Help us brief MPs before the Westminster debate on driven grouse shooting

We wrote last week about the forthcoming Westminster debate on the future of driven grouse shooting and the importance of preparing for it by briefing politicians with credible, scientific evidence.

Since then we have started a fundraising campaign through JustGiving in order to raise £10,000 which will allow us to produce definitive literature on the issues surrounding driven grouse shooting and enable us to put it in the hands of politicians.

So far the response has been very encouraging. At the time of writing (12pm on Monday 26th September) we’re nearly half way there.

However, with the debate due to take place very soon, possibly at the end of October, we need to start work now. Please donate here and help us ensure that when the future of driven grouse shooting is debated in parliament, politicians have all the facts and scientific evidence so that informed decisions can be taken.

Comments

The management of grouse moors.

at 13:41 on 19/10/2016 by Alec Swan.

Three excellent and previous posts, with complete agreement, from here anyway! Considering Stephen Smith's observation that as a predator, the hen harriers are in turn predated upon by foxes, I suppose that those who would focus their attention solely upon harriers, would be entirely supportive of the local vulpine population being controlled. Would I be right? If the hen harrier population has grown, exponentially along with the red grouse, then we can deduce that it's the availability of food and the destruction of competition (foxes) which are responsible. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of anyone with an interest and regardless of which side of the fence, to understand that if grouse shooting becomes uneconomic, then there will be a heavily reduced food supply for harriers, fox numbers won't be kept in check, and the well being of the harriers themselves, will be at serious risk. It isn't rocket science, it's simple common sense, I'd say!

Hen Harrier/Grouse Conflict

at 16:42 on 29/09/2016 by MIKE GROVES

Lets be honest it's the plight of the hen harrier on managed grouse moors which has mainly brought about this ministerial debate. I personally don't want to see driven grouse shooting banned but I would like to see a sensible number of breeding harriers back on managed grouse moors. Nobody can deny that in most areas this wonderful man made habitat pulsates with a huge range of biodiversity. Is this one missing part of the jigsaw worth losing everything for?

Grouse shooting

at 20:10 on 28/09/2016 by H. Church

Scotland's landscape is world famous and heather clad hills are a major contributor . Heather hills can only be used in 3 ways ,grazing ,grouse or forestry . Sensitive grazing and grouse shooting are good for heather , forestry certainly is not . Heather moorland hosts a unique and varied fauna and flora including many endangered species . Game keeping measures help many of the ground nesting birds such as curlew , golden plover and maybe even the hen harrier which suffers from fox predation. If driven grouse shooting is banned heather moorland will be under threat of planting , overgrazing or reverting to scrub and then trees. End of landscape!

Hen Harrier/Grouse Shooting debate

at 22:17 on 27/09/2016 by Stephen Smith

This is an obvious comment to make, but the press frequently present this issue as a difference of interests between conservationists and shooters. It should be made very clear that Shooters are conservationists and the work done to support shooting has far more conservation benefits than those purported to be made by celebrity presenters and conservation bodies such as the RSPB. The argument to support grouse shooting on economical grounds to rural communities is valid but the enormous environmental benefits of grouse moor management should not be under stated.

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