She said: "The guga hunt is a centuries-old tradition which reinforces our unique communal identity and helps families keep ancient Gaelic customs alive and relevant in the modern world." Historian Donald S Murray said food security was not guaranteed, and argued that the hunt was not unique. Murray described the campaign against the guga hunt as "monstrous". Murdo MacRitchie, of the Save Our Guga Harvest group, said there was "deep disappointment" in Ness following the decision. "The numbers haven't changed, the situation hasn't changed but the way of measuring the numbers has changed."