It was bound to happen – the internet trolls are claiming that the recent rush of signatures for our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting has been fraudulent in some way. Ho, ho ho! There certainly has been a rush of signatures, and the speed of growth of the e-petition has taken me by surprise…
Tag: golden eagle
Why driven grouse shooting is doomed
I’m quite often asked whether I really want a ban on driven grouse shooting – I do! And then I’m sometimes told that ‘It’ll never happen’ and I say ‘It will’. This is why. Let’s start with the very obvious, but rarely stated, fact that driven grouse shooting is not essential. We don’t need it….
What I said on Farming Today
Yesterday I took part in a discussion with Andrew Gilruth of GWCT for this morning’s BBC Farming Today programme. Our discussion followed nearly four minutes (3:42 I make it) of a positive piece about grouse moor management with the Chair of the Moorland Association and a gamekeeper. There then followed a four minute discussion. Of…
Golden Eagles disappear too – mostly over grouse moors
RSPB press release: RSPB Scotland has issued an appeal for information following the disappearance of another young golden eagle, the eighth of this species to vanish in the same area in less than five years. The young female golden eagle, named Brodie, hatched two years ago and was fitted with a satellite transmitter shortly before…
The true face of driven grouse shooting
Intensive grouse shooting depends on wildlife crime – protected raptors have to be killed in order for the big ‘bags’ of Red Grouse to be possible. Even if a particular grouse moor does not kill protected raptors, they will benefit if other grouse moors, near and far, do so. Intensive grouse shooting is underpinned by…
Rewild our trashed hills
I think anyone looking at the landscape above would be hard-pressed to call it ‘natural’. It is drained and burned – and it has tracks running all the way through it. It’s the burning that creates that patchwork of different colours – patches of heather that were burned in different years according to a…
The alternative Countryfile interview.
On Sunday Countryfile sank lower than even I thought was possible with a hopeless piece about grouse moors. Here is the link and the piece starts at about 22 minutes into the programme. Presumably, in the interests of BBC balance, Springwatch will be showing this image of how Mountain Hares are looked after on grouse…
Dear Minister
Dear Minister You ought to be thinking of replying to our latest e-petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting – we have now been waiting for over three weeks for a response. In that period, though, the e-petition has gained another 17,000+ signatures. You should be aware that the campaign to end driven…
Most Scots want a ban on driven grouse shooting
In a remarkable YouGov poll (carried out in mid-March) a majority of Scots indicated that they wish driven grouse shooting to be banned. A majority of Scots voters (52%) oppose driven grouse shooting compared with a mere 19% who support it. Opposition to driven grouse shooting is not a class issue but the opponents of…
Guest blog – Two years on by Andrea Goddard
Andrea Goddard co-founded Let’s Get MAD for Wildlife in April 2014 and is a passionate wildlife enthusiast who has volunteered for the RSPB for five years in various capacities, but mainly at Tollie red kites. She is studying Environmental Science for a BSc (Hons) at Inverness University of the Highlands and Islands. 2nd Year Anniversary of…