The 12th of August – or the glorious 12th – marked the start of another grouse shooting season in the UK. This year has been a poor year for grouse in the uplands, with a beetle destroying large patches of the heather the birds feed on and the very dry summer affecting breeding success. Despite this, shoots went ahead in many estates from last Wednesday.
The shooting of grouse on the moors has become more and more controversial in recent years, because of the raptor persecution that is so closely linked to the hobby. #inglorious12th often trends as the season begins and again this year there were calls to review the hobby and put greater controls in place, such as licensing the shooting.
The hen harrier has become a symbol of this needless killing, with 44 hen harriers alone confirmed killed of ‘disappeared’ since 2018. This is mainly done by game keepers trying to protect young grouse from these majestic birds of prey and other animals such as foxes. Some of the methods involved in this wildlife slaughter can be incredibly cruel, with the use of snares, traps and stink pits (pits full of carrion to attract predators) regularly recorded. A recent study estimates a sickening 250,000 animals can be killed every year for the ‘sport’ of grouse shooting. Many of these are non-target creatures such as hedgehogs.
If you believe our upland wildlife deserves a brighter future than this do look for the online petition by Wild Justice, asking the government to take urgent action to protect our wildlife and habitats of the moors.
All this may seem like a far-off problem to us in Alderney, however, just across the water raptor persecution is happening too. Four peregrine falcons have been cruelly killed in Guernsey in the past 14 months, poisoned with high poses of a pesticide, applied to the peregrine’s main prey – pigeons. The reward for information now stands at £15,000, and anyone with any knowledge of who may have done this should contact Sue on 07781 150388. Let’s hope the perpetrators are caught and the Bailiwick can move a step closer to becoming the safe haven for raptors it should be.