Grouse Shooting & Management

Environment Agency guidelines split upland blanket bog into six types by how water moves. What the evidence shows and where its gaps lie for moorland managers.

The Moorland Association has complained to the Charity Commission about Friends of the Dales' campaign, citing evidence concerns and risks to gamekeepers.

Survey of 2,424 Guns, beaters and pickers-up found higher wellbeing and less loneliness than national figures, most of all among the over-75s.

Defra figures show UK upland birds fell 19% since 1994. Site studies suggest legal predator control helps curlew, golden plover and other moorland birds recover.

Had a Natural England request for access to your land? Moorland Association advice on the England Ecosystem Survey, compliance assurances and safeguards to agree.

Langholm restored heather and several bird populations, but red grouse never recovered enough to make driven shooting financially viable.

Natural England's 2026 SPA gamebird licence figures show why application and refusal statistics miss the real impact of upland regulation on moorland management.

The RSPB says its reserve bird data can't show trends. Before grouse moor management changes, the Moorland Association asks: where's the evidence for the alternatives?

Derbyshire farmer Geoff Eyre shares over 30 years of Peak District moorland restoration: cool burning, heather from seed, bracken control and wildfire prevention.

Natural England refused or restricted SSSI consent? Our new guide explains the two-month appeal deadline, the evidence to gather and whether you need a solicitor.

Gamekeepers on the North York Moors counted 46 merlin fledglings this summer, up 70% on 2025, in the eighth year of their own annual merlin count.

How MA members can submit estate bird counts, bag records and wildfire logs to Defra's gamebird Call for Evidence before 1 November 2026.