On 8 May, during the Scottish Parliament Elections, a candidate who only got 41 votes became a sensation on social media.
Wearing a bird costume, Rob Pownall contested the Edinburgh Central seat against the likes of the SNP’s Agnus Robertson and the Green’s Lorna Slater.
Pownall was an independent candidate who ran a single policy campaign on abolishing the Guga Hunt in the north of Scotland.
The controversial tradition, which dates back over 500 years, involves killing hundreds of Gannet chicks.
Gannets are seabirds whose population is already under concern due to bird flu. The practise exists in order to harvest meat from the birds. It is already strictly regulated by NatureScot.
Pownall is the founder of the Protect the Wild organisation, which campaigns to end all forms of animal hunting.
He stood for election in order to raise awareness of Guga hunting and donned a large bird costume as the vote count was announced live by the BBC.
On Instagram, the Protect the Wild’s official account congratulated Lorna Slater for victory in the constituency and declared the Scottish Greens as: “The only party currently committed to ending the Guga hunt.”
“Muddy gannet chick. Cherry Kearton’s Penguin Island. Lambert’s Bay. May 1960 (35046721973)” by Dr Mary Gillham Archive Project is licensed under CC BY 2.0.”