Hunting and Hegemony in the Highlands of Scotland: A study in the ideology of landscapes and landownership

Abstract

This paper reviews and explores the role of hunting estates in the creation and propagation of an ideology of the Highland landscape in Scotland. It seeks to understand a number of thematic debates that have contributed towards a re-assessment of the role of hunting estate and its hegemonic status in the division and use of land in the Highlands and Islands. In particular, the paper attempts to explore the changing face of the hunting estate, how it is constructed and the discourses surrounding its role, purpose and character. The paper concludes by arguing that the era of the Highland Sporting Estate may be ending, that new imperatives in rural development and community empowerment are hastening this demise but that public policy has failed to address the role and purpose of such landholdings.