You can tell when it’s fast approaching the Glorious 12th of August as The Scottish Green Party wake up from their slumber like Michael Bublé on the run up to Christmas. This year was no different as Ariane Burgess MSP published a press release to coincide with the start of the grouse shooting season. The piece was as predictable and brimmed with bias as you would expect.
A quick Google search will tell you that grouse shooting is worth £23 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Scottish economy and supports approximately 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs across England and Scotland, according to a June 2025 report cited in the UK Parliament. More broadly, the entire shooting sector contributes £3.3 billion to the UK economy, generating £9.3 billion in wider economic activity.
When an MSP, who is largely uneducated in matters of shooting and conservation, states that we should “invest in greener jobs”, without adding any detail whatsoever about what these jobs should be and with no projected funding and financial return plan, not to mention what benefits nature might enjoy as a result of these fantasy jobs, it creates concern for those living and working in the sector. “Greener jobs” is a phrase that extremists use to build on this imaginary image of an idyllic land where everyone and everything survives on fresh air. Species recover on their own, communities thrive without the need for an income, and foxes play together with curlew on the moor.
As Andrew Gilruth, Chief Exec of The Moorland Association recently wrote “At (The RSPB’s) other major moorland reserve, Lake Vyrnwy, an independent report found that despite £3.24 million being spent on rewetting over 15 years, the curlew population there has vanished. The charity also seems to have overlooked its own 2018 scientific study showing that curlew breed five times more successfully on driven grouse moors”. Accountability and an evidential basis aren’t even a consideration when parliamentarians use headline-grabbing phrases, such as “degraded biodiversity” in relation to grouse moors. Perhaps they should be asked to provide evidence and detail when making such statements to support their arguments.
The Greens have also blown the dust off the loophole drum once more. During the passing of The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023, the loophole argument was introduced at every stage possible. There were no loopholes. There was the vast majority who acted lawfully and the extremely small minority that did not, yet closing loopholes that did not exist became the obsession of a party that is led not by politicians, but by extreme animal rights organisations. It’s abundantly clear who pulls the strings.
Since Ms Burgess feels so strongly about the loopholes in the Grouse legislation, I invite her to give further detail on these to both our Scottish Parliament and to the people of Scotland whom she is meant to represent. In fact, when invited to meet or to chat about such matters by my organisation a year or two back, The Scottish Green Party either failed to respond or declined to engage. How are these party representatives representing constituents’ interests when they are selective over who they meet with. If your opinion differs then they are not interested.
Ms Burgess goes on to speak of a “compassionate Scotland”. Funny, as they are very happy to support the killing of deer, with their Green Minister Lorna Slater MSP having been the lead on deer management when much of the key legislation passed through Holyrood not long ago. How can a party advocate and push for the cull of a species and then criticise others for killing a different one? It is simply a case of double standards when it suits their agenda. Killing is OK when they get to lead on the species, but barbaric when they don’t get to choose.
The Scottish Countryside Alliance will continue to fight for our rural sector and for the benefit of our natural biodiversity. We will present evidence to substantiate our claims and remain strong whilst representing our members, supporters and those who live and work in our countryside.