| Today — the Glorious Twelfth — was supposed to mark the beginning of the traditional grouse shooting season, with thousands taking to the moors.
But in Scotland, bad weather and tick infestations have meant shoots in many areas have been severely reduced — or cancelled.
And experts forecast the shooting season in England will be the worst since 1950 as parasitic worms in the gut of the grouse reduced the number of chicks in spring and led to the death of thousands of birds in the last three months.
Very few, if any, upland estates in the country will get the season under way today as many have cancelled all shooting. Grouse stocks have plummeted by 50-90% from last year’s record-breaking season, according to the Moorland Association. The consequences are that rural communities which depend on the sporting visitors could lose millions of pounds in revenue.
The Game Conservancy Trust described this year’s season as “a very mixed bag”, with some estates boasting good numbers while their neighbours experience the opposite.
South Deeside and West Perthshire are the worst hit areas in Scotland, according to Scottish director Ian McColl.
He said, “We do grouse counts in sample areas from the middle of July and these two areas were the worst I’ve counted in about 10 years.”
Mr McColl said hotels will feel the force of the blow and that it would affect “vulnerable communities”. |
