Managing our uplands for shooting has far-reaching benefits for conservation.

August 12 marks the start of the grouse season. This year, grouse numbers are low but the conservation work that goes on across moorland landscapes to support grouse and the many red and amber listed species that also live there will continue.

Grouse shooting is vital for the economic health of rural upland communities. Spending on grouse shooting has a substantial ripple effect, with 60 to 80 percent of the money spent benefiting the local or regional economy.

Despite the lower grouse numbers, the dedicated efforts of moor-owners and gamekeepers, and the considerable private investment that goes into supporting biodiversity, wildfire mitigation, restoring habitats and promoting conservation, will carry on.

Managing our uplands for shooting has far-reaching benefits for conservation and the fact that work carries on even in the absence of a sustainable harvest of grouse is to be celebrated.

Eoghan Cameron,

Chairman,

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation