Thin pickings as ‘Twelfth’ arrives a day late

IT IS a traditional highlight of the country year, but a quirk of the calendar, coupled with exceptional weather conditions, are likely to turn today’s opening of the grouse shooting season into something of damp squib.

The pursuit attracts visitors to Yorkshire’s uplands from the late summer onwards, but the severe late snow after March, followed by punishingly dry and hot conditions between May and July, are believed to have reduced the number of the game birds successfully breeding.

Additionally, the “Glorious Twelfth” of August, which marks the beginning of the season, fell this year on Sunday, when shooting is prohibited, causing its postponement by a day.

The shortage of available quarry has led many estates to further delay the start of the season, and there have been widespread cancellations of shooting programmes, according to the Gift of Grouse campaign.

Hotels, restaurants, pubs and shops in rural areas all benefit from the presence of enthusiasts, whose shooting parties in the Yorkshire Dales have included such guests as the former Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan.

In Scotland, where the grouse season is estimated to be worth £32m a year, Helen Savage, of the Lammermuirs Moorland Group, said: “It will be disappointing not to see the same volume of visitors this year. However, people have to think about future grouse stocks and sustainability.

“Grouse can bounce back remarkably quickly in the right weather conditions, so moor managers are careful to maintain their breeding stock ready for that recovery, hopefully next year.”