Gameshooters take to moorlands across Britain tomorrow(FRI) for the “Glorious Twelfth” as campaigners warn of the year-round damage the bloodsport unleashes on the countryside.
Hundreds of enthusiasts are expected to shoulder guns to blast birds from the sky as the red grouse season opens.
But as well as highlighting animal cruelty concerns, activists also pointed to what they say is the environmental harm to rural areas.
Gamekeepers burn heather between October 1 and April 15 to bolster grouse numbers.
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A burned patch of heather allows fresh shoots to come through which are ideal nutrition for grouse and prevents the build up of dry plant matter.
Anti-shooting campaigners say it causes environmental damage - and highlighted how other animals which could prey on grouse are trapped and killed to boost grouse populations.
Robbie Marsland, of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The tradition of celebrating a day when a small minority of the public start taking pot shots at wildlife for fun is in itself ludicrous, but this doesn’t compare to the carnage which takes place all over our countryside in the months leading up to August 12 to maintain the sport.
“Grouse moors are surrounded by a circle of destruction which causes widespread animal welfare and environmental damage, most of which is woefully unregulated.
“The idea that killing hundreds of thousands of animals each year to maintain high grouse numbers to be shot is far from acceptable.”
The League’s head of campaigns Nick Weston said: “Burning large swathes of moorland across the UK simply to increase the number of grouse flies in the face of the drive everyone else is making to reduce carbon emissions.
“Gamekeepers using traps and snares to indiscriminately kill other wildlife on moorland has no place in modern-day Britain and will repel the vast majority of the British public who care deeply about animal welfare.
“Landowners need to investigate greener and more environmentally and animal-friendly uses for moorland and end grouse shooting.”
But the British Association of Shooting and Conservation defended the sport.
Its head of uplands, Gareth Dockerty, said: “Grouse moor management has recently been proven to provide multiple net gains in its outcomes towards the Defra 25-year environment plan.
“Proactively undertaking peatland restoration and wildlife management, grouse moors are helping overturn biodiversity loss and tackle climate change.
“The hard work of gamekeepers is consistently bucking the trend for many of our most threatened species like the iconic curlew.
“Opinions are welcome but the debate on conversation must follow the scientific evidence not anti-shooting agendas.
“Visit a grouse moor today, like millions do every year, and you will be stepping onto a protected landscape of extreme value to both flora and fauna.”
