Activist in Bird Suit Celebrates Green Win in Edinburgh

When Robert Pownall showed up to the Edinburgh Central election count dressed as a seven-foot gannet, he wasn't trying to win votes. He wanted to save hundreds of seabird chicks from an annual hunt most people had never heard of.

Pownall, representing wildlife group Protect the Wild, stood alongside eventual winner Lorna Slater and other candidates in the May election. He finished tenth with 41 votes, but winning was never the point.

"I stood in this election for one reason: to get people talking about the Guga hunt," Pownall said after results were announced. The week-long hunt on remote Sula Sgeir island sees 10 men from Lewis kill up to 500 gannet chicks each year, a practice permitted by special government license despite gannets being otherwise protected.

During the count, Pownall unfurled a banner reading "Stop the Guga Hunt" while standing on stage. The moment went viral, and search interest in the phrase exploded by more than 5,000% across the UK.

Most people react with horror when they learn about the hunt for the first time. A petition calling for its end has gathered over 100,000 signatures from concerned citizens across Scotland and beyond.

The practice divides opinion sharply. While animal welfare advocates see it as unnecessary cruelty, some Lewis residents defend it as vital cultural heritage passed down through generations.

The Ripple Effect

Pownall's theatrical protest achieved exactly what traditional activism often struggles to accomplish. By making the issue impossible to ignore, he turned a hidden practice into a national conversation overnight.

Now he's celebrating Slater's victory for a practical reason. The Scottish Greens are currently the only mainstream party publicly committed to ending the hunt, giving Pownall's cause a voice in government.

"We're delighted that Lorna Slater won the seat," Pownall said. "We hope to work with Lorna and other MSPs on this issue in the coming months."

The collaboration signals a shift from street theater to policy change. What started as one activist in a bird costume could lead to real protection for thousands of seabirds.

Sometimes the most serious conversations start with the silliest stunts, and this giant gannet might just save his smaller cousins.