The collateral damage of Red Grouse shooting

Fog hangs heavily across the moor as we huddle together on a cold January day. We’re at the Forest of Bowland, nestled in deepest Lancashire. Gazing through our binoculars, my colleagues and I are hoping to catch sight of one of my favourite birds of prey, but we’re finding it hard. Suddenly, through the fog, a female Peregrine calls to her mate, circling only metres away from us.

We watch in awe as she swoops and dives in search of an easy meal, her distinctive cries ringing out across the windswept northern landscape. Then, as quickly as she appeared, she’s gone, back into the fog once again with her distant call echoing across the moor.

Peregrines were once hard to find, reaching a low point in the 1960s due to the impact of persecution and pesticides. Legislation helped their numbers recover, however, and they’re no longer at significant risk, even though they continue to be illegally killed.

Peregrines are not the focus of our story, but they are a good example of how changes in legislation can reverse the fortunes of threatened birds.

Uplands – the largely open and unenclosed land that lies above the limits of cultivation – are amazing places, home to some of our rarest and most threatened bird species, many of which were formerly more widespread in these landscapes.

As we continue the tour, up a bone-shaking gravel track, we spot another upland species poking its head out of the shrubs – a Red Grouse, which is where our story really begins.

Who is killing our vulnerable birds of prey, why are they doing it, and what can we do to stop them? Video: @RSPBVideo

For peat’s sake
Management for Red Grouse, a species found in English and Scottish uplands, is associated with the illegal killing of birds of prey in some areas.

Grouse shooting is legal, but has some shocking – and often illegal – practices associated with it. These tactics harm not Red Grouse, but other upland species – and the environment as a whole.

Some of our most beloved and threatened species, including Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier and Peregrine, are routinely being shot, trapped or poisoned in areas linked to driven grouse shooting. These birds are killed because they prey on Red Grouse, and gamekeepers want to keep Red Grouse numbers high so there are more available to be shot for sport.

Another threat to these ecosystems is burning (called muirburn in Scotland), or the practice of setting fire to patches of moorland vegetation. Burning is chiefly used to encourage young heather growth; young heather is the preferred food for Red Grouse, and more young heather means more Red Grouse in the area to shoot.

Burning and artificial drainage both dry out the landscape, allowing heather to prosper. But this increase in heather comes at a steep price. Burning often occurs on peatland, and peat is vital in the fight against climate change.

RSPB Senior Policy Officer Pat Thompson, who campaigns for better legislation to protect peatlands, says: “There is no such habitat as heather moorland; it often comprises a variety of habitats, such as heaths and bogs. Using fire to remove the surface vegetation exposes the underlying peat, causing the peat to dry out and release carbon into the atmosphere. We know fires are still occurring across protected sites, even though we have regulations in place prohibiting burning on peat in these areas.”

A third problem is the use of medicated grit to boost Red Grouse survival and productivity. Red Grouse and many other species swallow grit naturally to help break up their food, so gamekeepers leave trays or heaps of grit laced with medication – anti-worming drugs – across entire moors to keep Red Grouse healthy and plentiful. However, what’s good for Red Grouse might not be good for other species exposed to the medication; the effects on other wildlife are still not fully understood.

The Dark Peak
Elsewhere, in the Peak District, Mark Thomas, the RSPB’s UK Head of Investigations, looks concerned as he surveys the landscape. “This is what we call a black hole,” he says. “We’re standing in part of the Peak District known as the Dark Peak, where some of the most shocking incidents of illegal bird of prey killing in recent times have taken place. As a direct result of persecution, in some upland areas of the UK, population numbers of some raptor species are being suppressed to well below their natural levels.”

Mark expands: “The Dark Peak is the frontline. Persecution begins in the Peak District and extends through the northern uplands into Scotland. It’s a national issue. There have been scores and scores of incidents here, particularly in association with land managed for grouse shooting. Two-thirds of all the people convicted of raptor persecution have been gamekeepers.”

All wild bird species have been protected from killing since 1954, with further protections as part of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which still forms the basis for protecting and conserving birds of prey. All wild birds are protected, but there are certain exemptions within the law. Red Grouse are what are known as ‘quarry species’, which can be shot legally at certain times of the year.

Decades of data published in the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report has revealed a significant association between bird of prey persecution and land managed for gamebird shooting. Between 2009 and 2023, of all individuals convicted at court of bird of prey persecution-related offences, three quarters were connected to the gamebird shooting industry.

Since 2009, more than 1,300 birds of prey have been deliberately persecuted in the UK, but this is likely the tip of the iceberg, as many of these incidents occur in vast, remote and often inaccessible upland areas, where crimes like these can go unseen and unreported.

A new shot
But while bad practice continues to pose a risk to birds of prey, some sporting estates are adopting a more nature-friendly approach. The Rottal Estate in Angus Glens, Scotland, is leading the way on more sustainable land management.

Dee Ward, Chair of Scottish Land and Estates, says: “Here at Rottal, we are trying to create a balanced habitat where we manage the tops of the hills for Red Grouse and other moorland birds. It’s all about being sustainable and delivering biodiversity.”

Land management at the Rottal Estate no longer includes the use of medicated grit, but the estate does still carry out muirburn. They believe it creates the diversity of habitat to suit multiple moorland species, such as Curlew, Lapwing, Golden Plover and, of course, Red Grouse.

“There is definitely a change in attitudes, and [shoot visitors] very much want to be sustainable,” says Dee. “This is the right balance to strive for and I think the new grouse licensing will drive change that will deliver a more sustainable, biodiverse future for the uplands.”

In 2017, Scottish Natural Heritage (now known as NatureScot) published an independent report on the fate of satellite-tagged Golden Eagles, which showed 41 had been found dead or disappeared under suspicious circumstances. This led the Scottish Government to commission a review, chaired by Professor Alan Werritty, which recommended the licensing of grouse shooting.

After years of campaigning by the RSPB and others, the Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly passed the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act earlier this year. The Act includes tighter regulations, greater investigative powers and stricter consequences, which will hopefully act as a deterrent and put a stop to raptor persecution.

Scotland is leading the way, and it’s crucial that Westminster follows their example and ensure similar legislation is introduced in England.