Building a Pan-Island Network in Scotland

On February 24 and 25, 2025, more than twenty farmers, crofters, and livestock representatives from Scotland’s islands met in Inverness for the first Pan-Island Network meeting to discuss animal disease control and develop action plans for the islands.

The Pan-Island Network is an initiative based on research funded by EPIC and the Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme, and is facilitated by EPIC scientists, Claire Hardy, Stew Burgess, and Niamh Mahon.

Since a stakeholder meeting on sheep scab in 2022, EPIC scientists from the James Hutton Institute and Moredun Research Institute have worked with crofters and farmers on the islands to facilitate workshops and sheep testing. A growing interest in the work culminated in a mobile sheep dipping project in Lewis and Harris to control the risk and spread of sheep scab in 2023 and 2024.

Continuing to share knowledge with the islanders, scientists Claire, Niamh, and Stew conceptualised the Pan-Island Network in 2025, as a resource to build and maintain a sustainable and resilient livestock sector on the Scottish islands. 

At the first meeting in 2025, the EPIC facilitators successfully led conversations to help the islanders plan future meetings and form lasting connections with one another that will positively impact livestock practices on the islands.

Learn more about the first meeting on The Scottish Business News publication.

Please email epic.scotland@ed.ac.uk for more information.