One of the greatest tragedies befalling Scotland’s wildlife is taking place on grouse moors and something must be done.
A GROWING NUMBER of people in Scotland are becoming aware of the circle of destruction that surrounds one of the most unregulated and unsustainable land uses in the country - driven grouse shooting. Driven grouse shooting is more than a just blood sport in which perhaps hundreds of thousands of red grouse die for the amusement of a few people.
Untold thousands of foxes, stoats, weasels, crows and other ‘non-target species’ like hedgehogs are snared, trapped and killed in the attempt to increase and maintain grouse numbers for sport shooting. Moreover, Government figures show that, on average, 26,000 mountain hares are killed every year – some for sport and many because of the unproven assumption that they infect grouse with ticks. Many of the animals killed are not the target species but they die nevertheless. Even more shocking is the fact that this is (mostly) legally permitted.
This is not to say that there is never illegality. There is a documented association between grouse moors and illegal persecution of golden eagles and other birds of prey and some illegally set snares and traps will on occasion be found. However, to focus on legality alone is to miss the single most important point – that no animals should suffer just so more grouse can be shot for sport.
Many of these methods should be banned outright.
The Methods
Crow cage traps
Cage traps on grouse moors are often indiscriminate and can catch a wide range of birds however their main focus is crows. A crow, or sometimes a magpie, is used as bait to attract other crows, which are territorial creatures, into the cage. These birds can be mutilated to stop them from flying. Captured crows would later be killed, often bludgeoned to death by a gamekeeper. While there are some regulations of this trap type there have been documented cases of inadequate shelter, food and water sources. Cage traps have also sometimes been used to target birds of prey. Entrances are enlarged, and meat bait or live birds are used to lure other birds in.
These traps can cause a lot of suffering and Revive believes this trap and the use of decoy birds should be banned across Scotland, for any purpose, but it is particularly unjustifiable to aid the shooting of grouse.
Snares
A snare is a thin loop of wire, anchored and positioned to catch an animal by the neck. Veterinarians have described them as cruel and indiscriminate. It is impossible for an animal to be caught in a snare and not suffer; in most cases they do so for hours and no amount of legislative regulation can negate this fact. A large proportion of animals caught in them are non-target species including badgers while cats and dogs are also known to have suffered from snaring. Most people want snares banned and you will find no sensible or humane justification for them, particularly in aiding grouse shooting.
Stink Pits
Piles of rotting carcasses of wild and sometimes domesticated animals are often found in remote forest areas next to grouse moors. Known as stink pits, or middens, these unregulated traps are intended to lure wild animals into the snares that surround them. These animals may also be added to the pit once they are dead. It is unclear whether or not these stink pits are legal but they certainly shouldn’t be.
Spring traps
Weasels, stoats and non-target species are caught in spring traps, where they may die slowly of their injuries if not killed instantly. The design of spring traps echoes the familiar mouse-trap, but those used on grouse moors are bigger and far more powerful, with variations in design. These traps spring closed with enough force to crush, hold and kill the animal. Traps are placed on routes likely to be used by these animals, frequently on logs across streams. Over the years and recent months, the permitted use of certain types of spring traps has changed but the lack of regulation and record-keeping means that most victims die unnoticed, and we cannot know how much they suffered.
Revive believes that regardless of the design of these traps, no animal should suffer by them on grouse moors.
Shooting
Scotland’s iconic native mountain hares are amongst the most controversial targets on grouse moors. Mountain hare shooting has an open season, from 1 August until 28/29 February. During this time hares are shot, often in mass culls of hundreds at a time. Shooters cross the hillsides in all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), either shooting from them or from the ground. They then pile up the dead bodies in the back of their vehicles. Although shooters are sometimes paying clients, they are often estate employees, culling the hares due to the belief that they carry ticks which spread disease to the grouse.
Illegal traps
Set on top of a post and attached by a chain, pole traps target raptors as part of the ongoing illegal persecution of these birds on some grouse moors to prevent possible predation on grouse. Spring traps are also sometimes set on the ground in or near raptor nests. When a bird lands on the post, the trap springs closed on his legs, usually breaking the limbs and restraining the bird. It then suffers a slow and agonising death as he struggles to get free, eventually succumbing to exhaustion and dangling by a broken leg before dying of shock, blood loss and exposure. Other methods of killing raptors include shooting, poisoning, and nest destruction.
Ending the untold suffering
Nobody yet knows the extent and scale of the killing but it is clear that snares, traps and other methods kills tens of thousands of animals on grouse moors every year. Decision-makers in the Scottish Parliament may soon have to decide if all this killing is worth it, so that a few more grouse can be killed by some people for sport. Until then, the untold suffering on grouse moors remains one of the greatest tragedies befalling Scotland’s wildlife. As a nation famed for our wild spaces we really have to do better than this.
For more information on the issues raised here you can read and download the Revive report Untold suffering here.
If you want to help us end the circle of killing, please SIGN and share our pledge here.
