Glorious 12th grouse crisis will cost rural areas millions

GROUSE shortages could cost rural businesses millions of pounds, experts have warned on the eve of the start of a season that has been blighted by the cold winter then the heatwave.

The “Glorious 12th” falls tomorrow this year because of laws banning the shooting of game birds on a Sunday.

Last year’s harsh winter stunted the growth of heather, leaving little food for the grouse. Then the hot weather withered the moorland, leading to a shortage of birds. Dozens of shoots this year have been called off.

“In a typical year, the estimated annual value of grouse shooting in England, Wales and Scotland is almost £100million. There will undoubtedly be a shortfall this year,” said Debbie Collins, the spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. “Hotel bookings and meal reservations will be cancelled.”

Experts have estimated that this season only 25 per cent of all organised grouse shoots will go ahead. Stuart Maughan, the head keeper at Whitfield Estate, Northumberland, said: “Instead of the 27 full days we had booked we will be shooting two half days.” Research by the Moorland Association showed revenue from grouse shooting could fall by 75 per cent this year.

Amanda Anderson, the association’s director, said: “The much-reduced shoot programme will have a ruinous effect on remote rural communities.

“The lost income for local businesses will run into the millions of pounds and prove very hard to replace.”