News

SHOOTABLE SURPLUS WIPED OUT

8th August 2005

2005 Grouse Shooting Prospects from the Moorland Association

The worst grouse shooting season in England since 1950 is predicted by some this year. Very few, if any upland estates will get underway on the 12th of August, as many have cancelled all shooting. Grouse stocks have plummeted by 50 –90% from last year’s record breaking season. The loss to the rural economy caused by this 90% cancellation is estimated to be in excess of £11.25 million hitting local hotels, pubs, garages and game dealers hard.

Parasitic worms in the gut of the grouse have reduced the amount of chicks produced this spring and led to the death of 1,000s of grouse over the past three months. A ‘proper’ cold winter helps to kill off the parasite, which has been historically blamed for the cyclical fluctuations in grouse numbers on English moors. The pattern of the disease means that it is most prevalent on moors where grouse stocks have been high in the previous year, however the predicted ‘crash’ this year is far more widespread and serious across the whole of the North - probably exacerbated by the weather.


Said Simon Bostock, Chairman of the Moorland Association: “As grouse are completely wild and not reared, moor owners carry out careful counts prior to the start of the season to make sure that they have a shootable surplus of birds – leaving enough healthy young stock for following years. This year, some counters have reporting seeing less than ten birds in areas they would normally see over 300. For the most severely affected moors it could take a good few years for the population to recover sufficiently to start shooting again.”

The weather during the breeding season is thought to have contributed to losses of adults and their chicks, with cold, sharp showers and even torrential downpours and hail storms in May and June. On the moors above Hawnby in the North York Moors that flooded in June for instance, many birds would have been simply washed away.



Jim Knight, Minister for Rural Affairs said; “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.”

121 different bird types were recorded on areas managed for grouse shooting on the North York Moors this year – 51% of England’s total breeding and over-wintering bird species. The survey revealed that these moors are providing habitat for 21 birds on the Red List of Conservation Concern and 56 on the Amber List.

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