Major blow to the grouse shooting industry as Scottish Parliament passes reform Bill

Grouse moor management is to be regulated for the first time as snaring animals is also banned

The Scottish Parliament has now passed a Bill to license grouse shooting, to tackle illegal wildlife persecution on grouse moors. The killing of Scotland’s birds of prey has been associated with grouse moor management for decades and campaigners hope that this legislation will tackle the ‘national disgrace’ of raptor persecution.

The passing of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill (by 85 votes in favour to 30votes against) means that if a wildlife crime takes place on a grouse moor it could lose its licence to operate. It also means that heather burning (known as muirburn) will also be licensed and restricted on peatlands which are considered a vital carbon resource.

Meanwhile environmental and animal welfare campaigners are celebrating the Bill’s banning of snares: the animal traps which they deem as ‘cruel and indiscriminate’.

Responding to the grouse moor reform bill, Max Wiszniewski, the Campaign Manager for REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform said:

“This Bill marks a significant intervention into land management practices in Scotland and finally regulates a controversial industry that’s responsible for environmental destruction, that restricts economic opportunities for rural communities and that kills hundreds of thousands of animals so a few more grouse can be shot for sport.

“While it doesn’t go far enough to end the ‘killing to kill’ on grouse moors, banning snares - the cruel and indiscriminate traps that are common on grouse moors - is an important win for animal welfare against an industry that was desperate to keep them.

“The extra protection of peatlands is welcome but with three quarters of Scots against moorland burning for grouse shooting, the Parliament still has some catching up to do. Nevertheless, this legislation will hopefully go some way to tackling the persecution of Scotland’s birds of prey, something that our First, First Minister Donald Dewar called a ‘national disgrace’ in 1998.”

Ends

Notes to editor

1. Revive is a coalition of like-minded organisations working for grouse moor reform in Scotland. Coalition partners include Common Weal, OneKind, Friends of the Earth Scotland, League Against Cruel Sports and Raptor Persecution UK.
2. I enclose a photo of grouse moor campaigners from Revive and other campaign groups outside the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, March 19, as MSPs debated the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill. Photo is courtesy of RSPB.
3. League Against Cruel Sports research estimating that hundreds of thousands of animals are killed on grouse moor can be seen here: https://revive.scot/wp-content/uploads/Calculating-Cruelty.pdf
4. Media enquiries to Max Wiszniewski on 07496 798150 / max@revive.scot