Grouse Moor Management Group: report on sixth meeting

The Group is still heavily immersed in its work on collecting evidence.  We have just completed summarising and reviewing 33 responses to a questionnaire issued to key stakeholders during the summer.  We are appreciative of the considerable effort that has gone into forming these responses. Clearly for many organisations a significant number of people made an input to the responses submitted.

I reported to the Group on a number of meetings I have had with various organisations, over the summer including senior staff or representatives of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), Scottish Raptor Study Group, RSPB Scotland, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. All of these meetings have proved illuminating and helpful.

On 2 November we shall make our second visit to estates – this time to the Cairngorms –beginning with a breakfast meeting with Grant Moir, CEO of the Cairngorms National Park. Having visited a number of ‘driven’ grouse moors, this field visit takes in a ‘walked up’ grouse moor, and moorland managed primarily for nature conservation.

We received, and briefly discussed, a presentation on research commissioned by the Scottish Government on the biodiversity and socio-economic impacts of grouse shooting undertaken by the James Hutton Institute (JHI) and Scotland’s Rural University College (SRUC). We were pleased to see the development of maps showing the distribution and extent of grouse moors.  It is still proving challenging to provide an overview of the number and extent of driven grouse moors. Hence we are delighted to see this research project generating key data and information.  The Fraser of Allander 2010 report provides the last detailed overview of the economic impact of grouse shooting, and so it is pleasing that this new study is highlighting the importance of updating the evidence base on this and other impacts of grouse shooting. 

We discussed the detail of the oral evidence session we are holding on 1st November, when we have invited contributions from six individuals.

Following the consultation we shall be going back to a number of organisations to seek further evidence.

Professor Alan Werritty (Chair)