Findlay Wilde is a mate of mine and when this Halloween guest blog is published we will probably be sitting close to each other in Westminster Hall listening to the debate on the future of driven grouse shooting. Or we might have gone to the pub… Previous guest blogs by Findlay: Is the future in…
BLOG POSTS
Dear minister 5 – it’s not all about the money
Dear Therese Coffey I have already covered four areas relevant to the debate on driven grouse shooting that takes place this afternoon in previous blogs today (wildlife crime, conservation impacts, public opinion, wider environmental impacts) but the last one is that of economic value. Defra has relied on figures provided by the grouse shooting industry…
Dear minister 4 – the wider environmental arguments
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Dear Therese Coffey Driven grouse shooting depends on intensive moorland management – which has intensified in recent years see here and here). The primary management actions involve burning of heather, drainage and burning of blanket bogs, culling of native predators and medicating the Red Grouse to combat the impacts of parasites and diseases. These impacts…
Dear minister 3 – what do the public think?
Dear Therese Coffey When you close the debate on the future of driven grouse shooting this evening we will listen carefully to your words. Have you listened to the views of the public on this matter? It would actually be a popular move to ban driven grouse shooting and it will be very unpopular if…
Dear minister 2 – the impact on nature conservation
Dear Therese Coffey It is relatively easy for the public to forget that Defra is supposed to be on the side of wildlife when its most public actions are often to support economic activities at the expense of wildlife and to do this without bothering too much with the science. Take badgers, bees and buzzards…
Dear minister 1 – the status quo just won’t do
Dear Therese Coffey Today I assume that you will close the Westminster Hall debate on driven grouse shooting. I’m just guessing here, but I’d be surprised if you will be signalling that Defra is asking for parliamentary time for a ban on driven grouse shooting. OK, that time will come eventually. But what you really…
Oscar Dewhurst – Woolly Monkey
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Oscar writes: While we were watching the Cock-of-the-Rock lek, I spotted some movement in the trees at the back, which turned out to be a troop of Woolly Monkeys moving through the forest. This was a species I never saw during my time in the rainforest in 2014, due to being a too low an…
Gems from the written evidence 23 – an ex-gamekeeper
This is very interesting, and I suspect this man, an ex-gamekeeper was rather brave to speak out like this. Here are some excerpts from his written evidence: I am writing regarding the recent petition to ban Driven Grouse Shooting and its proposed debate in Parliament. My name is Paul Tooley and until recently I had…
Gems from the written evidence 22 – Hugh Webster
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This was a very well-written and well expressed piece of evidence. Here are some extracts: I firmly believe that the law should be changed to specifically ban driven red grouse shooting. I am aware that some conservationists would settle for a licensing system as a compromise, but this tempting option fails to address the underlying…
Writing competition – Wildlife and the Arts winner, Ross Hunter
I am twenty-two years old and I am currently a bookseller in Waterstones having recently graduated with an English Literature degree from The University of Aberdeen. My interest in nature was sparked by visits to my Grandpa’s farm in Aberfeldy, Perthshire and an entirely spontaneous obsession with birds during my early years of high school….