Tim Bonner: Is Grouse shooting the new hunting?

Hunting, an activity carried out by a few tens of thousands of people which accounted for a tiny proportion of the mammals culled in the UK, became one of the dominant political issues of the 1990s and 2000s. This was obviously not because it was a priority in terms of animal welfare or rural communities, but because in the words of its most ardent opponents it was “a totemic issue for the Labour Party”. Grouse shooting shares many of the facets which made hunting irresistible to left wing politicians, in particular the perception of wealth, privilege and exclusivity. It should be no surprise, therefore, that whilst hunting has never gone away and remains a live political issue, the animal rights movement has always had grouse shooting next on its agenda.

Like hunting, grouse shooting has a limited number of participants because only God can make grouse moors and the supply of shooting is strictly limited by the landscape He created. Grouse shooting cognoscenti would argue that God cannot have created the world in August because no all-knowing entity would have rested on the seventh day when the finest game bird that flies was waiting for His attention.

We have to be honest that the extraordinary and unique experience of shooting driven grouse and its strictly limited supply have brought together some of the richest people on the planet and some of the largest landowners in Britain. There are, however, some of us who are not in either of those categories but are still lucky enough to experience the thrill of grouse shooting on the odd occasion and grouse moors, like hunts, are the centre of entire social and environmental ecosystems. Many thousands of people who will never shoot a grouse are touched by its economic and ecological impact.

None of this, however, matters to some in politics who are wilfully blind to its benefits and instead focused on creating a caricature that allows them to use grouse shooting, like hunting, as a cipher for the class war of which they cannot speak. This may be frustrating, even infuriating, but it is an undeniable reality which is currently being played out in the Scottish Parliament and which is likely to come to Westminster soon.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill which would make the shooting of red grouse illegal unless it is licensed. Everyone carrying out grouse shooting, even if only shooting a few brace a year, will be required to apply for a licence which could be revoked if conditions were breached.

Our colleagues at Scottish Land & Estates, along with the Scottish Countryside Alliance and other rural organisations, have produced a briefing note to help when responding to the consultation which can be obtained from shooting@countryside-alliance.org. Those with an interest or expertise whether or not they live in Scotland should respond to the consultation by the deadline on Friday 5 May.

Meanwhile, in England and Wales the threat is even more serious. In its last manifesto the Labour Party committed to a consultation on banning grouse shooting entirely. The Alliance and our colleagues in the Aim to Sustain partnership are engaged with the Labour Party at every level and grouse shooting will be seen as an indicator as to whether Labour’s warm words about reconnecting with the countryside are backed by action. You cannot claim that rural communities are in your DNA, as Keir Starmer did last year, and then enable prejudiced attacks on those communities by left wing class warriors. We have been down that road before.