With just less than a week to go until the twelfth of August there are many that are hoping this year’s grouse season will be far more glorious than those most recently experienced. And it will be whole communities, not just moor owners and guns, that are eager for this to be the case.
Two years ago the constant cold and wet weather in April and May saw many nests fail and although grouse will have a second brood if the first is lost, many of those also failed due to bad weather continuing into June and July. For those chicks that did hatch, there weren’t then the insects needed for their survival. As a result there were vast areas of moorland without a sustainable surplus of grouse to allow any shooting to take place, with numerous estates having to cancel most, if not all their days.
Because of this, last year was always going to be a case of many moors having to ‘re-build’ their stock, but despite a good breeding season there was a major setback with widespread outbreaks of heather beetle that thrived in the hot and dry conditions decimating great swathes of moorland. The resultant loss of food and shelter saw many moors for whom it was already going to be a lean season having fewer beats that could be shot, with further days cancelled.
For a second year running the impact on those moor owners affected, who use the income from letting days to help offset the cost of the year-round management that is carried out regardless of whether or not shooting can take place, was considerable. However, what many do not appreciate is that grouse shooting is not just about individuals. It is indeed about whole communities, as a poor grouse season has a direct impact on all those that are casually employed on a shoot day, as well as the many businesses in our uplands that rely on the income generated.
On a shoot day it is not unusual to find fifty or so beaters, flankers, loaders and pickers up with their dogs out a moor. Given that neighbouring moors will ensure well in advance that their shoot dates de-conflict, lots of these casual employees could be out for up to six days a week at the height of the season, bringing in income that is of significant relevance. For the last two years, that loss of income will have been sorely felt, and that is why so many will be looking forward to what is looking to be a far better season for most, if not all, this year.
Being totally wild, red grouse cannot be bred and released from captivity, and it is this that makes them so special, and why their management is so important. Living on our northern uplands throughout the year, they can be affected either directly or indirectly by weather, as we saw during the last couple of years. The availability of prey, habitat, predation and disease also have a direct impact on their populations; populations that can fluctuate enormously from year to year and from moor to moor, with the result that there can never be any certainty well in advance that shooting will be possible.
But when shooting is possible, it is a time to celebrate. The twelfth of August is the culmination of all the work that has been undertaken by gamekeepers throughout the year, in all conditions, to help preserve and improve this unique and internationally important habitat which supports some of our rarest fauna and flora. All the signs are for a much improved season this year and given the importance of this to so many in our uplands where it can be the major economic driver, it is hoped that this does indeed turn out to be the case for all those involved.