OK let’s get back to Hen Harriers. Aren’t they lovely? Those who have been defending or promoting driven grouse shooting find Hen Harriers difficult to talk about. It will be interesting to see how much utter tripe some MPs may come up with in the debate we expect to see over the future of driven…
Tag: hen harrier
The not-so-talented Viscount Ridley
Matt Ridley and I were friends a long time ago, but we haven’t seen each other for quite a while, and although I would gladly share a bottle of claret with Matt, we might start talking politics, climate change or grouse moors and that might spoil the mood. I remember we had a very good…
Bad losers and partly to blame
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…
League Against Cruel Sports press release
Parliamentary debate expected as surge in petition signatures to ban driven grouse shooting reaches magic 100,000 Support for a total ban on driven grouse shooting has rocketed with a key petition achieving the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a debate in Parliament. As the grouse shooting season opens, support for the e-petition – set up…
Flock back to M&S, grouse over
M&S will not stock grouse meat this year. Phew! I’ve been missing shopping in M&S. I may buy a bottle of their champagne to celebrate. In a statement posted on their corporate blog M&S say that they will not stock grouse because there aren’t enough of them on the estate which they intend to use…
Look in to the Mirror
I can go for weeks at a time without remembering that the Daily Miror still exists – but it has done us proud this week. Yesterday there was this piece on grouse shooting. Today there was this authored by Chris Packham. Doesn’t he look so out of date with that placard with the number 73,316…
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…
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…
The Inglorious 12th is Friday. Journalists – get your story here
The story about the start of the grouse shooting season this year – on Friday, the Inglorious 12th – is that more 80,000 people have signed a petition to ban driven grouse shooting. Of 3600+ open e-petitions on the Westminster parliament website this e-petition ranks as the 16th most-signed. I am very, very hopeful that…