Most Scots want a ban on driven grouse shooting

Mark 34 Comments

scotmap

In a remarkable YouGov poll (carried out in mid-March) a majority of Scots indicated that they wish driven grouse shooting to be banned.

A majority of Scots voters (52%) oppose driven grouse shooting compared with a mere 19% who support it.  Opposition to driven grouse shooting is not a class issue but the opponents of driven grouse shooting are more likely to be women than men, and more likely to be young than old: the future doesn’t look bright for the men in tweed.  But then, nor does the present!

Even amongst Conservative voters there were equal numbers of people supporting driven grouse shooting and supporting a ban on driven grouse shooting (with the strength of feeling being marginally stronger for a ban).

I do wonder what the figures would look like in England – probably nowhere near as strong for a ban because, despite what the grouse shooters say, support for banning driven grouse shooting is strongest in the countryside and the English are a more urban population. But, who knows?

Hares_Lecht_25Feb2016 - Copy (2)We can be pretty sure that the series of facile and condescending comments emanating from the likes of Tim Baynes and Doug McAdam of Scottish Land and Estates will have helped fuel this strong result. There is only so much patronising that the average British voter can take and no more. If landowners continue to kill Mountain Hares because they are inconvenient for driven grouse shooting, and for as long as emblematic wildlife species (such as Golden Eagles) are at grave risk if they visit those areas of Scotland dominated by driven grouse shooting, then strength of feeling will grow.  Take note Tim Bonner, Richard Ali, Teresa Dent and Robert Benson down south!

For a while at least, Scotland seems to be almost a one-party state and support for a ban on driven grouse shooting is very strong in SNP voters.  If Labour and the LibDems want to win back some support then they had better toughen their stance on this issue as well as sharpening up their act across the board.

Mon 15 June CopyAnd the likes of SNH and the Cairngorm National Park need to take a long hard look at these figures and at the map at the head of this post. The people of Scotland, particularly those who live anywhere near the impoverished and damaged grouse moor hills, want change.  It is time to stop treating the laird as though they know best and listen to the people.

This really is a remarkable poll result. As of yesterday when these results were published (or as of March when the data were collected) those who oppose driven grouse shooting are not a few cranks, but in Scotland they, we, are the majority. I don’t mind being called a crank – after all, as any engineer will tell you, you need a crank to start a revolution.

Please sign here to call  on politicians to ban driven grouse shooting.

 

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34 Replies to “Most Scots want a ban on driven grouse shooting”

    1. Beats me. If only there were some sort of clue…

      “In a remarkable YouGov poll (carried out in mid-March)

      All the more remarkable because Yougov has a rather rightwing leaning polling base too.

  5. If the angling community here realised how their interests have been blatantly swept under the carpet because they might embarass the high and mighty grouse moors, how if you were one of the unfortunates whose homes and businesses on Deeside etc were affected by flooding early this year and knew that grouse moors may well have contributed to it or how you are paying more to have your water cleaned so people can shoot lots of grouse for fun then the existing dislike of driven grouse shooting can only go one way, it’s not likely to improve is it? The majority of the public can only have an inkling (thanks to cop outs like Countryfile) as to why grouse moors are ridiculous, but even so what they know is enough that most don’t want it. Imagine what happens if (when) the full story gets out there? Thanks for getting the ball rolling Mark!!

  6. Never mind the data, I’m hitting the “like” button just for that pun in the last line.

    I love the data too and have retweeted of course, but that pun.

    🙂

    1. It is a screenshot of the map as used by the UK Government’s Petition site. If you follow the link to the petition and click the option to show signatures on map, that is the image you get to see.

    1. Too bloody right Jim – in the past hour several hundred signatures have been added to the petition, gobsmacked.

  9. Just learned today that England has lost its’ last golden eagle. Do we want to go that way too?

    To carry on burning heather and turning our uplands into a wasteland to support only grouse is ridiculous and we should all be protesting to ban driven grouse shooting in Scotland.

