I Tried to Gatecrash the Scottish Tory Manifesto Launch as a Gannet

This probably won’t surprise you after yesterday’s email.

Because I said I was going to do whatever it takes to get this issue onto the political agenda and I meant it.

So on Tuesday, I turned up to the Scottish Conservatives’ manifesto launch in Edinburgh dressed as a Gannet.

The plan was simple: walk in, speak to the press, and present what I’m calling the “Ganifesto” a one-policy campaign to end the Guga hunt.

I didn’t get very far. Security weren’t particularly keen on letting a giant seabird into the building for some reason.

But that’s not really the point. Inside, politicians were launching their vision for Scotland. Outside, I was standing there representing a bird that is still legally killed in this country for the sake of tradition.

And that contrast says everything.

Because while parties talk about priorities, every year Gannet chicks are still being snatched from their nests and killed before they can even fly. Not because we need to. Not because it’s necessary. But because the law allows it to continue.

That’s what this campaign is about.

One ask. One change. Remove the exemption. End the Guga hunt.

And now we’re taking this directly to those asking for your vote.

We are asking the Scottish Conservatives and every other party standing in the Scottish Parliament elections a simple question:

Will you commit to ending the Guga hunt?

No more silence. No more avoidance. A clear answer.

Because the public is already there. Polling shows the vast majority of people in Scotland support ending this. The momentum is there.

What’s missing is the political will to act. So if turning up in a Gannet costume to manifesto launches helps force that conversation, then that’s exactly what I’ll keep doing.

Because this shouldn’t still be happening. And the more attention we bring to it, the harder it becomes to ignore.

We’ve set up a petition calling on all major parties to adopt a policy to end the Guga hunt which you can sign here.

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