Today is the so-called “Glorious Twelfth”, the start of the shooting season for red grouse in the UK.
Grouse shoots are either barbaric or a crucial part of a rural life depending on who you ask.
They are held in the Harrogate district across Nidderdale and are legal. It’s argued that the shoots are vital for the management of moorland but campaigners say a spate of birds of prey killings near to Patelely Bridge this year has raised fresh questions about the practice.
Leeds-based campaigner Luke Steele told the Stray Ferret that birds of prey such as buzzards, hen harriers or red kite are killed on moorland near to Harrogate because they eat grouse eggs, and shoots rely on an abundance of grouse when the season begins.
He said it’s “inevitable” that more will be killed as the grouse shooting season begins.
Read more:
Mr Steele said it’s “difficult to separate” the legal killing of grouse with the illegal killing of birds of prey and called on the government to introduce stricter legislation to stop wildlife crime.
He said:
“There’s an antiquated view that we need to be killing off the birds and burning the heather to create the habitat for the grouse. It doesn’t need to happen.
North Yorkshire Police has issued several appeals for information this year after birds of prey were found either shot or poisoned in Nidderdale — but it’s historically been difficult to prosecute.
The issue was highlighted in July by TV presenter Chris Packham when he told the Independent that not just birds of prey were being killed to protect grouse moors, but also foxes, weasels and stoats.
Andrew Gilruth from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, a charity that promotes grouse shooting, told the Stray Ferret that birds of prey are killed by a small minority of landowners or gamekeepers.
He said:
“If you’re going to look at individual cases of people breaking the law then the police are looking at them. It’s not my job to end all wildlife crime.”
“But there’s a coalition of people fed up with their livelihoods being played with by celebrities like Chris Packham. They are being presented to the world as evil people.”
The food chain
Mr Gilruth claimed people taking part in grouse shoots will eat every bird they kill.
He said it is hypocritical to criticise grouse shooting when shoppers in the district will happily buy meat from the supermarket.
He added those criticising grouse shooting have become removed from where their food comes from and have instead “subcontracted killing to supermarkets”.
He added:
“Would you rather be a grouse flying around where you might get shot or you might not — living the life of Riley — or would you like to be a supermarket chicken who lives to the grand age of 30 days then gets gassed and presented in cling film in a supermarket?”
The rural economy
Mr Gilruth said grouse shooting is vital for the rural economy, bringing visitors to Nidderdale who will stay in B & Bs and eat and drink in local pubs.
He said the thought of this ending “terrifies” many local businesses and said campaigners who want to stop grouse shooting have not come up with a viable alternative for what the moorland will be used for.
He said:
“What jobs will they have? What’s going to happen once you’ve decided to end this?”
However, Luke Steele called the tourism aspect “massively overplayed”.
He suggested that more news reports of birds of prey being killed to protect grouse moors could even damage the reputation of Nidderdale and keep tourists away.
He said:
“It’s affecting the reputation of Nidderdale and the local community.
“In a time when the country is recovering from the covid crisis the last thing Nidderdale needs is bird of prey killings damaging the reputation, but that’s exactly what the grouse moors are doing.”