Matty89 Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 I signed a petition regarding ‘not to ban grouse shooting’ had an E-Mail with the Governments Reply on this petition. Anyway we can see their reply to ‘ban grouse shooting’? This is the reply however. Grouse shooting is a legitimate activity that provides economic benefits, jobs and investment in some of our most remote areas and can offer important benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation. The Government appreciates that many people have strongly held views on grouse shooting. The Government also recognises that shooting activities bring many benefits to the rural economy and the environment, in particular wildlife and habitat conservation. The Government therefore continues to support shooting, recognising it is vital that wildlife and habitats are respected and protected and we ensure a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between shooting and conservation. The Government recognises the international importance of the UK uplands. The UK has 75 percent of the world’s remaining heather moorland and about 13 percent of the world’s blanket bog (rain-fed peat bog that ‘blankets’ the landscape). Seventy percent of the UK’s drinking water is provided from upland catchments and tourism brings in an estimated £1.78 billion to England’s upland national parks. With regard to grouse moorland management, grouse shooting is one of the main land uses in the uplands along with grazing and forestry. The Government recognises that healthy, active peat provides good habitat for grouse as well as numerous environmental benefits and ecosystem services. Natural England is working with landowners of grouse moors within Special Areas of Conservation to develop voluntary agreements, which include vegetation management principles for the various habitats on grouse moors. The Government encourages land managers to work closely with Natural England to put voluntary agreements in place for all the benefits they bring to moor owners and to the environment. The Government is also working with moor owners and stakeholders to further improve management practices and peat condition, such as through the Blanket Bog Restoration Strategy. With regard to birds of prey, like all wild birds they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The current legislation and guidance balances competing social, economic and environmental interests, while protecting the conservation status and welfare of the relevant bird of prey species. Some species of birds of prey need specific protection because their low numbers indicate that their populations are struggling. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadkill Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 yep got the same email also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 There was some concern shown about the last sentence on this petition, stating that birds of prey are "overprotected" I think if the petitions instigator made a mistake? (badly worded?) It was by not writing "some" birds of prey are overprotected (buzzards come to mind!) I also think the governments reply to the above issue is commendable in that it ignored the possible negative interpretation within the wording and was 'to the point' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butchdickason Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad93 Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 Decent reply that. What annoys me is all these antis, if all the sabs and protestors and keyboard warriors actually banned grouse shooting, who do they think is going to look after moorland. It would be areas of land, that landowners could do nothing with. Quickly it would be put to grazing, and an ecosystem lost. And how many of the antis do you think would be up there volunteering or working for £15k + accommodation like many natural England/national trust rangers are. A very small number! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panoma1 Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 58 minutes ago, Brad93 said: Decent reply that. What annoys me is all these antis, if all the sabs and protestors and keyboard warriors actually banned grouse shooting, who do they think is going to look after moorland. It would be areas of land, that landowners could do nothing with. Quickly it would be put to grazing, and an ecosystem lost. And how many of the antis do you think would be up there volunteering or working for £15k + accommodation like many natural England/national trust rangers are. A very small number! The antis and sabs don't give a flying fig about Grouse, Grouse shooting or the moors, their foot soldiers are mostly just pathetic, inadequate, left wing, anarchist, losers who's phoney Cause Celebre depends on conning support from a largely ignorant/I'll informed public, via an emotional response to live quarry shooting, in order to further a spiteful, deliberately dishonest, anti establishment agenda! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 2 hours ago, panoma1 said: The antis and sabs don't give a flying fig about Grouse, Grouse shooting or the moors, their foot soldiers are mostly just pathetic, inadequate, left wing, anarchist, losers who's phoney Cause Celebre depends on conning support from a largely ignorant/I'll informed public, via an emotional response to live quarry shooting, in order to further a spiteful, deliberately dishonest, anti establishment agenda! +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matone Posted January 12, 2018 Report Share Posted January 12, 2018 5 hours ago, panoma1 said: The antis and sabs don't give a flying fig about Grouse, Grouse shooting or the moors, their foot soldiers are mostly just pathetic, inadequate, left wing, anarchist, losers who's phoney Cause Celebre depends on conning support from a largely ignorant/I'll informed public, via an emotional response to live quarry shooting, in order to further a spiteful, deliberately dishonest, anti establishment agenda! +2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
