SCOTLAND'S countryside is being treated as a "playground for blood sports", the Scottish Greens have warned.
It comes at the start of the so-called "Glorious Twelfth", which marks the beginning of the red grouse shooting season.
The party's rural affairs spokesperson, Arianne Burgess, said the annual shooting season is a reminder of the huge areas of Scotland's countryside that continue to be intensively managed "so that grouse can be killed for entertainment".
"There is nothing glorious about killing animals for fun," she said.
“Grouse are living, sentient animals, not targets for somebody’s entertainment.
"No animal should have to suffer and die simply because somebody thinks killing it makes for a good day out."
The Greens MSP added: “Their numbers are deliberately kept unnaturally high so there are more birds to shoot.
"The patchwork we see across our hillsides is created by burning land to stimulate new growth whilst thousands of other wild animals are killed to keep grouse numbers artificially high, just so more birds can ultimately be shot for sport."
Burgess said that Holyrood has taken "important steps" to protect Scotland's wildlife in recent years, including by banning snares and glue traps, as well as agreeing stronger protection for the way moors are managed.
She continued: “But animals cannot speak up for themselves, so it is our responsibility to do it for them. Without stronger protections, more innocent and defenceless animals will continue to be shot and killed simply for someone else’s entertainment.
“There is nothing sporting about that, and there is certainly nothing glorious about it.”
Burgess said that after seeing "the enormous destruction that wildfires can cause" this summer, such as in the Cairngorms, "we should be restoring our nature and making our countryside more resilient to the climate crisis, not intensively managing vast landscapes to produce more birds to be shot".
“Scotland’s land is one of our greatest assets," she said.
"It should be supporting thriving rural communities, restoring nature and tackling the climate crisis, rather than serving as a private playground for the wealthy few.
“The real glorious future for Scotland’s moors would be seeing wildlife flourish on them, peatlands restored and rural jobs created through the recovery of our natural environment.”
