If driven grouse shooting were all it’s cracked up to be then you’d think that local people would be its greatest supporters. Well, they aren’t! It seems as though the inhabitants of Chelsea and Fulham are its strongest supporters – those who whizz in to a grouse moor for a while, shoot, and leave?
If we look at the number of signatures on the two rival e-petitions (Gavin Gamble’s excellent e-petition calling for a ban, and the mysterious Jane Griggs’s e-petition saying that all is fine) from English upland constituencies which have driven grouse moors within them (my estimates – there may be one or two missed – please let me know) then this is what we find:
| #signatures for banning grouse shooting | #signatures in favour of grouse shooting | |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond | 141 | 274 |
| Skipton and Ripon | 155 | 217 |
| Hexham | 104 | 158 |
| Berwick upon Tweed | 104 | 96 |
| Derbyshire Dales | 151 | 74 |
| Scarborough and Whitby | 95 | 59 |
| Ribble Valley | 107 | 53 |
| Penrith and the Border | 123 | 48 |
| Bishop Aukland | 57 | 46 |
| Westmorland and Lonsdale | 155 | 42 |
| North West Durham | 70 | 28 |
| Calder Valley | 170 | 27 |
| Lancaster and Fleetwood | 95 | 25 |
| Sheffield Hallam | 180 | 23 |
| Middlesborough South and East Cleveland | 59 | 23 |
| Keighley | 92 | 21 |
| High Peak | 212 | 16 |
| Colne Valley | 99 | 15 |
| Morecambe and Lunesdale | 70 | 13 |
| Penistone and Stocksbridge | 110 | 11 |
| Shipley | 94 | 9 |
| Pudsey | 71 | 6 |
| Macclesfield | 92 | 17 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | 52 | 8 |
| Stalybridge and Hyde | 50 | 1 |
| Oldham East and Saddleworth | 38 | 2 |
| Total | 2746 | 1312 |
Well, that’s hardly local endorsement for intensive grouse shooting is it? It’s noticeable that the disparity in feeling is very, very high in the Peak District, and of course in the Calder Valley where locals blame increased damaging floods on moorland management. Of 26 constituencies, only three show a majority in favour of grouse shooting. Hardly a groundswell of support, is it?
But let’s take the next few days to increase the numbers of signatures calling for a ban even more please. Please sign Gavin Gamble’s e-petition calling for an end to driven grouse shooting today – it closes on Easter Monday and you might forget if you don’t do it now. Many thanks.
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Sorry I cannot find a box to tick in favour of grouse shooting and how the moorlands should be managed. I know a few upland farmers who take the management of the moors very seriously and admit they have not always got things right and, are now working to improve the way they manage the moorland. George Win Darley a land manager wrote an excellent article in the Yorkshire Post a few weeks ago expressing how new initiatives were helping to protect wildlife on the North York Moors, this coming from a man who has supported and encouraged wildlife projects throughout Yorkshire. I am a long serving warden of a nature reserve and have represented our local RSPB group and, nationally working with FWAG plus many local farmers who are doing more to protect birds/wildlife than some of the single species the RSPB favours. This campaign is political and self defeating the RSPB should grow up and live in the real wold and accept other peoples way of lives (consultation not confrontation). I have been a member of the RSPB for the last 40 years in the early days they were a conservation group for birds now they are a commercial campaigning organisation. I am a very disappointed member who has had to take the hard step of cutting out of my will a large legacy that ran into many thousands of pounds.
Terrance Weston-Warden and wildlife consultant.
Terrance – thank you for your comment.
You really have no idea what you’re on about, do you?
Who in their right mind would want your measly blood money?
Googled “Terrance Weston-Warden” wildlife consultant.
No results found for “terrance weston-warden” wildlife consultant.
Nothing for “terrance weston” wildlife consultant
Nothing for “terrance weston” warden wildlife consultant
Nothing for “terrance weston” warden
I find it remarkable that people post comments on a blog they so clearly have not actually read if they are under the impression that the campaign to ban driven grouse shooting is run by the RSPB (more’s the pity) and they do not have enough information to find the pro-driven grouse shooting petition (not sorry about that).