’s shooting sector delivers more than £246 million in annual natural capital benefits . These outcomes are inseparable from the economic sustainability of the businesses that provide them. If shoots are forced to cease operating, the associated private investment in conservation will inevitably decline or disappear, transferring a substantial long-term financial burden to the public purse.

We are further concerned that this policy was introduced without meaningful consultation with the sector and without a published impact assessment. There has been no transparent analysis of the likely financial damage to rural businesses, nor of the actual revenue the policy is expected to raise. Transitional relief measures do nothing to address the permanent and structural harm this decision will cause.

As BASC members, we strongly urge you to reverse the decision to remove small business rates relief as a matter of urgency.

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely, 

BASC members across Scotland