Two Perthshire -based game management organisations have argued that their role in the sector is vital in tackling the climate emergency and reducing the risk of wildfires.
However the suggestions have come in for heavy criticism, with one national coalition labelling some of the claims “laughable”.
Both enterprises spoke out as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow looms.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) in Dunkeld has argued that muirburn should be “front and centre” of carbon emission efforts as well as mowing, grazing and re-wetting to protect biodiversity.
BASC claims muirburn – the controlled, rotational burning of heather – makes moorland more resilient to wildfires.
The organisation - the largest in the UK - expects the muirburn practice to come under heightened scrutiny in this parliamentary term.
The Scottish Government has committed to regulating the practice, with mooted legislation to be dictated by NatureScot, which BASC rejects.
BASC’s public affairs manager in Scotland Ross Ewing said: “The heartbreaking impacts of the latest spate of wildfires in Greece highlight the need to make our precious, carbon-rich moorlands more resilient to climate change.
“In Scotland we are lucky to have a diverse range of dedicated moorland managers taking care of our uplands, employing different techniques to protect this internationally rare ecosystem and helping wildlife to thrive.
“The climate and biodiversity emergencies are unprecedented global challenges and we strongly believe that muirburn can play a front and centre role in tackling these issues head on.”
Alex Hogg MBE, chairman of Perth -based Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), warned the involvement of the game management sector is vital for achieving national carbon emissions targets.
The SGA says members, numbering 5300 in Scotland, have managed a million deer in a decade to help to protect habitats, forests and food crops.
The SGA chairman warned politicians that ignoring this free resource on the road to ‘NetZero’ would be “a national error”.
“Anyone who thinks country sports employees are at the opposite end from climate solutions are ignoring an amazing delivery mechanism,” he said.
“Contained within that workforce are practical skill sets and knowledge which the Scottish Government would struggle to source anywhere else in Europe.
“It would be a national error to overlook centuries of boots-on-the-ground knowledge and knowhow embedded within our own people.
“With some recognition of the work that goes on in conservation and what more could be achieved for the climate, I think ordinary Scots would be amazed at what could be done.”
In response, campaign manager for the REVIVE Coalition - a group of organisations working for grouse moor reform in Scotland - Max Wiszniewski said the reason for muirburn is to increase the number of grouse that are shot for entertainment and that “it is quite frankly laughable to suggest anything else”.
He added: “In the year that Scotland hosts COP26 with an increased focus on the climate emergency, it is a national embarrassment that at the same time shooting estates will be polluting the atmosphere by burning huge swathes of land.
“The suggestion that shooting animals for entertainment contributes to Scotland’s net zero target is both puzzling and disingenuous.
“These claims appear to be a cynical attempt to use the global climate crisis to distract attention away from the circle of environmental, social and animal welfare destruction surrounding grouse moors.”
Head of species and land management at RSPB Scotland Duncan Orr-Ewing said: “In the context of the climate emergency there is no place for vegetation burning on deep peatland soils, our vital carbon stores.
“Scottish Government has already committed to stop this practice and to licence muirburn and we expect legislation soon.”
