News

GROUSE SHOOTING PROSPECTS FOR 2001 ANNOUNCED

23rd July 2001

Grouse shooting prospects for 12th August this year are looking very positive over most of England’s Uplands according to a recent survey conducted by The Moorland Association. The survey of managers of over 750,000 acres of the remaining 800,000 acres of heather moorland shows that grouse stocks are up by 25 – 30% or more compared to last year, on many grouse shooting estates. The main reasons given for this promising outlook are a cold winter, conditions that help kill disease in grouse, and a warm and dry spring, which is good for the survival of the ground-nesting grouse chicks.

Moorland Association members, with a few exceptions, report good grouse shooting prospects in Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Derbyshire, while parts of Lancashire, which is historically always one year behind the natural grouse population cycle, anticipate 10-25% drop in grouse stocks from last year. Wales is also experiencing lower stock levels due to a wide range of factors, ranging from heavy predation and poor habitat to local adverse weather conditions at susceptible times.

There is also considerable anecdotal evidence* to show that lack of disturbance of nests, as many sensitive nesting areas have been closed due to Foot and Mouth, has been a major contributing factor in the abundance of grouse and other ground nesting bird species this year. Counterbalancing this, restricted keepering and predator control activities during the same period have probably had a negative effect on many grouse moors affected by FMD.

Reporting from Scotland, John Philips of the Heather Trust observes: “In broad terms there are very strong stocks of grouse in the Lammermuirs and Moorfoots, and Dumfries-shire, Ayreshire and Lanarkshire have reasonable stocks. Spey Valley is slightly disappointing with smaller brood sizes than hoped for, but still present fair prospects for the season’s shooting programme.

East Grampian and Perthshire are expected to be good, again due to the favourable weather, whilst fresh outbreaks of the habitat-devastating Heather Beetle have largely been thwarted by the cold, dry May that Scotland experienced.”

Summing up prospects for the 2001 season, Air Cdre Bostock said: “In general, this should be a good year for grouse in the UK. Restrictions due to foot and mouth disease will, of necessity, lead to some cancellations, a delayed start to the season, and some loss of income in parts of the country. Hopefully, this will be mitigated in part by the quality of the shooting that is on offer this year. Along with everyone involved in the farming industry, we hope to see a reduction in the numbers of new foot and mouth cases during the next few months and a subsequent lifting of access restrictions to allow grouse shooting to go ahead in as many areas as possible, without compromising biosecurity.”