das Posted January 14, 2018 Report Share Posted January 14, 2018 On 12/01/2018 at 18:51, matone said: +2 +3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greylag Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 +4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 On 1/12/2018 at 11:53, Brad93 said: Decent reply that. What annoys me is all these antis, if all the sabs and protestors and keyboard warriors actually banned grouse shooting, who do they think is going to look after moorland. It would be areas of land, that landowners could do nothing with. Quickly it would be put to grazing, and an ecosystem lost. And how many of the antis do you think would be up there volunteering or working for £15k + accommodation like many natural England/national trust rangers are. A very small number! We will find out soon enough, a convicted criminal AR fruitloop has stirred up such a storm that Bradford council announced last night that They are stopping grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squinting shot Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Looks like the antis win again. Ban grouse shooting and the grouse will probably thin out anyway as they will be no Moor management surely Bradford Council cannot afford to appoint a moors manager seen as they struggle to provide us with the basics. And so much for the shooting organisations out there wonder what the next target for the antis could be. Not long before clay shoots come under fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 1 minute ago, Squinting shot said: ...... as they struggle to provide us with the basics. They can always find money for vanity projects. But you are right, grouse are likely to decline if the ground is not managed for shooting (heather burning to give a spectrum of ages of heather, vermin control, drainage, medicated grit etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad93 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Bloody joke. The problem is exposure. If you google grouse Ilkley Moor all that comes up is anti pages and biased news articles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 I thought shooting on Ilkley moor had been banned years ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 4 hours ago, keg said: We will find out soon enough, a convicted criminal AR fruitloop has stirred up such a storm that Bradford council announced last night that They are stopping grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor.... That's not good. I thought Bradford council only recently released the moor for sporting/grouse shooting as they couldn't afford to manage it and it had become a ticking time bomb for wild fire risk when u hae thousands of acres off rank woody heather, once 1 area goes the lot can go and with the woody stems it can increase the heat/intensity so burning the valuabe peat. Just an ecological disaster waiting to happen. I would imagine for anyone to take it on they must of had a 10 year lease to make all the habitat work viable, I hope they take the council to the cleaners and make them pay to buy the lease back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keg Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Sadly not Scotslad, the lease is due for renewal this year although in further news, it's not clear if the council have voted for this or just the labour group on the council. Agree with everything you say about the moor and management but i think this is a protest vote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Cheers keg How long was the lease? I vaguely remember something about it when it was about to start 'proper' moorland management. Guessing that could of been 3/5 years ago? Keg do u know if they shoot much of it? many days or decent bags? They would be doing well to start producing a surplus and getting the heather to where it needs to be in such a short space of time While this is a disaster for shooting and will only put more wind in the sails of individual nut jobs like him. Something all our Org's should be fighting far harder against, that's a precedent been set now, hopefully more won't follow As an aside while it is not ideal it might be an ideal opportunity for someone like GWCT to get in and study the wildlife there now under shooting management and see the decline in grouse and general wildlife. I dunno if any HH's present/nesting there but u can kiss them good bye once the predator control stops. I seen wot happened at langholm after the 1st JRG study when nesting HH's declined from 20 odd pairs to 2, and the 2nd study has just finished so the exact same thing will just be starting to happen again. 1 summer a few years ago they fledged something like 44 HH chicks on the moor, that will go down to 2 nests which struggle to fledge anything when the keepering stops. Nesting HH need keepering/vermin control after that 1st study they're was hardly a grouse or wader left on the moor just 20K acre of rank heather and very little wildlife Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad93 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 They shoot 8 days a season. They had a 10 year lease granted in 2008 from what I can see online. The moor won a conservation award in 2015 due to the work and investment made. The group which runs and manages the moor and neighbouring privately owned moors pledged £800,000 upfront and a further investment of £1.3m over ten years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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