Grouse moors get a lot of bad press, not least because of their ‘alleged’ link to flooding. But what’s the truth, what are Grouse Moors, who or what benefits from them and what is the alternative?
“Driven grouse shooting consists of a line of “beaters”, blowing whistles and waving flags to chase wild red grouse towards a distant line of guns, waiting to shoot at them as they fly past. By 10 December, when the season ends, around 500,000 grouse will be killed. There is big money involved. Eating a roast grouse costs around £25 in a London restaurant, but shooting that grouse costs £75, so a day’s shooting may cost several thousand pounds.”
Grouse Moor Facts
- Grouse moors account for around 750,000 acres of National Park land.
- The Grouse Hunting Season is 4 months long and starts on ‘The Glorious Twelfth’ (of August).
- Grouse moors have to be prepared before the shooting season begins, which often involves burning heather fields.
- To increase red grouse numbers, heather is burned. To provide a mixed-age profile of heather plants for the birds to eat, wet areas are drained to encourage heather growth.
- Native birds and mammals who ‘interfere’ with grouse shooting are trapped, poisoned or snared. Victims include stoats, weasels, hen harriers, red kites and golden eagles.
- Mountain hares carry ticks that affect grouse, so are killed.
- The Committee on Climate Change estimated that some 350,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year is emitted from upland peat in England, the majority of which (260,000 tonnes) is due to burning on grouse moors.
- Burning the peat-rich moors to produce dry ground suitable for growing heather, reduces the moorland’s ability to absorb and retain water.
- Large quantities of lead shot are discharged, which is toxic to wildlife.
- Grouse shoot operators – whose clients can each pay more than £3,000 for a single day’s shooting – receive millions of pounds annually from the taxpayer via the Common Agricultural Policy.
- Grouse shooting brings around £32 million to the Scottish economy and supports approximately 2,640 jobs.
You can find the sources of all these facts at the end of this article or within other articles quoted in this article.
The Arguments For and Against Grouse Moors
Pros of Grouse Moors
Money & Jobs
What’s clear is that, as usual, jobs and money are the main arguments for grouse shooting.
“The Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group said grouse shooting brings around £32 million to the Scottish economy and supports approximately 2,640 jobs.” – The Belfast Telegraph
And even though people pay a hefty price to shoot wildlife the taxpayer has to prop the industry up. If it’s not a viable business model then why is it even considered? The cynics amongst us – me – might think that rich peoples hobbies and rich landowners are being subsidised.
“The wealthy owners of grouse moor estates received over £10million in public farm subsidies last year, Who Owns England can reveal.” – WhoOwnsEngland
Reduces the Risk of Wildfires
The claim here is that managing the growth of heather on moorlands reduces the risk of wildfires.
Cons of Grouse Moors
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
It seems beyond belief that burning valuable peat-rich moors is thought to be a good idea during a climate crisis. The fact that 260,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted due to the burning is just not acceptable. Have a read of Why Buy Peat Free Compost? for more information about Peat.
Wildlife & Biodiversity Loss
So many native animals and birds are killed so that the grouse can thrive. Hen harriers have had a particularly bad time of it and their numbers were declining at a rapid rate. Hen Harriers are illegally killed due to their impact on grouse shooting.
“They decided to turn red grouse into the equivalent of living clay pigeons — and shoot them, without skill, in their thousands. To do so, they created grouse farms in our uplands: wastelands, scorched to feed just one bird.
After more than 100 years of destroying our national heritage, grouse moors have left our countryside immeasurably poorer. Our upland wildlife — an ecological gallery of wildcats, eagles, hen harriers and many other iconic species — has been relentlessly wiped out.” – The Spectator
Hen Harrier numbers are now increasing, in part due to Defra’s Hen Harrier Action Plan which was “mostly designed to reduce conflict with grouse shooting interests and associated persecution. These include continued police enforcement of bird of prey crime, as well as other activities intended to promote the coexistence of hen harriers and grouse shooting.” – Gov.uk. As part of a brood management plan, Hen Harrier chicks are moved and reared in captivity until they can be released.
