The decline in breeding pairs of red grouse in Scotland was highlighted on both TV and radio by the BBC this week.
The GWCT’s 2025 spring count, which is part of our nationwide monitoring programme at 35 sites in the Angus, Borders, Dee/Donside, Highlands, Moray & Nairn, and Perthshire, showed an overall decline of 34%.
Pair counts aim to determine the number of grouse pairs going into the breeding season. The 2025 declines are best explained as the direct result of the very poor breeding season in 2024.
Our Director for Scotland, Dr Nick Hesford, met reporter Sionaidh MacKenzie from BBC Alba, to talk about the results.
WATCH: BBC Alba News Report - Starts at 14:32 minutes in
Dr Felix Meister, our Advisor who also carries out the counts, appeared on BBC Radio Scotland’s Lunchtime Live programme to explain why we are seeing these declines in grouse numbers, what the long-term trends are showing and why grouse is so important to the Scottish rural economy.
LISTEN TO the Radio Scotland Lunchtime Live – starts at 48:50 minutes in