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Buzzard control

Wildlife legislation provides for the protection of our wildlife, and the licensing procedure exists to create the ability to undertake, but only where there is a valid justification, an activity affecting a plant or animal which would otherwise be illegal. Natural England issues thousands of ind...

Who cares about wildlife disease?

Assessing grouse for worms

Before commencing parasite management, it is important to know what levels of worms are present in grouse. Strongyle worms should be counted from a sample of 20 adult grouse randomly selected from those shot, preferably in August and again at the end of the shooting season. Worm counts can either...

Grouse Technical Services

Monitoring services We offer basic disease and population monitoring services to assist with ongoing management ambitions. We can: Do your worm counts Undertake spring and summer grouse counts Identify the presence of louping ill by blood testing grouse, hares and sheep Analyse worm presence whe...

Parasites and red grouse

An economic study of Scottish grouse moors

Alternative uses for upland moors

Moorland is less agriculturally productive than other land and most grouse moors are classed as ‘Less Favoured Area’ (LFA) because of their lower production and distance to market. Income generation from land in these areas is mostly from: Game management Livestock grazing Commercial forestry Re...

Black grouse fence collisions and marking

The problem Download this guide Download PDF » Local reports show that black grouse collisions with some stock fences can be frequent. During limited one-off searches during the winter of 2000/01, we found 1.4 carcasses per kilometre. Bird collisions with fences are widely documented. Two...

The effect of sheep grazing on heather cover and red grouse numbers

Key points Heather moorland is an important habitat for breeding birds but has declined across the UK. The authors studied changes in heather cover over 70 years in relation to changes in sheep grazing on Langholm Moor, and examined the impact on red grouse. Between 1948 and 2009, when Langholm ...

Red grouse