GoG News
RURAL SCOTLAND BOUNCES BACK AS THE GROUSE SEASON STARTS: A BOOST FOR BUSINESS AND BIODIVERSITY
Rural businesses today welcomed the Glorious 12th – the start of the grouse shooting season – and predicted a much-needed return of international visitors following the impact over two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the first enthusiasts to take to the heather-clad moors were a shooting party on See Far Hill at Forneth Farm
Read MoreThe Telegraph - Extinction Rebellion should take up grouse shooting
Protest groups are ignorant of the reality of life in the countryside and the work farmers put into conservation JAMIE BLACKETT The start of the grouse shooting season on 12th August – the Glorious Twelfth – is now an important fixture in the culture wars. When the fall of the Berlin Wall discredited communism in
Read MoreCONTROLLED BURNING VITAL IN SCOTLAND’S FIGHT AGAINST WILDFIRES
Greater recognition is required for the crucial role preventative burning can play in limiting the risk of wildfires in Scotland, land managers said today. With the United Kingdom recording its hottest ever temperatures this week, wildfires wreaked havoc for fire crews in both rural and urban areas, with 440 wildfires reported across the UK. Scottish
Read MoreTOP CHEFS WELCOME RISING DEMAND FOR GROUSE
Leading chefs are highlighting an increasing demand for grouse on dinner plates as the public’s taste for healthy game foods continues to grow. Chefs are being pressed for new recipes as awareness of game – and grouse in particular – has risen. Prominent chefs will be displaying their skills at the Scottish Game Fair at
Read MoreGAMEKEEPERS LAUNCH CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGING PUBLIC TO BE VIGILANT ABOUT TICKS
Gamekeepers throughout Scotland have launched a campaign, #tickcareinthecountryside to remind the public to be vigilant when it comes to ticks as a tick bite can spread the serious Lyme disease illness to humans. This campaign coincides with May being Lyme Disease Awareness Month and comes at a time when NHS 24 call handlers are dealing
Read MoreRURAL ORGANISATIONS STATEMENT ON LEAD AMMUNITION
Response to open letter from RSPB and WWT (April 4, 2022) The UK Government, through UK REACH, is currently investigating the requirement for legal restrictions on the use of lead ammunition for live quarry shooting. A public consultation is expected to be announced at the end of this month. While we do not wish to
Read MoreTHE INCREASING PROFESSIONALISM OF GAMEKEEPING
The increased professionalism in gamekeeping as a career is evident as many Scottish sporting estates require new recruits to have undertaken an industry recognised degree. In marking National Careers Week (7th – 11th March) Scotland’s leading rural colleges report that they have been inundated with student applications for places in their gamekeeping and wildlife management
Read MoreBIODIVERSITY AND ECONOMIC BOOST FROM THE GROUSE SEASON, DESPITE FEW BIRDS
The grouse season ends today, 10th December , and while the number of shoot days has been limited, the season continues to provide an extraordinary boost for biodiversity and the rural economy in Scotland, with numerous birds of prey nesting successfully and spending by estates rising to £15m. Tim Baynes, moorland director of Scottish Land
Read More£15 MILLION BONUS DESPITE WRECKED GROUSE SEASON
Downstream spending in remote communities by Scotland’s grouse moors increased this year to over £15m despite the season being decimated by snow. That is the surprise finding of a survey by Scotland’s 6 regional moorland groups, which also saw jobs on grouse shoots being maintained. The survey analysed confidential accounts data from 25 respondent estates of varying sizes, from the Monadhliath Mountains
Read MoreTHE SIX GREEN GIFTS OF GROUSE – HOW MOORLAND COMMUNITIES ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Six key environmental benefits of moorland management are helping to tackle climate change. As efforts to combat climate change intensify through the COP26 summit, politicians and conservation bodies have been urged to embrace the contribution of sustainable moorland management. The six environmental gifts of grouse are:- Carbon capture; Peatland restoration; Wildfire prevention; Habitat creation; Mountain
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