The GoG Blog

A collection of Perthshire grouse moors and farms has formed an alliance with a major conservation body to advance eagle conservation in an area of past alleged persecution. The Tayside and Central Scotland Moorland Group (TCSMG) is teaming up with Wildland, the company established by Dane Anders Povlsen, the largest landowner in Scotland. The intention

Blog written by Iain Hepburn of Dunmaglass Estate A very high to extreme risk of wildfire is in place across North-East, East and Central Scotland for the next few days and in Western Scotland there is an extreme risk of wildfire from 15th to 17th April. The Scottish Fire & Rescue Service is warning members

Today, 19th March 2021 has seen thousands of rural people join the rural workers protest online and share photos, videos and supportive messages calling for a recognition of their contribution to Scottish life. We are young and old, male and female, working in forestry, construction, haulage, hospitality, as ghillies, farmers, crofters, mechanics, taxi drivers, shepherds,

Mark Ewart of the Southern Uplands Moorland Group believes the proponents of rewilding should engage with the debate over translocation of mountain hare in order to safeguard the future of this iconic species There has been huge debate in recent years over the number of mountain hare in Scotland and reports that they are facing

Jim Goodlad, gamekeeping and wildlife management lecturer at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) Elmwood.  Moorland, peatland, and rough grass types make up over 50% of upland Scotland. This supports upland Scotland in many ways – conservation benefits, the economic impact to local communities through employment, total expenditure, and holistic capital expenditure, everyone gets a bite at

The Gift of Grouse has been working with a wide variety of people and organisations with grouse moors at heart to help highlight the importance of the sector. Many local and remote businesses rely on the industry for business trade and tourism, offering a lifeline to so many people living in rural communities throughout Scotland,

by Jenny McCallum, coordinator of Loch Ness Rural Communities First things first, grouse do not get Corona virus (well let’s hope not), but while we welcome the stories from around the country of those with sufficient numbers to celebrate the start of the shooting season, the Covid-19 armchair epidemiologists might consider why we are not

By Rebekah Strong, Scottish Land & Estates Black grouse were once a widespread, annually harvested species throughout southern Scotland. However, after the First World War black grouse populations began to decline and by the 1970’s few birds were shot. This coincided with the growth of conifer plantations, as government encouraged landowners to grow more trees

The following letter published in The Scottish Farmer offers an important insight into how farmers and gamekeepers have the knowledge and experience to really benefit ground-nesting birds. Mr Robertson makes an important point here. These arguments have also been made by other land managers but it is crucial to keep making our case – we