Glorious 12th: Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill poses a threat to grouse moors and the jobs they provide – Peter Clark

Time and again, gamekeepers prove they are real and practical conservationists

On the day that the grouse season opens, and the year-round work of gamekeepers is celebrated across rural communities, it is unfortunate to be talking about the risks of losing much of it through legislation. However, that is the stark reality facing our sector.

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill – also informally known as the grouse shoot licensing bill – is currently progressing through Holyrood and in its current format, it will impede the dedicated and committed work going on in the Scottish uplands. The Bill’s preliminary objective is to tackle the issue of raptor persecution through licensing the shooting of grouse, but parliament has decided to go further than the recommendations provided by the independent Werritty review and also licence muirburn – the process of controlled burning of heather and rough grass – and live-capture traps used in wildlife management.

Not only does the licensing of the activity of shooting have significant legal ramifications, impacting on rights covered in the European Convention on Human Rights, the legislation disincentivises an activity that brings in tens of millions of pounds to the Scottish economy through tourism every year, benefits local communities through the creation of jobs and social well-being, and produces an environmental and biodiversity net-gain through private finance.

Our uplands are unique. As a habitat, heather moorland is internationally renowned and is highly designated to ensure its protection. Ensuring the habitat’s resilience is vital for the flora and fauna it supports, the millions of individuals that visit every year and for the carbon that is found in the peat below the ground.

The management of grouse doesn’t occur in isolation or by chance, our uplands are living, breathing landscapes, for both work and enjoyment. Unnecessary restrictions on one quarter can lead to unintended consequences across the board.

Policy and legislative decisions need to be evidence-based and proven to work. Legislation for legislation’s sake rarely leads to productive outcomes. In this case, it will lead to loss of investment, jobs, livelihoods and rural population, in areas from Royal Deeside to the Lammermuirs. Disincentivising grouse moor management and investment ultimately leads to the loss of gamekeepers.

They are the eyes and ears on the ground, and these days they spend just as much time securing what’s below the ground as what is on the surface. They are rewetting areas, restoring peatland and undertaking vital muirburn practices to help protect the landscape from wildfires, among other benefits.

In its current format, the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill will impede vital work carried out in the Scottish uplands (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Time and time again, they prove they are real and practical conservationists, with ground-nesting birds such as the curlew and golden plover thriving on the land they look after. We must stand up for their way of life, skills and employment at every turn.

The Bill requires a great deal of work, something to look forward to. While today’s celebration has a cloud over it, it shouldn’t. We are cautiously optimistic. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation is leading the conversation in the corridors of Holyrood on how we protect grouse moor management for generations to come.

Peter Clark is Scotland director of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation