 |
| Red Grouse. Photo: Lostajv, Wikipedia |
Wirral Wildlife member Marc Parry has asked if we could publicise Mark Avery's petition to ban driven grouse shooting.
Grouse shooting depends on intensive habitat management which increases flood risk and greenhouse gas emissions, relies on killing Foxes, Stoats, Mountain Hares etc in large numbers and often leads to the deliberate illegal killing of protected birds of prey including Hen Harriers.
Driven grouse shooting uses animals for live target practice, with thousands killed every day. Native predators are killed because they eat Red Grouse. Mountain Hares are killed because they carry ticks that can spread diseases to grouse. Heather is burned to increase Red Grouse numbers for shooting. Grouse shooting is economically, ecologically and socially unnecessary. This is 'canned hunting'.
Although moorland intensively managed for grouse hunting is not found on the Wirral, as Marc Parry says: "Imagine if the
Thurstaston Common heathland was burned regularly by its owners, drained with
ditches, all predators killed (including birds of prey) and their nests
destroyed. And everyone's water quality was spoiled as a result, and half of
you got flooded out of your homes regularly too. That's the situation round
grouse moors. And all so a few of the lets-kill-animals-for-fun brigade can
indulge their blood lust, and investors can make a fortune."
Mark Avery is an author, campaigner and former Head of Conservation for the RSPB and has written about the issue on his blog:
You can sign the petition here:
No comments:
Post a Comment