An organisation that promotes countryside pursuits has claimed plans to crack down on wildlife crime are flawed.
The Scottish Countryside Alliance said it backed the view of prosecutors and the police that plans to increase investigatory powers for welfare charity Scottish SPCA would create conflict between its campaigning and prosecution roles and could damage public confidence.
The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals to extend the role of Scottish SPCA inspectors.
Official figures released last week showed there were 319 wildlife crime incidents recorded in 2012-13, up from 307 the previous year.
Poaching crimes involving fish, deer and coursing were the most common, offences against wild birds – including crows and seagulls – increased from 55 in 2011-12 to 64 in 2012-13.
A total of 23 bird of prey crimes were recorded in 2013 of which 11 involved shooting, six poisoning, three trapping, two disturbances of habitat and one nest destruction.
Jamie Stewart, director of Scottish Countryside Alliance, said: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s determination to tackle wildlife crime.
“But we cannot support the suggested increased powers for the Scottish SPCA as we do not believe that inspectors can operate impartiality or without prejudice.
“We note that RSPCA employees in England and Wales are not appointed as inspectors under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, reflecting concerns expressed by a wide variety of organisations.
“Those concerns are identical to those identified in this consultation, especially the appropriateness of appointing employees from an organisation that is a charity and has policies and campaigns which could lead to conflicts of interest and the problems of ensuring proper accountability.”
The Law Society of Scotland has called for more police to be deployed to remote and rural areas to tackle wildlife crime.
Animal protection charity OneKind wants the Scottish SPCA to be given more powers to search vehicles suspected of carrying illegal carcases, protected live animals and birds, and illegal traps or poisons.
The Scottish Government will announce in due course any changes to the enforcement of wildlife crime.