This is the last day that you can sign my e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting.
It was launched on 28 May and ends today when the Westminster parliament is dissolved. In just 10 months it has helped change the whole tenor of the debate about the future of grouse shooting.
No longer is driven grouse shooting regarded as a harmless rather quaint pastime for men in tweed that does no-one any harm (except the grouse of course). The management of land so that a few rich people can shoot large numbers of Red Grouse depends on large amounts of legal killing of predators (foxes, crows, stoats, weasels etc), illegal killing of birds of prey and many mammals, burning and draining of moorland which increases greenhouse gas emissions, increases flood risk (and therefore home insurance costs) and pollutes water (and therefore increases water bills). This is a practice which benefits the few at the expense of the many and which occurs nowhere else in the world. We’d be better off, much better off, without it.
The e-petition, on the government website, has been signed by over 22,000 people – making it one of the most successful ever (in the top 0.5%). Every signature strengthens the message to the next government that it should act.
Please have a look, and then please sign up.
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Thanks, Mark, for all your work on this issue. Good luck for it.
Your third paragraph explains succinctly why this practice should be ended. Surely the only people unpersuaded by your argument are those who participate or make their living from killing defenceless birds, and those who – in many cases laudably – take a libertarian view and prefer not to stop people doing anything within reason.
I hadn’t known this ‘sport’ was unique. Uniquely futile.
This also the last day for MP bothering if you’d care to join the campaign to ‘act for Nature’. Sadly, this isn’t an Equity-led fundraiser to parallel Red-nose Day with e.g. Sir Ian McKellen railing on the behalf of, er, rails, but it is pretty much the closest the UK wildlife conservation movement has come to working together to influence politics (And you can even chose not to receive yet more BUMPH from the RSPB/WTsers – Shame about that excellent marine project dying the death in Dorset. So much for the Living Seas).
So, if you’ve already signed up on the grouse front – or even if you haven’t – and especially if you’d like to receive a letter from your MP on House of Commons paper (I do wish they’d realise how pointless and wasteful this is. So much for e-Government) then do support the call for a Nature and Well-being Act. Just Google Act for Nature, sign up via your.chosem route (share with yiour frieds, family & stick insect) and help make the next government just a little less gangrenous.
And congratulations, Doctor Avery.
Congratulations Mark on all your efforts on this e-petition. A very significant contribution to achieving the banning of this nasty, so called, “sport” and all that goes with it. According to the ancient Chinese proverb “a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step”. I am sure this e-petition represents a great many steps towards achieving the objective of a ban on driven grouse moors. Any Government of the day would be wise to take note of the number of signatures and act upon it. The battle will go on and every one that sees this “sport” for what it really entails will reach that 1000 miles. It will take time but it may possibly come quicker than we think.
Yes Mark thanks again for this, it has genuinely upped tempo and changed nature of debate re field sports in UK. Seems to be a definite change of mood, and that is in no small way due to you giving us an opportunity and way to express our disgust and frustration. Saying driven grouse shooting is a ‘tradition’, that moor owners are ‘guardians of the countryside’ just won’t cut it anymore (did it ever?). If it is so wonderful why aren’t other countries adopting it? Could it be that their rural communities are more vibrant and healthy and less cowed, they see driven grouse shooting as a destructive nonsense not as a pathetic source of a very few badly paid jobs they should doff their cap for with immense gratitude? Well done and thank you.
From The Observer 29 March 2015:
‘The UK’s managed shoot industry, which sees millions of pheasants raised and shot every year, has received support from an unexpected quarter.
In a blog published on the website of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, its conservation director Martin Harper has praised the role of managed shoots in protecting wildlife.
“The contribution progressive shoots can make to supporting threatened wildlife is significant, and we are delighted to help them further,” Harper wrote. “This isn’t a contradiction. We simply do whatever nature needs and will work with anyone that wants to help wildlife.” ‘
A shame that Parliament has to reopen? All the scandals linked with the palace of Westminster is it not time for a serious change? Sadly, far too many have shown disregard for us, their paymasters? If developers and their network seek influence then let’s have some open and transparent system which sees some kind of independent mechanism screen ‘activity’ and conduct all stages? Self regulation, it’s a joke?
What would we miss if we didn’t have to fund 650 + 850 extravagances? OK maybe there are handful worth considering but far too many career politicians who have little experience or expertise of real life, too many on short term ‘contracts’ (five year) who forget that real life is a long time at the crease and carelessness can have consequences?
Let’s decentralise, offer the palace on a long lease to some mega rich developer and include the £3bn restoration in the deal then we are no longer burdened by the white elephant? Recamp to some redundant ‘shed’ development somewhere with reasonably accessible by public transport?
Well done Mark.
Yes I have watched as the highland hillsides have gradually ended up moving towards just grey barren rock over the years due to burning for grouse shooting as they desperately try to get heather shoots to grow for young grouse, but you can see that the land is not regenerating and this has mostly been over the last 10 years I would say. And this was confirmed by a local farmer who had also observed this.
I also feel very sorry for these poor harmless wild birds who only want to live in peace. It used to be very much in the past just those typical type of tweed clad gentleman who would go grouse shooting and eat in the local hotels. Perhaps small scale stuff. But now its probably all “new money” and perhaps people from abroad – really we dont need these types of people. Far better to focus on other areas which benefit everyone. Eg regenerate the ecosystem to improve the environment as forest and woodland in Europe is one of the four big oxygen producers in the world. So it is very important. And it could then support native wildlife such as deer, wolves etc. in balance. And I imagine other sports such as pony trekking and mountain biking could be encouraged. But anyway the North East for example of Scotland is regenerating well now anyway and feels like a well off area now, so I am sure can exist well without grouse shooters.
Any member of the RSPB that hasn’t signed this should hang their heads. With over a million(?) members only10% needed to sign Mark’s petition for the issue to be forced in Parliament. I’m disgusted.
Is it just my system but the purple screen of epetition appeared today, so any last minute flurry by the RSPB million members …. shame on Bob?
& the Wildlife Trusts reported 800,000 membership, where were they?
H&OT have shown their cards but as Chris L says, shame but true grit is needed (no pun intended either).
I wanted to rejoin the RSPB after their picking up the NE ball over “Wuthering Heights” but ….
#HaveYouSeenHenry?
Congratulations Mark,
I remember that when you first announced the e-petition I thought that the game (pun intended) was about to change. There is no way that completely changing the uplands into a distorted heavily controlled environment is a natural thing for which the grouse shooters should be praised. As for the economic ‘benefits’ of grouse shooting, imagine if the all the money that went into it actually went to real land management and conservation. In hardly any other area are individuals exempt from control and consequences for their actions. I think it is not extremely likely, but it would be amazing if the hen harrier won for our national bird in May.
A simple thank you from me.