The Economics of Grouse Shooting

"The income gained from shooting in the uplands is incredibly important to the ability to manage the area properly and to conserve wildlife"
Baroness Young of Old Scone, Hansard; 5 October 2000

"There is …. no doubt that shooting provides, in many upland areas, the only income, and it is that which pays for the maintenance, heather burning and so on…."
Baroness Mallalieu, Hansard; 5 October 2000

"It is sad that the enormous all-year-round effort that moorland keepers put into managing the habitat for red grouse will not be rewarded with much to harvest this year. It is crucial that their work continues to safeguard these treasured and globally rare moorland landscapes for the future. Grouse moor management has a huge knock on benefit for a range of important and rare wildlife, whilst providing a real boost to the rural economy - particularly in some of England's most remote areas."
Jim Knight, Minister for Rural Affairs; Moorland Association press release; 8th August 2005

In England and Wales there are about 149 estates where grouse shooting occurs, covering an estimated area of 1,344 square miles with an average estate size of 8.9 square miles, (5,700 acres). On average, 200,000 grouse are shot in England and Wales in a shooting season from 12th August – 10th December. Moorland Association members pay £52.5 million a year to manage their moors.

The average keeper density in England and Wales is one keeper per 2,500 acres of moorland to ensure best grouse numbers through predator control. An estimated 350 full time keepers (equivalent) are employed directly in England and Wales. The total wage bill for keepers is estimated at £5.25 million/year based on an average £15,000 salary. Added to this are the costs of employment, equipment and materials to manage the moorland, vehicle running costs, telephone, council tax, property repairs and insurance. These are all fixed costs every year, whether shooting happens or not, and in effect doubles the wages bill. Revenue expenditure will sometimes be added on top of fixed costs in any year for buying in bracken and rush control, heather re-seeding, dry-stone walling and road creation/upgrades.

In a typical year 1,235 days shooting will occur in England and Wales, an average of 8 days per moor. All grouse shot are recovered and enter the food chain and an average of 30 people are employed per day to help run the shoot on each moor resulting in 37,050 extra casual days of labour. This provides an important source of local, seasonal employment. There is also the indirect benefit of employing local people to perform all functions on the moors, who then spend their earnings in the local area.

Accommodation providers in the immediate vicinity to the moors also benefit from parties of guns, their wives and often loaders. They will often stay the night before a shooting day, paying for dinner and breakfast, but can also stay the night after shooting as well booking in excess of 6,500 hotel bed nights per season.

Moorland contractors are paid for a further 5,470 further days work outside of the shooting season from a whole host of trades that benefit from the grouse industry including e.g. for heather re-seeding, bracken control, moorland track construction/maintenance, grip blocking, planting native trees on the moorland fringe and traditional skills such as dry-stone walling.

Equipment suppliers, such as predator control, medicated grit, vehicle purchase and maintenance garages and specialist clothing companies all benefit from the grouse shooting industry. Game dealers and restaurateurs also make a profit from the on-sale of the end product. Where a shooting lodge is concerned, staff are essential for house keeping and catering - providing lunches and dinners, often sourcing the best of local produce.

Grouse have a natural boom to crash population cycle, and depending on the type of ground, this can be between seven and 12 years. In practical terms this means that, during the early, 'recovery' years of that cycle, there are often not enough grouse to shoot at all. In any one year at least 15% of moors will not shoot. A quarter of moors do not let shooting on a commercial basis and so receive no shooting revenue. Those that do let some or all of their days receive back, on average, only 40% of what they pay out. It is passion for the sport and pride in the land that they manage that drives grouse moor owners and managers, not a thirst for profit!

The going rate for commercially let shooting is £150 per brace shot. 150 brace shot in one day’s shooting would therefore cost £22,500 for a team of nine guns. Any revenue from good grouse shooting years is important to continue moorland management and to maintain the delicate upland infrastructure in years when there is no shooting.

In late July, the grouse are counted to see if there are enough to plan a shooting program that season (12th August to 10th December). If the count realises 200 grouse/ km2 a shooting program can proceed, but anything less and there would be no shooting. This is to ensure that a good breeding stock of grouse remains for the future years.