A Twelfth of August that won’t be glorious for many

The Twelfth August should be glorious, an occasion that celebrates the culmination of all the work by gamekeepers that goes on throughout the year to make our grouse moors the unique and internationally important habitats they are. Sadly for many this year, the twelfth will be anything but glorious.

Red grouse are totally wild, living on heather moorland all year round, and unlike pheasant and red-legged partridge, their population is not maintained or increased through the release of birds that have been reared or hatched in captivity. Nesting on the ground, they are particularly vulnerable during the breeding season, and constant cold and wet weather in April and May saw many nests fail. Although grouse will have a second brood if the first is lost, many of these also failed to survive the bad weather that continued into June and early July, and for those chicks that did hatch there weren’t the insects needed for their survival. 

As a result, there are vast areas of moorland without a sustainable surplus of grouse to allow any shooting to take place this season, with many estates having had to cancel most, if not all their days. This is not just a blow to moor owners who let days to help offset the cost of their management, it will also result in a loss of income to all those employed casually on shoot days, whether as beaters, loaders, pickers-up, or catering staff. Cancelled days will likewise have a very real impact on numerous local businesses, with bookings for accommodation cancelled, and the takings in shops and pubs significantly reduced with no spending by either visiting guns or those that would normally come together after a shoot day. What many people forget is that grouse shooting is about whole communities in our uplands. For these, it is an important part of their lives, not just economically, though that is a major consideration for many where opportunities for employment are few and far between, but also socially, bringing together people from all walks of life.

Thankfully, the ongoing investment by moor owners, who are motivated by their love of grouse shooting and their dedication to maintaining and enhancing our upland landscapes, protects the income of those directly employed on estates. Even when there is no income from shooting to help cover the costs, the management therefore continues and it is this that has played such an important role in preserving and improving heather habitat and peatland, sustaining some of our rarest plants and wildlife, and promoting biodiversity.

The Countryside Alliance has published a brief on grouse shooting and its associated land management practices, which you can read here.

Image: Ben Hoskyns