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Grouse shooting and its associated integrated moorland management

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Grouse moor management has played a key role in creating and maintaining our upland landscape, preserving and improving heather habitat and peatland, sustaining some of our rarest plants and wildlife, and promoting biodiversity.

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Grouse are a wild bird and, unlike pheasants and partridges, their population is not maintained or increased by the release of birds which have been hand-reared. Living on the moor all year round, red grouse are territorial and travel very little during their lives, and with the right conditions can breed prolifically. However, as ground nesting birds, they are particularly vulnerable to predators, disease, weather, and loss of suitable habitat, which makes the preservation of this unique species both demanding, and of considerable importance.

Heather moorland in the UK is internationally important and it is widely recognised that grouse shooting has helped preserve it. Those calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting need to set out a viable, alternative vision for our uplands. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has identified the three dimensions to the core of mainstream sustainability as being environmental, social and economic. All three need to be addressed by anyone wanting to see a change to the status quo, and any alternative land use needs to be at least as beneficial as that currently in place.

 

It is because of their management for grouse shooting that more than 60 percent of England’s upland Sites of Special Scientific Interest are managed grouse moors, and over 40 percent have also been designated as Special Protection Areas for rare birds and Special Areas of Conservation for rare vegetation under the EU Birds and Habitats Directives.

 

The theory and practice of modern gamekeeping is focused on conservation and a respect for biodiversity. Modern gamekeepers are expected to have undertaken formal apprenticeships or college courses, gain practical qualifications, and attend best-practice courses.

For many upland communities, grouse shooting plays a pivotal role in the local economy, providing a valuable source of jobs and income for local businesses. It also underpins the social life of these communities and helps to tackle rural isolation.

Improvements in grouse moor management continue to be made on the basis of evidence and principle, with stakeholders working together. Grouse shooting is heavily regulated and controlled, with extensive legislation in place that has an impact on almost every aspect of grouse shooting and its associated integrated moorland management. Any additional legislation, or licensing requirements, would need to be consistent, evidence-based and principled.

If people, both the public and governments, continue to value heather moorland landscapes, then they will need to be maintained. 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, that includes driven grouse shooting as part of the economic and social mix, is a sustainable approach to maintaining such landscapes. Indeed, there was no evidence that any other management regime would deliver the same result.

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