A recent article in Shooting UK asks ‘Has commercial driven shooting reached a watershed?’ – it sure has! It’s an interesting read, it’s always interesting to see what others think about things that interest you, but my take would be a little different than the author’s. First, it’s a bit surprising that the author can’t bring…
Category: BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING
NEWS: SNP policy is for licensing of shooting estates
Scottish National Party (SNP) delegates officially adopted a policy supporting licensing of driven grouse shooting estates at today’s National Council in Perth, making it certified party policy to support licensing for driven grouse estates. The move adds considerable momentum to the campaign for shooting estate licensing. Ian Thomson said, ‘RSPB Scotland commends the National Council…
Peak District hush-up
You may remember that in a recent public consultation on the way forward, over 40% of respondents to the Peak District National Park future plans mentioned the impact of grouse shooting, heather burning and illegal persecution of birds of prey, on the ability of the National Park to meet its objectives. The Peak District has…
The Raptor Persecution UK Marsh Harrier revelation
I can’t remember Raptor Persecution UK getting a story badly wrong – admittedly their spelling and grammar are sometimes a bit suspect but their facts and news are spot on. And so I’d be very surprised if they have been misinformed about the desire of grouse moor managers to bump off Marsh Harriers revealed today. …
‘I cannot let great recipes die just to be politically correct’ – Tom Kitchin
‘Every year when August 12 comes round I get so many trolls on my Twitter feed, telling me about lead poisoning, about hen harriers, but I cannot let great recipes die just to be politically correct.’ says the Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin, whose Edinburgh restaurant specialises in all sorts of game (as quoted in The…
Not so great British Game Week
Great British Game Week ended yesterday. I’m sure it was a great success but on Twitter the top posts were all to do with raptor persecution – there’s an example below. Well done! To @raptorpersscot, @_robsheldon , @ban_dgs and others for using this social media opportunity to ram home the message that driven grouse…
Scottish government grouse moor enquiry
Scottish government press release: New group to focus on sustainability of driven-grouse moors. Membership of an independent group to ensure grouse moor management practices are sustainable and legally compliant has been confirmed. The new group will be led by Professor Alan Werrity, who previously chaired a Scottish Natural Heritage review into sustainable moorland management. It…
NE don’t know much about their study
Back on 1 October I asked NE some questions. They asked for extra time to answer them and I had a response yesterday afternoon. The questions related to an excellent NE publication of 2008 entitled ‘A future for hen harriers in England?’ which it is well worth having a good look at, and asking yourself…
Defra calls this a problem species…I call it wondrous!
‘Targeted control of problem species is only one part of a complex mix of factors that can influence populations’ Defra response to Gavin Gamble’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting. This is what targetted control looks like in twentieth century UK: Please sign the e-petition to which Defra was replying to show…
When Prince Harry went down to the woods…
It is 10 years ago that three observers (one a minor) were watching Hen Harriers coming in to roost at Dersingham Bog NNR when the birds fell out of air and shots were heard. I’ve always believed that those birds were shot and that it wasn’t a made-up account. Indeed, I have also thought the…