Shooting the birds for sport must end say campaigners

Members of the Scottish Parliament have each been sent a soft wild animal toy to remind them of the hundreds of thousands of animals killed on Scotland’s grouse moors every year.

Leading animal welfare charity, the League Against Cruel Sports, wants to highlight the true cost of grouse shooting to Scotland’s wildlife.

The charity says that management techniques, designed to maintain large numbers of grouse stocks for sport shooting by eradicating hundreds of thousands of other animals deemed to be pests, is nothing more than a war on wildlife that has no place in modern society.

Robbie Marsland, director of the League Against Cruel Sports, Scotland said: “Grouse moors are surrounded by a circle of destruction which causes widespread animal suffering. The idea that killing hundreds of thousands of animals each year to maintain high grouse numbers to be shot is far from acceptable. This is simply killing to kill.

“As the consultation to license grouse shooting businesses closes, we hope MSPs will recognise the serious message behind the gesture of sending them a soft toy and support a strong new Bill which we hope to see introduced next year.”

Around 200,000 animals are killed each year on Scottish shooting estates in an attempt to totally eradicate foxes, stoats, weasels and crows to increase the number of grouse for sport shooting.

A comprehensive League report “Hanged by the feet until dead” based on the biggest survey of shooting estates in Scotland reveals that around 40% of the animals are ‘non target’ species such as hedgehogs, badgers and small birds.

The Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill was announced in this year’s Programme for Government and is expected to include proposals to provide greater protection for birds of prey, license grouse shooting businesses and regulate trapping, including wildlife traps, glue traps and snares.