31st July 2018

The Moorland Association and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) are celebrating the most successful hen harrier breeding season in England for over a decade. Key to this success has been an unprecedented 21 chicks fledged from land managed for grouse shooting; over 60% of this year’s young (34). Last year there were no […]

12th July 2018

COUNTRYSIDE ORGANISATIONS WELCOME MINISTERIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF MOORLAND MANAGEMENT’S ROLE IN HELPING PREVENT WILDFIRES  The Countryside Alliance, Moorland Association, National Gamekeepers’ Organisation and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), today (Thursday 12th July) welcomed the Government’s recognition of the role of controlled heather burning in responsible moorland management to minimise the risk of uncontrollable […]

6th July 2018

The Moorland Association has today welcomed the news that the Government is planning to allow a further year for the replacement of stoat traps, following a Public Consultation. The news emerged in a notification made by Defra to the European Commission, which oversees Member States’ implementation of the Agreement on Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS). The […]

3rd July 2018

One of Britain’s most threatened birds, the hen harrier, has bred on the National Trust’s High Peak Moors in the Peak District National Park, for the first time in four years. The four chicks are said to be in a ‘healthy condition’ after hatching just a few days ago on land managed by the conservation […]

28th June 2018

Gamekeepers from nine grouse shooting estates in the Peak District today returned to Saddleworth Moor to help combat the devastating wildfire that has raged throughout the week. Twelve keepers are working on Arnfield Moor, which is managed by RSPB and owned by United Utilities. The keepers have been working continuously for three days alongside fire […]

20th April 2018

With their long downcurved bills and unique call, curlews are among the most recognisable of all wading birds. However, these large beautiful birds are also among the most threatened migratory birds in existence. As Europe’s largest and most distinctive wading bird, the curlew has been added to the ‘red list’ of threatened UK birds with […]

19th April 2018

The Moorland Association is delighted to have contributed to the UK’s inaugural collaborative Peatland Strategy which was published today by the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and outlines a shared vision for a brighter future for UK’s peatlands. There is currently more carbon stored in the UK’s peatland than in the combined forests of Britain and […]

21st March 2018

The Moorland Association is delighted to be playing its part in the new Moors for the Future Partnership breeding bird survey taking place this summer across moors in the Peak District National Park. This will be the first time in 14 years that a survey of this nature will be carried out and it is […]

19th March 2018

Next generation gamekeepers have put the recently launched national peatland restoration toolkit through its paces. Students at Newton Rigg College, Penrith are at the cutting edge of best moorland practice rehearsed on the College’s 5,000 acres of moorland at Shap, Cumbria. The live outdoor classroom gives students a true sense of the reality of gamekeeping […]

9th March 2018

Amanda Anderson, Director of the Moorland Association: “The Moorland Association is pleased that the Government has no plans to license grouse moors nor to introduce vicarious liability in England for offences related to wildlife crime.” “We agree with the Government that licensing is not the right way forward. We believe that the imposition of a […]