2nd February 2015
SIGNIFICANT gains from grouse shooting to the rural economy and conservation have been hailed by a leading North Yorkshire politician.
Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Thirsk and Malton, Kevin Hollinrake said that grouse moor management is worth £67 million to the rural economy, is responsible for 1,500 jobs, the safeguarding of 860,000 acres of iconic heather moorland and for internationally recognised protection measures.
Owners, managers and gamekeepers of land enjoyed by millions of walkers and wildlife enthusiasts were applauded by Mr Hollinrake at a meeting in Lastingham.
Hosting about a third of the country’s moors, Yorkshire members of the Moorland Association (MA) play a vital role in looking after vast, rarer than rainforest, landscapes and some of the UK’s most threatened birds.
Mr Hollinrake praised a £52.5 million annual spend on conservation, adding that MA had played a key part in Defra’s hen harrier recover plan, particularly on brood management, and lobbied for a crack-down on wildlife crime.
(Seated front right) Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Kevin Hollinrake outside the Blacksmith Arms, Lastingham with the publican and other rural enthusiasts.
He said: “We have in in this country 75 per cent of what is left of the world’s heather moorland. Shooting creates the necessary income for its upkeep, along with 42,500 days of work a year.
“It benefits many rural people, from food suppliers to hoteliers and clothing manufactures to dry stone wallers. When calls are made to ban or licence driven grouse shooting, thought is seldom given to the harmful consequences to rural economies and conservation.”
Moorland Association chairman, Robert Benson, welcomed Mr Hollinrake’s comments, saying it was careful moorland management and co-operation by gamekeepers that had led to the successful fledging of 16 hen harrier chicks in England last year.
He added: “On the North York Moors we’ve also seen notable improvements in a number of other at risk species, such as endangered lapwing, curlew and ring ouzel. Breeding records for merlin are four times more abundant where there are keepers.
“We are proud of our restoration of peatland habitats damaged by wildfires, bracken, over-grazing and historic drainage. This helps capture carbon and improve water quality.
“Without the work and passion of our committed gamekeepers and land managers, working in tandem with farmers, many moors would revert to scrub and be lost to all those who love and depend on them.”
