Protest against grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor

A protest will take place this morning against controversial grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor.

The event at Bradford City Hall coincides with the opening of the burning season, when moorlands are set on fire to increase game bird numbers for shooting.

Campaigners are calling on Bradford Council? to ban the burning of the moorland, which they claim decreases wildlife biodiversity, reduces water quality and damages rare blanket bog on the publicly-owned land.

The protest comes just days before Bradford Council's Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee will consider an appeal next Wednesday to send a 2,200-strong petition to prohibit grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor to the Executive Committee. Ilkley Moor is the last municipal moorland in the UK where grouse shooting is still permitted, with Sheffield City Council and Peak District National Park Authority having already prohibited the sport on their land.

Bradford Council say that heather burning is legally allowed in the UK as a way of managing heather usually on upland moors. The purpose, they say, is to encourage new growth and remove the old, "woody" plants, which are less attractive for feeding and nesting for upland bird species, including, but not exclusively, red grouse. They say they already have a process in place to restrict burning to areas where the activity will not damage active blanket bog and other wet heath areas.