Claim Scotland is ahead of UK in emissions reductions is True The SNP election manifesto contained a claim about the performance of the Scottish Government in reaching 'net zero' emissions.

The last fact check from @theferret.scot.

www.theferret.scot/claim-scotla...

🔴NEW: Kate Forbes tried to attract UAE government investors to Scotland by offering them “rapid access” to policymakers and “bespoke” tours, despite allegations the state armed a militia accused of genocide in Sudan.

Our latest: https://f.mtr.cool/aaeompsnof

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Campaigners accuse Sepa of “flying blind”, and describe the monitoring regime as “not fit for purpose”. More resources need to be devoted to ensuring the health of Scotland’s seas and encouraging nature recovery, they say
https://www.theferret.scot/scandal-sea-lochs-scotland/

SEPA gave 400 Scottish lochs 'good' environmental status but checked only 54, raising doubts about the regulation.

🔴NEW: The monitoring of marine pollution by the Scottish Government’s green watchdog has been dubbed a “scandal” following the discovery that it rates 400 of Scotland’s coastal waters as being environmentally fine based on wildlife samples from just 54 of them.

Last year, The Ferret followed a story from Scotland to Hungary, tracing how a think tank backed by Viktor Orbán was feeding into culture war debates here.

Group of red deer standing on a grassy hill. Overlaid text: “Deer management cost public purse at least £135m in a decade.”

🔴NEW: Scotland’s publicly-funded forestry bodies have spent more than £134m controlling deer over the last decade, The Ferret can reveal.

Find out more: www.theferret.scot/deer-management-cost-pub...

Trump golf resort the only one among Scotland’s top courses to breach environmental rules We asked about the environmental records of Scotland’s 25 best golf courses. The US president’s resort in the north east was the only one to breach its licence in recent years.

Trump’s Menie golf resort was built on a protected sand dune system once considered of “exceptional importance”. It lost its special scientific status in 2020 after the dunes were significantly altered

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AI, misinformation and the Holyrood elections (plus AGM 2026) How does misinformation now spread in Scotland, who benefits, and what it could mean for voters and the result?

Holyrood 2026 will be fought in an AI-driven misinformation era. What does that mean for voters?

Join The Ferret’s online AGM followed by our panel with Dr Paul Reilly (University of Glasgow) and Dr Digdem Soyaltin-Colella (University of Aberdeen).

More info: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ai-misinfo...

Dozens charged for supporting loyalist paramilitary groups banned under terror laws A freedom of information response revealed there have been 193 charges in Scotland under the Terrorism Act 2000. The alleged offences link to banned groups like the Ulster Volunteer Force, Ulster Freedom Fighters, the IRA, and neo-Nazi group, National Action.

New figures show 66 alleged offences in Scotland involving support for banned loyalist paramilitary groups since the Terrorism Act 2000 came into force

🔴NEW: Scottish prosecutors have received more than 100 reports of alleged terrorism related to Palestine Action in seven months, more than for any other proscribed group in the 26 years since the Terrorism Act was introduced
theferret.scot/more-palestine-action-su...

Named: the salmon farms rapped over animal welfare In the past the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency kept secret the salmon farms it censured on animal welfare grounds. Now it has changed its mind.

In the past the UK Animal and Plant Health Agency kept secret the salmon farms it censured on animal welfare grounds. Now it has changed its mind

Wincott shortlists – winners to be announced at awards lunch on May 21 - Wincott The Wincott Foundation received almost 150 entries for its 2025 awards with a host of great videos and podcasts, detailed written investigations, and data analysis. The entries covered all aof 2025's biggest thems with subjects ranging from bond vigilantes and broken Britain to the Epstein files, Trump's tariffs, chinese chipmaking, the AI boom and crypto

We’re delighted to announce that our reporters have been shortlisted for journalists of the year by the Wincott Foundation in the nations and regions category

Circular offshore salmon pens and service boats; headline notes salmon farms criticised over animal welfare.

🔴NEW: A UK government watchdog has named two salmon farms in Scotland which have been reprimanded on animal welfare, following an appeal by The Ferret.

Our latest: www.theferret.scot/salmon-farms-rapped-over...

AI, misinformation and the Holyrood elections (plus AGM 2026) How does misinformation now spread in Scotland, who benefits, and what it could mean for voters and the result?

AI-fuelled misinformation is reshaping online debate ahead of the Holyrood elections. Join The Ferret for an online panel on Wed 22 April, plus our 2026 AGM beforehand.

Details here 👇

Black-and-white image of a man in golf clothing walking on a course, with text headline: “Revealed: Trump golf resort the only one among Scotland’s top courses to breach environmental rules.”

🔴NEW: We asked about the environmental records of Scotland’s top-rated golf courses. Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire resort was the only one found to have breached its environmental licence in the last three years.

Our latest: www.theferret.scot/trump-golf-scotland-envi...

The €500mn hole in Chernobyl’s roof The remains of the world’s worst nuclear accident were contained in a vast steel structure. Then the Russian drone hit

www.ft.com/content/c0f1...

MSPs accuse Scottish Government of lack of 'urgency' on salmon farm reform MSPs have written to the Scottish Government saying lack of progress in tackling the problems in salmon farming risks “eroding public…

A report @vickyallan.bsky.social on the Scottish Parliament's rural affairs committee criticising ministers for not doing enough to make salmon farming sustainable.

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2596965...

FACT CHECK: Campaigners and online posts say new legislation around abortion recently passed by the House of Lords means "abortion up to birth" is now legal in the UK. 

This is Mostly False

www.theferret.scot/claim-abortion-to-birth-...

MSPs have criticised the Scottish Government for making too little progress on salmon farming reform. The Scottish Parliament’s rural affairs committee says key recommendations on fish welfare, transparency and protecting wild salmon have still not been delivered.

In the last ten years @theferret.scot has published more than 80 stories on the salmon farming industry.

www.theferret.scot/tag/salmon/

The committee "expects the Scottish Government to set out a work plan in the early part of the next Parliament" to "ensure the industry is placed on a sustainable footing". It concludes: "Failure to act decisively and with urgency would allow commentary around the industry’s future to persist."

"The committee also remains concerned by a lack of progress in implementing recommendations that seek to protect wild salmon populations from the risks posed
by farmed salmon."

"The committee is particularly concerned that its key recommendations aimed at addressing farmed fish mortality through strengthened regulation and oversight of farms and improved transparency, have not been accepted by the Scottish Government."

The Scottish Parliament's rural affairs committee "is disappointed that across key areas of its inquiry
recommendations, progress in future-proofing the salmon farming industry has not occurred with the urgency called for one year ago."

MSPs have today lambasted the Scottish Government for failing to make enough progress towards making #salmon farming sustainable.

www.parliament.scot/-/media/file...

Briefing here on the forthcoming petition: qrcodelink.wordpress.com/2026/02/06/a...
I've thought about this for a while. Did you know the Reform UK Party is a registered company, apparently complying with the UK Companies Act, despite having policy to scrap Net Zero? The Act needs urgent amendment.

A resident in Montrose told The Ferret the dunes he played on as a child are gone and the coast is being carved away by the sea. We looked at how climate change is affecting Scotland’s east coast 
www.theferret.scot/scotlands-disappearing-golf-courses/