    Firstly, we should ensure that the likes of Paul Dacre is not allowed subsidies from the EU when the real custodians of the land (the small poor farmers) get very little.

    The people of Scotland are showing the rest of the U.K. that they care about conservation and the environment, we want golden eagles and other raptors, together with all the diverse wildlife in this wonderful land of ours, to survive and indeed increase in number.

    Let’s keep the debate going Mark!

    1. Great, perhaps you can do something with the open sewers you call the aquaculture industry/salmon farming next?

  10. Only 52% ?

    That’s a number I’m sure will rise next year, and the year after that.

    1. With the same survey finding 69% of Scots aged 18-25 ‘totally supporting’ a ban it surely will, Ernest.

  15. I find it embarrassing and significant that our future king Prince William is ready to raise his voice by condemning the killing of endangered species like tiger, rhino and elephant abroad. But on the other hand the prince chooses to ignore the illegal slaughter of England’s rarest bird of prey the hen harrier on red grouse moors, which as far as I am aware remain a part of the country he will one day rule.

    This morning the media was full of how the tiger had increased in number in many countries. The spokesperson being interviewed from India quoted an estimated number of over 3500 tigers alive in the wild. Yet in England there are less than twelve pairs of hen harriers following their widespread and systematic persecution by gamekeepers. Do the Royals believe some animals are privileged and therefore worth protecting, while other animals that upset grouse moor owners by predating the odd red grouse are not?

  17. Holy hell! Who’s tweeted you? Numbers have increased by over 1,000 in the last couple of hours!

      1. I think it may be something to with LACS? Just had an email from them asking to sign the petition.

        2. Bravo LACS! It just shows what an engaged membership can achieve, imagine what the RSPB could do if it chose to? Any guesses when they (the RSPB) will change their tune? Are they, by maintaining their current position, going to advise MP’s not to support a ban if the debate is granted? That would be interesting. I wonder is Martin Harper and the RSPB executive have thought that eventuality through?

          1. As a member I’m patiently waiting for the RSPB to do something pro-active for a change. I do hope I don’t have to wait too long!

  20. Does the Scottish Parliament have the right to ban driven grouse shooting on its own?

    Further thought – has anybody looked at how red grouse adapt to areas where the moors are no longer burnt and trees start to grow back? As its name suggests, the Willow Grouse (of which Red Grouse is currently deemed to be a subspecies) is a bird of hillside scrub. Is it possible that there’d be scope for perfectly viable walked-up shoots, as a few hardy souls participate in for Ptarmigan?

    1. Hi Ian. Yes they could, and a Scottish Parliament Petition sounds like it may not be far off (keep an eye on this blog for developments;https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/ ) . On the other point Red Grouse in natural densities (comparable with Willow Grouse population densities in Scandinavia) occur on many ex-grouse moors on the fringes of the Peak District (e.g. the Eastern Moors https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/e/easternmoors/ , South Sheffield Moors – Stanage, Burbage, Houndkirk, Totley, Blacka etc.) . As there are still plenty of open heather moors in the area (which are easy to maintain by low intensity management without burning and through deer browsing) the question of whether Red Grouse can (re) adapt to moor wooded environments has yet to come up.

  21. I visited the area where the mountain hares were killed and the moor was desolate. There were no mammals to be seen and no birds in the sky. I was on a whistle stop wildlife trip with Carl Chapman of Norfolk, which was otherwise very, very successful – it was the only place where we saw nothing at all. Very sad.

    1. Tht’s the impression gained when I’ve trudged across Ilkley Moor, the Forest of Bowland and a couple of Scottish Grouse moors. Recently one of huntin, fishin, shootin set up here produced a video showing how wonderful the moors were for wildlife. The soundtrack was suspiciously loud, loads and loads of piping waders almost overwhelming the interviewer and interviewee – you’d almost think it had been added on, and loads of film of lapwing, curlew, oystercatcher – except that it didn’t really look like grouse moor, more like farmers’ fields. Would be good if someone just filmed a walk on a grouse moor and let us see what they see – bet it won’t be much.

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