4th July 2016
GROUSE moor management has been given the thumbs up on Ilkley Moor by Bradford City Council.
The City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council has agreed a draft management plan for the moor which will be put out to public consultation this summer.
Despite a campaign by anti-shooting activists, the current licence – which allows eight days of grouse shooting on the publicly-owned land – will continue to run until 2018.
The council’s draft report acknowledges the positive effect of gamekeepers on the moor while also recognising the benefits of heather and bracken management associated with grouse shooting.
Moorland Association director, Amanda Anderson, welcomed the continued support for grouse moor management saying the benefits went well beyond grouse shooting and maintained a landscape loved by millions.
She added: “You only have to look at what happens when grouse shooting and moorland management stops, demonstrated by studies in the Welsh Berwyn Special Protection Areas (click here for report).
“Within 10 years, nationally important moorland bird populations hit rock bottom. Curlew, black grouse, ring ouzel and golden plover plummeted by 78 to 90 percent. Lapwing completely disappeared.
“On top of this are the huge economic gains. Grouse shooting is worth £67.7 million a year to England’s economy and provides 1,500 much-needed jobs.”
British Association for Shooting and Conservation’s northern director, Duncan Thomas, said: “The council is to be applauded for allowing grouse shooting to continue.
“It’s great news for conservation; grouse moors support a vast range of wildlife and this is absolutely down to the efforts of gamekeepers and farmers. Curlews and the full range of upland waders thrive on managed moors.
“If the heather-clad uplands are not effectively managed, the heather becomes long and rank, creating a sterile wilderness that, in turn, becomes a dangerous wildfire risk. Sadly, this happened on Ilkley Moor before it was managed for shooting.
