Our e-petition calling for an end to driven grouse shooting is whizzing along – but it is gaining least support in urban Labour constituencies (which is ironic since we used to be told that these are the only people who would support it!).
If you live in Birmingham, Coventry, Oldham, Manchester, Bradford, Leeds or Leicester, or the Welsh Valleys, or in former Labour stronghold of Glasgow, then you are less likely to have signed the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting than if you live in the leafy West Country, or the flatlands of East Anglia, or the Highlands of Scotland or any of our English upland National Parks or Mid-Wales or North Wales. (Examine the interactive map at your leisure by clicking here)
Considering that grouse shooting is a rich person’s hobby, costing sometimes many thousands of pounds for a day’s blasting away at chicken-like birds in the uplands, it is perhaps easy to see why the metropolitan population, particularly those struggling with austerity, might find this subject somewhat irrelevant to their day-to-day needs – but it isn’t entirely irrelevant and anyway, it’s a matter of fairness.
We know that the intensive management of hills for this rich person’s sport increases flood risk (the water flows off the hills quicker), increases water treatment costs (who picks those up do you think?), reduces aquatic biodiversity (watch out anglers!) and increases greenhouse gas emissions. So a pointless sport of using wild birds as live targets for ‘sport’ imposes real costs on the rest of us – whether you are in Brixham or Brixton, Richmond Yorks or Richmond London, or Cumbernauld or Cumberland.
For more information on this subject look at the FAQs on this website, read this book, or comment on this post. But this is all about fairness – should the hobby of a few impose costs on the lives of the many? That makes it an issue of the Left – so, come on Labour voters – let’s see a flood of signatures from the hearts of our big cities please.
The six Oxon constituencies are five Tory and one Labour. Last time we signed 473 between them and so far this time 412. We seem to be slipping behind the average. It is the Labour (city) constituency that is the laggard!
I guess that most of the signatures in Tory areas are by Labour, Green or Lib Dems. The frustrated, disenfranchised constituents who have no say in a first past the post voting system but can make an impression with your petition, Mark.
Richard – you’re doing well. We aren’t even a third of the way through yet! Thank you.
And you are way ahead of the average – which must be in the mid50s (37000/650)