The crowd was unanimous that the actions of Chris Packham threatened their livelihoods and the biodiversity of the UK. His outspoken criticism of driven grouse shooting, which is the economic lynch pin of many areas of the Highlands, threaten the jobs of many who were protesting. The crowd, which included gamekeepers and their families, also cited the actions of Wild Justice – a campaigning group founded by Packham, along with Mark Avery and Ruth Tingay – which launched a successful legal campaign last Spring that led to the revocation of the General Licences. This debacle came at the worst time of the year, enabling unfettered predation of many vulnerable ground nesting species such as the lapwing and grey partridge, by corvids.
Our shooting campaigns manager, Sam Carlisle, was interviewed by TalkRadio on Wednesday about the protest, Chris Packham and the future of sensitive wildlife management.
You can listen to the interview here, at the segment 15:00 – 15:30, starting at the 20 minute mark.