BASC briefed MEPs on the value of grouse shooting at a conference held by the European Parliament’s Intergroup on biodiversity, hunting and countryside.
Kate Ives, BASC’s senior business intelligence officer, told delegates how grouse shooting in England, Scotland and Wales has an estimated annual economic value of around £100 million and supports the equivalent of over 2,500 full-time jobs. Grouse shooting brings economic benefits, jobs and tourism into businesses in remote rural areas, providing a lifeline for hotels, pubs and shops.
Kate Ives said: “We explained to the MEPs how, in addition to the measurable economic values, grouse shooting delivers many hugely important benefits that are almost impossible to place an economic value on.
“Grouse shooting delivers time, effort and millions of pounds of private investment into moorland management, supporting biodiversity, rural economies, communities and uplands ecosystem services. Without this private investment of time and money, much of which yields a public benefit, upland areas would suffer.”
BASC chairman Peter Glenser said: “Around 75 per cent of the word’s rare heather moorland is found in Britain and grouse shooting plays a notable role in conservation of this globally-threatened habitat. Grouse moor managers are upland custodians.
“BASC were delighted to inform this European debate with sound evidence of the work which goes into preserving this habitat and the benefits grouse shooting delivers to rural communities which are, in many cases, isolated and vulnerable. Grouse shooting supports our uplands and their communities and it is important that message is delivered to as wide an audience as possible. There are many communities across Europe which similarly rely on shooting.”