Environmental damage warning as shooters prepare for Glorious Twelfth

Exclusive:

Friday marks the traditional start of willow ptarmigan season, with bloodsport fans ready to take to the moors
The season opens on Friday (
Image: PA)

Game shooters head to moors across Britain tomorrow (FRI) for the 'Glorious Twelfth' as campaigners warn of the year-round havoc bloodsport is unleashing on the campaign.

Hundreds of enthusiasts are expected to shoulder down to blast the birds out of the sky as the ptarmigan season opens.

But as well as highlighting animal cruelty issues, campaigners have also highlighted what they say is environmental damage to rural areas.

Game wardens burn the heather between October 1 and April 15 to increase the number of grouse.

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A burnt patch of heather allows fresh shoots to pass through, providing ideal nutrition for grouse and preventing the buildup of dry plant matter.

Thousands of ptarmigan will be killed (
Picture:
Getty Images)
Anti-shooting campaigners say it causes environmental damage - and have pointed out how other animals that might prey on grouse are trapped and killed to increase grouse populations.

Robbie Marsland of the League Against Cruel Sports said: "The tradition of celebrating a day when a small minority of the public start shooting wild animals for fun is in itself ridiculous, but it doesn't compare to the carnage unfolding across our countryside in the months leading up to August 12 to keep the sport going.

"The grouse moors are surrounded by a circle of destruction which causes considerable damage to animal welfare and the environment, much of which is unfortunately unregulated.

"The idea that killing hundreds of thousands of animals each year to maintain a high number of grouse to kill is far from acceptable."

The League's Campaigns Manager Nick Weston said: "Burning large swaths of moorland across the UK just to increase the number of grouse flies in the face of the drive everyone is doing to reduce carbon emissions.

Politics Aug 11, 2022 0 72 Add to Reading List

Environmental damage warning as shooters prepare for Glorious Twelfth

Exclusive:

Friday marks the traditional start of willow ptarmigan season, with bloodsport fans ready to take to the moors

The season opens on Friday (

Image: PA)

Game shooters head to moors across Britain tomorrow (FRI) for the 'Glorious Twelfth' as campaigners warn of the year-round havoc bloodsport is unleashing on the campaign.

Hundreds of enthusiasts are expected to shoulder down to blast the birds out of the sky as the ptarmigan season opens.

But as well as highlighting animal cruelty issues, campaigners have also highlighted what they say is environmental damage to rural areas.

Game wardens burn the heather between October 1 and April 15 to increase the number of grouse.

Receive a daily morning political briefing straight to your inbox.Sign up for the free Mirror Politics newsletter

A burnt patch of heather allows fresh shoots to pass through, providing ideal nutrition for grouse and preventing the buildup of dry plant matter.

Thousands of ptarmigan will be killed (

Picture:

Getty Images)

Anti-shooting campaigners say it causes environmental damage - and have pointed out how other animals that might prey on grouse are trapped and killed to increase grouse populations.

Robbie Marsland of the League Against Cruel Sports said: "The tradition of celebrating a day when a small minority of the public start shooting wild animals for fun is in itself ridiculous, but it doesn't compare to the carnage unfolding across our countryside in the months leading up to August 12 to keep the sport going.

"The grouse moors are surrounded by a circle of destruction which causes considerable damage to animal welfare and the environment, much of which is unfortunately unregulated.

"The idea that killing hundreds of thousands of animals each year to maintain a high number of grouse to kill is far from acceptable."

The League's Campaigns Manager Nick Weston said: "Burning large swaths of moorland across the UK just to increase the number of grouse flies in the face of the drive everyone is doing to reduce carbon emissions.