Red Grouse
Since Victorian times grouse shooting has been a country sport. Red grouse cannot be bred in captivity easily, so gamekeepers look after the moors to suit the grouse. Red grouse need young heather with tender, green shoots for feeding and older, taller heather in which to shelter and build nests. Gamekeepers achieve this by burning small areas of old heather every year, which encourages new heather plants to grow. Grouse moor management also involves routine control of predators such as foxes, crows and stoats.
I took this photo on 11th August. They had better keep their heads down, because 12th August is known as The Glorious Twelfth , the official start of the four-month shooting season for red grouse in the UK and Ireland, and traditionally the busiest day of the shooting season. Grouse shooting began back in 1853 when railways made it easier for people to get to the moors.
But not everyone finds the 12th August ‘glorious’. Animal rights activists argue that the sport – which is traditionally an aristocratic hobby – results in the illegal killing of other animals, such as mountain hares, hen harriers, foxes and stoats which are often culled to protect grouse and their chicks. Meanwhile, environmentalists have raised concerns that burning moors increases carbon emissions and the risk of wildfires and flooding.
Because the birds aren’t bred in captivity Grouse numbers fluctuate each year, and so some years are more fruitful than others for grouse shooting.
Red Grouse
Since Victorian times grouse shooting has been a country sport. Red grouse cannot be bred in captivity easily, so gamekeepers look after the moors to suit the grouse. Red grouse need young heather with tender, green shoots for feeding and older, taller heather in which to shelter and build nests. Gamekeepers achieve this by burning small areas of old heather every year, which encourages new heather plants to grow. Grouse moor management also involves routine control of predators such as foxes, crows and stoats.
I took this photo on 11th August. They had better keep their heads down, because 12th August is known as The Glorious Twelfth , the official start of the four-month shooting season for red grouse in the UK and Ireland, and traditionally the busiest day of the shooting season. Grouse shooting began back in 1853 when railways made it easier for people to get to the moors.
But not everyone finds the 12th August ‘glorious’. Animal rights activists argue that the sport – which is traditionally an aristocratic hobby – results in the illegal killing of other animals, such as mountain hares, hen harriers, foxes and stoats which are often culled to protect grouse and their chicks. Meanwhile, environmentalists have raised concerns that burning moors increases carbon emissions and the risk of wildfires and flooding.
Because the birds aren’t bred in captivity Grouse numbers fluctuate each year, and so some years are more fruitful than others for grouse shooting.