Grouse Shooting & Management

Lord Botham on Defra's plan to licence shoots: black grouse up 61% on keepered moors, down 38% on RSPB land. Why officials shouldn't hold the power to close estates.

Defra's Call for Evidence on gamebird release and shooting is open until 1 November. What it asks, what it isn't, and how moorland managers can respond.

Defra is weighing gamebird shooting licensing. Why the Moorland Association is engaging now, what it has asked Defra, and what members should expect.

An eight-year experiment showed predator control roughly tripled golden plover breeding success. Here is what the science says about waders on grouse moors.

The Law Commission is reviewing environmental regulation for English farming and land management. Send your examples of overlapping consents and red tape.

Almost 90% of England's black grouse are found on grouse moor fringes. Here is what the research says about their recovery in the North Pennines.

Merlins nest on the ground in heather. Peer-reviewed research shows what predator control and open moorland mean for Britain's smallest falcon.

A large share of Britain's breeding short-eared owls nest on open upland moorland. Here's why these vole-hunting, day-flying owls depend on the hills.

Natural England's Peatland Restoration Roadmap puts 95% of the pipeline on upland ground, but three-quarters of it has no firm commitment yet.

A Teesdale survey found roughly twice as many curlews on blanket bog managed by burning or cutting as on unmanaged bog, while numbers stayed stable.

The Moorland Association’s draft submission to the EFRA Committee’s uplands inquiry is now open for member comment. Read what it argues — and make your own submission before 26 June 2026.

UK contributors shaped a new global ranking of the 50 biggest unanswered questions in peatland science, from fire management to carbon-credit integrity.