Naturalists and conservationists who know the uplands are unconvinced by the claims made by the shooting industry that driven Red Grouse moors are rich in wildlife. Here are some more excerpts: Caz Walker: I live in rural Cumbria at 900 feet, not far from the Lakeland Fells, where you’d imagine there would be a lot…
Author: Mark
Born Bristol, UK
Educated: Cleeve House School Bristol, Bristol Grammar School and Downing College Cambridge
Ph.D. University of Aberdeen, Winter activity of pipistrelle bats.
NERC post-doctoral Research Fellow, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford University
Former Conservation Director of the RSPB, 1989-2011
Gems from the written evidence 20 – more from the Peak District
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Locals from the Peak District are rightly outraged by what is happening in their National Park. I’ve already highlighted some written evidence from Bob Berzins, the Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group, Nick Brown and the Sheffield Bird Study Group. Here are some more views: Arne Swithenbank: I walk frequently in the Staffordshire Moorlands where the…
Gems from the written evidence 19 – Nature Scotland
Disclaimer (March 2020) – This was not written by anyone connected to the tourism company ‘Nature Scotland’ and was done by an external person who decided to title it ‘Nature Scotland’. A view from someone in an industry that suffers because of driven grouse shooting; I work in the Wildlife Tourism industry and I can…
Gems from the written evidence 18 – Jim Welford
I found this account, from someone who knows Walshaw Moor and the North York Moors, very strong. here are some excerpts: I’ve been a birdwatcher as long as I can remember, covering many locations, mainly in Yorkshire. Taking a job in Halifax in 2003 gave me easy after work access to the surrounding moorland, there’s…
Gems from the written evidence 17 – retired policeman Neil MacDonald
This is the evidence from someone with plentiful experience of investigating wildlife crime. Here are some excerpts from his expert testimony; I was a senior crime investigator with the police but found investigating wildlife crime a very frustrating part of my work as a police officer. Of the many wildlife crimes I was tasked to…
Gems from the written evidence 16 – taxidermists stuffed to bits!
Please read the evidence from Yvonne Corbet – bird stuffers of the world unite to defend driven grouse shooting (no matter the floods, the loss of wildlife, the greenhouse gases). Woohoo!
Gems from the written evidence 15 – Dr Ian Mclean
There is rather too much talk about birds and too little about everything else in the discussions about the harm caused by driven grouse shooting. So have a look at the evidence submitted by a distinguished entomologist with many years experience (can you spot anyone remotely similar speaking up for the unsustainable management of our…
Gems from the written evidence 14 – Guy Shorrock
More powerful evidence from Guy Shorrock, former police officer and long-serving RSPB Investigations team member; here are some quotes: The phenomenal response to the e-petition, on what many would consider a niche subject, is indicative of the increasing public concern about grouse moor management and the wide ranging environmental implications. Based on a significant volume…
Gems from the written evidence 13 – name withheld
Here is the summary of another very powerful piece of written evidence: The shooting industry and its representatives should be removed from all positions of power where wildlife crime law enforcement policy are discussed or decided upon. Driven grouse moors should be rewilded. This at a stroke, would remove the many very serious problems of…
Tim Melling – wall to wall penguins
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Tim writes: This was taken on a dull, rainy day at Salisbury Plain on South Georgia where hundreds of thousands of King Penguins breed. This was just one small section of the enormous crowd. I think Salisbury Plain is the second largest King Penguin colony on the planet after St Andrews, just a few miles…