Be an ethical consumer – turn your back on grouse!

In a week of grouse-related, Hen Harrier-related, moor manager-related, news – this is the latest, and potentially most important. Following the announcement of the location for the Derbyshire Hen Harrier Day event and the attendance of Chris Packham, and the sacking of Simon Barnes from The Times (which may or may not be related to…

Is this pretty?

Heather burning is vitally important to grouse shooting.  Burning the heather on a rotational basis, every few years, creates a pattern of young and older heather.  The younger heather produces green vegetation that is eaten by Red Grouse whereas older heather provides more nesting cover.   This image from talented wildlife photographer Peter Cairns shows…

Wuthering Moors 45

This is NE’s response to my FoI/EIR request of 10 March. The answer to Qu4a confirms the ongoing scale of the burning of blanket bog in the English uplands and the fact that it has been consented by NE. The answer to Qu 5 seems rather evasive to me. Qu10 – that’s a lot of…

What would you have liked to have asked? Wuthering Moors 44

This interview with the Chief Executive of Natural England is interesting in a way. It illustrates the tensions of pleasing one’s current political masters and living up to the mission that NE has had handed down by Parliament.  Which direction to face? What would you have liked to hear him say? Here are some questions…

Wuthering Moors 43

This is the fourth blog today on the subject of burning of blanket bog (see here, here, and here).  These were sparked (!) by the RSPB releasing data on the scale of the issue and calling for an end to the burning of blanket bog.  There has been a little media coverage of this –…