People who commit wildlife crimes could face tougher penalties under new Scottish Government proposals.

Environment minister Aileen McLeod accepted recommendations from the wildlife crime penalties review group to introduce the new maximum penalties.

Subject to the necessary legislative steps, this could mean fines of up to £40,000 and 12 months in prison for certain offences.

The Scottish Government will take forward further recommendations from the group, including greater use of alternative penalties such as seizing equipment used to carry out offences, greater use of impact statements in court and exploring creation of new sentencing guidelines.

Dr McLeod said: "Wildlife crime has no place in modern Scotland, this is why I have decided to increase the maximum available penalties to bring wildlife offences into line with other environmental crimes.

"It is important we have appropriate penalties that deter criminality but also reflect the impact these crimes can have on our environment and Scotland's reputation as a wildlife tourism destination.

"Work will now begin on bringing together a list of relevant offences this change would apply to."

The announcement was welcomed by Scottish wildlife and land organisations.

RSPB Scotland director Stuart Housden said: "Today's announcement from the Scottish Government on tough new maximum penalties for those who commit crimes against wildlife is a welcome step forward.

"Scotland has some of the strongest wildlife legislation in the UK but, ultimately, we need wildlife crime to be seen as completely unacceptable so that gamekeepers, landowners and countryside bodies do not tolerate it or turn a blind eye when they suspect it."

Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land and Estates, said: "It is right to bring up to date the maximum penalties available to judges for certain wildlife crime offences and to take forward other measures such as a more systematic use of impact statements and alternative penalties appropriate to the crime.

"Wildlife crime can take many different forms. We note these changes to penalties come against the backdrop of a decline in wildlife crime generally and hope these measures will help that trend to continue."