On Sunday August 19th, I joined about 70 walkers at Redmires for the annual protest walk, Reclaim the Moors, Stop Grouse Monoculture. It was a very educational day, with experts on hand to explain everything. Moorland Campaigner Bob Berzins was the main speaker. He has just published a new book, “The Last Crow” which is a sequel to his first “Snared”. These novels are fiction, but you will learn much about what happens on our moorland when you read them.
Cllr Peter Gilbert from the Green Party listed some of the many reasons why people want a ban on Grouse Shooting. Air pollution (remember Sheffield last October?), carbon storage, (drying out the peat bogs means they emit carbon, rather than being the massive carbon sink that they should be) biodiversity, ( wildlife is persecuted on the moors to maximise the number of grouse) animal rights (snares and stink pits are used to cruelly kill anything that might venture onto the moors) and access to land are all important. Peter called for an end to all blood sports.
Bob Berzins made an excellent case for land reform. We need schemes to bring back moorland into community ownership. Bob explained that we were in a “conservation area” but it is conserving land that is not in its natural state. The moors should be extremely wet but they have been drained to create the best habitat for grouse. When dry the carbon oxidises and is released into the atmosphere, worsening the climate crisis. But when wet, the peat builds up and the moors become a massive carbon sink, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere.
When it rains on the dry moorland the water quickly runs off it, sometimes causing flooding in the valleys below as Sheffield knows too well. This rain also leaches peat from the moorland, which often ends up in reservoirs requiring expensive treatment to clean, which we pay for in our water bills.
Bob also spoke about “predator control”, The most persecuted bird is the Hen Harrier, and most of those are killed around grouse moors, so much so that they are a very endangered species.
A spokesperson from Unite the Union, who didn’t want to be named, explained that the walk is always on a Sunday because there is never shooting on a Sunday. But members of the Hunt Saboteurs have been disrupting the shoots since the “Inglorious 12th” of August when shooting began.
Since last year’s walk snares have been banned in Wales and Scotland, which is significant progress. We now need legislation to ban snares in England. In Scotland, shooting has been licenced. Those licences can be removed if landowners commit crimes against wildlife or the environment. But is it right to license cruelty?
The other thing that has happened since last year is there’s been lots of issues about burning. South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard convened a burning summit following the awful pollution Sheffield suffered last October. The smoke was from the Duke of Rutland’s Estate but he has still not committed to end it. The Duke of Rutland didn’t attend the summit, so a small group of activists went to see him at his home, Belvoir Castle.
A Snare was demonstrated on someone’s arm. Basically, a wire formed into a loop traps an animal, whether that’s a badger, a fox, a deer, a cat or a dog. It’s even been known to catch human runners.
An animal has no idea what it’s been caught in. It tightens and tightens. The animal tries desperately to escape. But there’s no escape from a snare. It gets tighter and tighter until it cuts into the fur and cuts into the skin.
Luckily some animals have been rescued by activists. These things are absolutely callous, cruel and brutal. The snares are sometimes set around a stink bin or pit, full of dead animals to attract more wildlife to the area.
How does a grouse shoot operate? People stand with extremely expensive shotguns in a long line. They pay thousands of pounds for a day’s shooting. The shotguns might cost £120,000 or more. There’s a line of beaters that drive the grouse towards the butt.
The grouse take flight, they fly over and lots of shooters blast them out of the sky.
Lots of birds get badly wounded, and then die an agonising death. They are often picked up by a dog, and they are very often still alive. It’s a shocking cruel bloodsport.
There’s nothing good about Grouse Shooting.
We need it banned in the next session of Parliament.
Labour Councillor Minesh Parekh was not able to attend but left a message for the walkers. He said
“There is clear scientific and moral consensus, that grouse shooting must end immediately. Blood sports participated in only by the richest of the rich, wreaks havoc on our natural environment and causes untold damage to globally significant landscapes. The UK’s peatland currently stores over 3 billion tonnes of carbon, equivalent to all the forests in the UK, Germany and France combined. That we allow these precious landscapes to be damaged through environmental vandalism to facilitate a blood sport, speaks to the feudal hangovers that continue to dominate our political system. I’m proud to represent a Council, Sheffield that has publically called for a total ban on Moorland burning and to work alongside Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake who has led the charge to protect and restore peatland in her constituency and beyond. Our peatlands must be restored wholly and rapidly. As private landowners continue to ravish our natural environment it makes clear the limits of our democratic system. We need a community right to buy to bring mismanaged land into the community’s hands. We need an immediate end to grouse shooting an immediate end to burning and an Environment Agency that is well-funded and capable of reversing natural decline. As per the great James Connolly, the Irish Revolutionary, “For our demands most moderate are. We only want the Earth”.
Labour have promised a complete ban on moorland burning but they don’t appear to be in a hurry to implement this. We need it now before the next burning season this autumn. They have also promised to ban snares, but there is no time to waste, We need a ban now. The new DEFRA Secretary of State, Steve Reed has said he supports “sustainable shooting”.It is clear that there is absolutely nothing sustainable about grouse shooting!
Unfortunately, the Grouse Moor owners have a huge influence that extends to politicians and the police. Bob has experienced this first-hand. where gamekeepers have made malicious accusations against him and he has needed to hire a lawyer to defend himself. We are not all equal under the law. Those people who own huge plots of land are treated very differently from the rest of us. Some high-ranking police officers are involved in the shoots, so it is not surprising that wildlife crimes on the estates are not a police priority.
In my recent article on Drax, I explained how the real climate criminals were being awarded Government subsidies to carry on their crimes. It is the same with Grouse Shooting. The Moscar Estate attracts roughly £200,000 of subsidies a year, which are paid for by our taxes.
Now Labour has such a massive majority there is no reason why they can’t put a stop to grouse shooting. Please write to your MP and demand action now.
See more Moorland Monitors videos here. (some videos may be upsetting) and videos from the Hen Harrier Day at Carsington Water here.
This action is no longer available but the video is good. Please just write to your MP and Oliver Coppard the Regional Mayor (enquiries@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk)
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