BASC statement on Labour’s demand for grouse shooting review

Labour’s call for a review appears to be a response to a campaign from celebrities and extreme animal rights campaigners.

Many of the details are incorrect. For example moors are not drained each year in preparation for the shooting season – moors were drained with government money in the 1970s but have been progressively re-wetted with drains being blocked for the last two decades.

The Labour review needs to hear from the people on the ground who maintain grouse moors with massive benefits for conservation and the environment. When they’ve heard the facts we expect Labour to support the massive economic benefits to marginal upland communities that grouse shooting delivers.