Wildlife bill causes concern as grouse shooting season starts

The middle of August marks the beginning of grouse shooting season in Britain.

But on the Scottish grouse moors, the winds of change are blowing.

A bill going through Holyrood could change the way grouse are managed and it’s causing estate managers concern.

Predation control is common practice in grouse management.

Gamekeepers are employed to kill predators that otherwise kill grouse, as well as carrying out other land management activities that improve both the populations and food supplies for grouse.

But on some estates, there has been evidence of birds of prey being killed.

Ian Thomson who is head of the RSPB investigations said: “This is very deliberate and specific targeting by poisoning, by shooting, by destruction of nests and by the illegal use of traps.

"We’ve recorded many cases with video or witness evidence.

"In 2021 we found that 71% of confirmed raptor persecution incidents were linked to intensive game bird shooting.”

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill is going through the Scottish Parliament having passed stage one.

It would lead to a new licensing system for grouse moor and tougher penalties for those caught illegally killing birds of prey.

Estate licenses would be suspended or removed if a gamekeeper was found guilty of a wildlife crime.

In the Angus Glens, Dee Ward has owned the upland estate of Rottal for 20 years.

Within it grouse shooting is offered.

Dee runs a sustainable business and has had no reports of illegal bird shooting, but he still has concerns about the bill.

Dee said: “It needs to be a robust process so that people who are anti-grouse shooting, because there are people who are anti-grouse shooting, they can’t come and try and accuse us of doing things.

"I don’t want my license to be removed without a very robust evidential process.”

Under the current bill, licenses would have to be renewed each year but that’s something those in the industry want reviewed.



MSP Gillian Martin is the Scottish Environment Minister and told ITV News that is something they are looking at changing at the next stage of the bill.

Gillian said: “I genuinely feel that the vast majority of grouse moors out there have nothing to fear from this bill.

"They are already operating in a way that we are content with.

"This is just a backstop that will be there as a deterrent to those who might not be so responsible.”

Grouse shooting is worth £30million to the Scottish economy; supporting thousands of jobs and attracting worldwide visitors.

The bill is not intended to limit the sport, but they hope it could put an end to raptor predation.

Ross Ewing is the director of moorland at Scottish Land and Estates and says there is a lot of trepidation about the bill.

Ross says: “Persecution of raptors is at an historic low in Scotland, it’s been driven down successfully over the years thanks to provisions like tougher penalties on wildlife crime.

"So we don’t feel an additional deterrent is necessarily required.

"However if the Scottish government are going to bring a provision like this in, then what they need to make sure is that it’s proportionate and that it is reasonable.

"In our view, at the moment, it fails on both counts.”

But the RSPB say raptor persecution is still present with the shooting and poisoning of species such as the golden eagle.

Over the past ten years the RSPB says more than half have taken place on grouse moors.

Ian Thomson said: “We see this Bill as a bit of a game changer here because for the first time potentially an estate that is proven to be linked to wildlife crime could lose it’s right to shoot grouse.

"We think that is entirely proportionate because grouse shooting is the driver of these crimes.

"We think that will make people really sit up and take notice and finally think it’s not worth it, let’s act within the law.”

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