North Hunt

“THE FUTURE OF HUNTING IN NORTHERN EUROPE”: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP: MACDONALD AVIEMORE HIGHLAND RESORT, AVIEMORE, SCOTLAND

This one-and-half-day workshop will explore the future opportunities and challenges for hunting tourism in a multi-use landscape. Hunting tourism has been identified as a currently under developed but potentially significant source of regional development in Northern Europe. The perceived lack of social acceptance, combined with inadequate knowledge on the economic potential and ecological sustainability have slowed the development of hunting tourism in many areas of Northern Europe. This event is a chance to hear presentations from the North Hunt team on project findings and discuss the future of hunting with a number of invited speakers from Scotland and abroad.

Sessions are also planned to allow discussions between all those interested in the opportunities and threats to the hunting industry and its role in sustainable rural economies. The work shop is aimed at those with an interest in the future of hunting tourism.

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME

10:30 -11:00 Registration and Coffee
11:00 – 13:00 HUNTING TOURISM: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY (Chair: Sami Kurki)
11:00-11:20 Scott Newey & Sami Kurki - Welcome & Introduction to North Hunt
11:20-11:40 David Watts (Aberdeen University) – “North Hunt: Cross-Country Comparison on Social Sustainability Findings”
11:40-12:00 Fredrik Dahl (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) – “eXpert monitoring models of game species– where X is the unknown factor”
12:00-12:20 Susanna Keskinarkaus (Ruralia Institute ): “Is the demand for hunting increasing or decreasing? The effect of demographic changes on the number of local hunters”.
12:20-12:40 Steinar Beck (The Environment Agency of Iceland) Title tbc
12:40-13:00 Justin Irvine (The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute) – “HUNTing for sustainability”
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 17:00 NATURAL HERITAGE & HUNTING (Chair: Steve Redpath)
14:00-14:25  Adam Smith (The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust) – “Glorious grouse, biodiversity benefits, and economic enhancement”
14:25-14:50 Fiona Newcombe & Linzi Seivwright (The Deer Commission for Scotland) – “Developing hunting tourism in Scotland”
14:50-15:15  Will Boyd-Wallis (The Cairngorms National Park Authority) – “Supporting sustainable deer management in the Cairngorms National Park”
15:15-15:45  Tea/Coffee
15:45-16:10  Christopher Hewitt (Mar Lodge Estate, National Trust for Scotland) – “Mar Lodge Estate – A case of discord or harmony with conservation on a Highland sporting estate?”
16:10-16:35  Gauti Jóhannesson (Advenutra ehf) – “Developing reindeer hunting: From recreation to hunting tourism”
16:35-17:00  Panel (all above) Question & Answer session
18:00 – 20:00 GUEST SPEAKER & BUFFET DINNER
18:00 – 18:45 Mark Hamblin “tooth & claw”
18:45 – 20:00 Buffet Dinner

WEDNESDAY 5 MAY
09:00 – 12:00 HUNTING TOURISM: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES (Chair: tbc)
09:00 - 09:30 Håkan Gyllbring (Rural Business Development Ltd., Sweden) – “Opportunities and challenges for hunting tourism in Northern Europe”
09:30 -1 2:00 Breakout Group; 3 topics, 3 groups, each group spends 20 minutes on each topic.
Topic 1: Monitoring game populations and bag to enhance ecological, social and economic sustainability (Scott Newey, Fredrik Dahl, Sami Kurki)
Topic 2: Branding and Ethics of ‘North Hunt’ (Håkån Gyllbring, Markus Muutola, Eyrún Bjarnadóttir)
Topic 3: Managing sustainability in hunting tourism companies - business challenges (Anne Matilainen, Susanna Keskinarkaus)
10:15 - 10:45 Tea/Coffee
11:30 - 12:00 Reporting and Discussion, Summing up
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 END

ACOMMODATION AND TRAVEL
The workshop will be held at the Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort, Aviemore.  Please see the resort website for more information on location and accommodation http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/aviemore/. 
See the Visit Aviemore website for more information on accommodation http://www.visitaviemore.com/