MPs will be debating Wild Justice’s latest petition to ban driven grouse shooting in Westminster Hall on Monday 30 June. During the last debate on this subject in June 2021 it was clearly shown there was no evidence to substantiate the sweeping claims that were being made by Wild Justice in their attempt to drive forward their anti-shooting agenda. Since then, the evidence in support of grouse shooting and its associated integrated moorland management has only increased further.

In this latest Petition, the wording of which is identical to that used in 2021, Wild Justice have again made the same sweeping claims without the evidence with which to substantiate them. Claims that are refuted by the latest science and research, the details of which are contained in the Countryside Alliance’s briefing note on grouse shooting and its associated integrated moorland management that has been circulated to MPs ahead of next Monday’s debate.

In calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting, Wild Justice first need to have addressed the three dimensions to the core of mainstream sustainability that have been identified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature; environmental, social and economic. Although any alternative land use needs to at least be as beneficial as that currently in place, Wild Justice have failed to set out a viable, alternative vision for our uplands that is supported by peer reviewed research; just as they failed to do previously.

In making their wild claims, they also appear to have overlooked the simple fact if people, both the public and governments, continue to value our unique heather moorland landscapes, then they will need to be managed. Research into the sustainability of driven grouse shooting published by the Institute for Social Innovation and Impact at the University of Northampton in August 2021 found that the current model of integrated moorland management, which includes driven grouse shooting as part of the economic and social mix, is a sustainable approach to maintaining such landscapes. Indeed, contrary to what Wild Justice may claim, there is no evidence that any other management regime would deliver the same result. Our briefing note on grouse shooting and associated integrated management can be read here.