Scotland Playground for the Rich

Almost a fifth of Scotland’s entire land mass is a grouse moor, and despite popular perception these moors are not natural.

The land is intensively managed to create a habitat suitable for one species, the red grouse, which is farmed to be shot for fun and entertainment.

In order to support sport shooting in Scotland, intensive land management techniques are employed to ensure estates yield large numbers of grouse to increase bag sizes at commercial shoots.

This includes heather burning, rigorous predator control, mountain hare persecution and unnecessary construction of roads and tracks, among others, all of which have wider negative social, environmental and welfare impacts

Broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham is backing the campaign,  explained, “There is no doubt that we all deserve, need better uplands, a prosperous place for wildlife and people – and that is far from impossible. But making that turn will need a suite of skills and energies and that’s why I am keen to help inaugurate this partnership. Dead, burned and barren has to go – Scotland’s hills should be alive.”