The GoG Blog

By Iain Hepburn, head gamekeeper at Dunmaglass Estate and member of the Loch Ness Rural Communities Muirburn largely takes place in the spring and often raises questions over why parts of Scotland’s moorland landscape are ablaze. I know only too well the importance of health and safety during the Muirburn season being a part-time fireman,

Following recent publicity and commentary on mountain hare culling, Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, wrote this article for today’s Sunday Herald. Culling is a word that conjures up all sorts of images and, for most people, none of them very attractive. The mere mention of a seal, badger or even deer

By Tim Baynes, Director of the Scottish Moorland Group Understandable public concern has been expressed about the practice of culling mountain hares and this is perfectly reasonable given the recent coverage in print and social media. So moorland managers are keen to explain more about their work to sustainably manage populations of mountain hares in

The Scottish Moorland Group was contacted by the Sunday Herald on March 10, 2016, asking for a response to a story about a cull of mountain hares recently conducted in the Cairngorms.   The article appears in today’s Sunday Herald (March 13, 2016). Our full response to the the journalist is reproduced below. Dear Rob We are deeply

On February 15, 2016, a letter was sent by Dr Aileen McLeod MSP, Minister for Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform, to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee regarding the level of wages being paid by sporting estates. The letter contains incorrect data and was published without any enquiries being made

The Scottish Moorland Group today denounced a report by a raptor study group claiming that sporting estates had virtually exterminated hen harriers in the North-East of Scotland. The report, which was published using data from Aberdeenshire and Moray, is deeply flawed and shows a lamentable lack of evidence. Tim Baynes of the Scottish Moorland Group

Tim Baynes, Director of the Gift of Grouse initiative, has responded to a highly inaccurate online blog post that claims it is time to end the ‘special treatment’ for sporting estates. Published on a website called CommonSpace, the article entitled ‘Pay your tax’ also makes erroneous claims about the wages received by gamekeepers on estates

Following a column in The Courier newspaper by Jim Crumley on January 19, the newspaper’s letters page has received much correspondence on how grouse moorland can work to ensure the best future for upland birds. In today’s edition (Friday 29 January), Tim Baynes, Director of The Gift of Grouse initiative, responds to Jim Crumley’s opinion

Being part of a close community is important for anyone living in a remote part of Scotland and it’s a highly valued part of life by our moorland group members. Many estates employ gamekeepers, shepherds, accommodation, kitchen and office staff who have kids learning in the local schools. In some cases, estate staff’s children make

There is much to celebrate about grouse shooting in Scotland but sometimes the tremendous contribution moorland management makes in terms of environment and conservation is overlooked. It was therefore particularly gratifying this evening to see the Scottish Parliament recognise what is achieved by gamekeepers and land managers as they do their bit to support and