No more-land in the moorlands. Grouse hunting in the UK and it’s carbon footprint.
Sadly, large-scale national parks in the UK are being used as grouse moors (hunting grounds for grouse). This is posing a significant threat to the environment and climate change. The threat is instigated by one of the main grouse management systems conducted in these parks — muirburn. This is a practice that includes regularly burning heathers in the moorlands to stimulate the growth of fresh heather shoots and thus increase the number of grouse in preparation for hunting season. However, a study by Leeds University proved that burning marshes damage peat soils, releases more carbon, and increases the risk of downstream flooding.
In addition to this, the management of the moorlands regarding grouse hunting has had a huge effect on local biodiversity. Max Wiszniewski from Revive claims that “compared with woodlands, bushes, and peat bogs, burned and unburned grouse moors have lower structure and species diversity, lower biological productivity, and provide fewer ecosystem services”. Suffice to say that the more concentrated land management is, the greater threat to the environment and biodiversity it holds.
It is worth nothing that nearly one-third of carbon in soil across the globe is stored in moorlands and peatlands. Thus, the degradation, burning, and draining of peatlands into agricultural land will cause the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 44% of Cairngorm National Park has been damaged. Time is running out. Fortunately, an effective and authoritative response has emerged this year; the government instilled a ban on the burning of grouse marshes in the reserve, and the Climate Change Commission stated that it will keep working on expanding the ban on peatlands.
To protect local biodiversity and respond to the global climate crisis, it is necessary to transform the grouse moors into a more sustainable and diversified forest landscape, which can prevent the current environmental damage, the catastrophic loss of biodiversity, and protecting the grouse.
To help stop, and potentially reverse the effects of climate changed encouraged by grouse moor management, please have a look at these websites:
Ten reasons why you should sign an e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting in England — Mark Avery
CDP-2021–0098.pdf (parliament.uk)
Petition · End grouse shooting on Yorkshire Water moors · Change.org
Written by: Meiya Su
Edited by: Amber Howells
References:
https://raptorpersecutionscotland.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/summary-report_final.pdf