Increased Risk of Flooding
The intensive management of grouse moors is a contributing factor to the increased incidences of flooding. There is nothing to stop the water from just heading straight downhill. Planting trees can help to reduce flooding.
Be prepared for flooding or other potential emergency situations with an Emergency Survival Kit.
Increased Flood Risk due to intensive moorland management
Environmentalists highlight the intensive moorland management and a body of science demonstrating that this causes increased flood risk, higher water-treatment costs, greater carbon emissions, damage to moorland habitats and reduced insect life in the streams running off grouse moors. It’s a classic case of a niche activity of a few, hitting the pockets of the many through higher home insurance costs, higher water bills and a damaged environment.
– Mark Avery, The Guardian
Natural Flood Management
Natural flood management (NFM) is the alteration, restoration or use of landscape features to reduce flood risk. Trees, hedgerows and woods are a vital part of natural flood management, and strategic planting can have a positive impact in areas experiencing floods from rivers and surface water.
There are a number of ways trees can help to reduce or prevent flooding:
- By direct interception of rainfall,
- By promoting higher soil infiltration rates,
- Through greater water use
- Through greater ‘hydraulic roughness’ i.e. water experiences increased frictional resistance when passing over land.
Moorland Management can help to prevent flooding?
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) disputes claims that intensive moor management increases the risk of flooding.
“Contrary to Monbiot’s claims, good moorland management can help to prevent flooding by blocking drains, restoring areas of bare peat and reintroducing sphagnum mosses, although the flood mitigation effects are limited. Far from seeking to create drier moors, managers appreciate that on a grouse moor “wetter is better”.”
– Briefing Note Grouse Moors and Flooding
However they do go on to say how they’re changing the management of moors, which to me appears to be an admission that they weren’t managing it too well before…
I think it’s clear from the facts above that the ‘cons’ seriously outweigh the few ‘pros’ of grouse moors. So what are the alternatives?
What could ‘Grouse Moors’ be used for instead?
The BASC seems to think the alternatives they mention are not only the only alternatives but that they are all negatives. For example they hate the idea that these managed landscapes could be ‘lost to afforestation or windfarms’. No… not more trees or sustainable energy please… /sarcasm.
They do also mention that they could suffer from overgrazing, neglect or devastating wildfires, which are good points. But if the landowners are currently subsidised to maintain these landscapes for bloodsports why would they also not be subsidised for looking after the land once it was no longer used by the wealthy for their outdated hobby? (Rich landowners will still be looked after by the Government. I can almost guarantee they won’t be out of pocket).
As a taxpayer who currently helps to subsidise grouse moors, I’d much rather see woodland than acres and acres of heather grown purely so that people can shoot grouse.
“Nine out of ten of Scotland’s shooting properties, including some owned by billionaires, are exempt from paying £10.5 million in annual business rates, according to new research.” – The Ferret
Why not create healthy habitats for wildlife?
But wind farms and afforestation aren’t the only possible uses for the land. There are numerous possibilities. In this time of climate crisis and mass extinction the priority should be to create healthy habitats for a range of native animals, birds and insects.
Create a pathway through a landscape that is diverse and full of life and it’s sure to get plenty of visitors. Allow the landowner to open a tea shop and they’d make a fortune! Who doesn’t love a nature walk followed by a cuppa and a slice of cake?
The conclusion I’ve come to? Grouse Moors are outdated and should be a thing of the past. More people are becoming aware of the consequences of propping up the hunting industry, whether that’s people concerned with animal welfare, nature lovers or environmentalists. And I’ll go back to a point I made earlier. If your current business, aimed at the wealthy, needs taxpayers money to make it viable, maybe you need to think of a different business model…
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Additional Sources
Arguments for and against grouse shooting
Grouse shooting arguments
Arguments rage as grouse moors pocket millions
Grouse Shooting’s Impact on UK’s National Parks
Grouse moors – burning and flood prevention
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