Grouse Shooting Debate: Get The Facts - Read Our Essential Briefing Note

Photo by Nick Unwin

On 30th June, MPs will return to a familiar topic: the future of driven grouse shooting. Ahead of the Westminster debate, the Moorland Association has produced a comprehensive briefing note - and we urge anyone with an interest in the uplands to download and read it.

This debate isn’t new. But the stakes are higher than ever.

Driven grouse shooting is not just a countryside tradition. It’s a practical tool for wildlife conservation, wildfire prevention, and rural prosperity. Our members manage over a million acres of moorland across England and Wales - some of the rarest habitats on earth. Without active management, this landscape would be lost.

We’ve published this briefing to provide clarity (we've also produced a short summary of it as well). Too often, the debate is driven by slogans, not facts. This document sets out the reality on the ground - including peer-reviewed science, case studies, and answers to common criticisms.

of our briefing note.

It shows how moorland management benefits species like curlew, golden plover and lapwing, all of which breed more successfully on managed moors. It explains how predator control and vegetation management - carried out legally and under strict regulation - support biodiversity. And it highlights the rural jobs, community pride, and private investment that depend on the shooting season.

For many remote areas, driven grouse shooting anchors the local economy. A new study highlights that English grouse moor tourism contributes £121 million per year. This isn’t public money - it’s private investment delivering public goods.

Calls to ban or license shooting often fail to answer key questions: What replaces it? Who pays for the habitat work if landowners walk away? What happens to the birds, the communities, the moorland itself?

These are not abstract concerns. They affect real landscapes, real livelihoods, and the future of some of our most iconic species.

We encourage members, journalists, policymakers and all those with an interest in the uplands to download and read our full briefing note. It is clear, comprehensive, and rooted in evidence - just as the debate should be.

Let’s keep this debate grounded in facts, not fiction.

You can watch the debate via the UK Parliament YouTube Channel.

Read Summary of Briefing Note

We have produced a summary of the briefing note available here.

Your Feedback

If you have any suggestions or improvements please email agilruth@moorlandassociation.org. We know that this may not be the last time that this issue is debated and so we welcome your feedback on the document.