Wildfires spread by extreme weather have devastated habitats across the UK, leading some elitist London restaurants to report a shortage of wild birds’ flesh for the annual shooting season, complaining they wanted to sell the birds killed by shooters, and ignoring the fact that many of the fires were caused by the shooting industry itself. The intensive management of grouse moors, which involves draining peatland and burning vegetation, creates ideal conditions for wildfires as dry peat acts as fuel that smoulders for extended periods.
The Red Grouse is a native and wild species found only in Britain and Ireland. Although the Willow Grouse is hunted elsewhere in the world, driven grouse shooting targeting the Red Grouse only occurs in the UK. Driven grouse shooting is like driven Pheasant or partridge shooting in that the shooters wait in a line for the birds to be chased over their heads by a line of “beaters” and, as the scared birds fly past the shooters who will shoot them dead or wound them. National Parks have lots of grouse moors where heather is burned to create conditions for Red Grouse to survive through the summer to be shot at in the autumn.
Ariane Burgess, rural affairs spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said to the Guardian, “Scotland’s land is one of our greatest assets. It should be supporting thriving rural communities, restoring nature and tackling the climate crisis, rather than serving as a private playground for the wealthy few. The real glorious future for Scotland’s moors would be seeing wildlife flourish on them, peatlands restored and rural jobs created through the recovery of our natural environment.”
The Green Party in Scotland has called for the traditional start of the grouse shooting season to be banned due to these destructive practices. In response to environmental concerns, the UK government recently introduced a ban on the burning of vegetation on deep peat to preserve critical habitats. Meanwhile, global heating caused by fossil fuel pollution continues to increase the frequency and severity of heatwaves across Europe.
