Grouse Moor Management Group - Report from the first meeting

Professor Alan Werritty has provided this report from the first meeting of this Group.

Photo: Adam Smith

The Grouse Moor Management Group held its first meeting on 16th January at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. At that meeting, the Chair (Alan Werritty) outlined the background and context for the Group noting the Cabinet Secretary’s statement on 31 May 2017, following the publication of the 2017 SNH Commissioned Report: Analyses of the fates of satellite tracked golden eagles in Scotland.   

Terms of Reference

The following Terms of Reference for the Group were agreed:

• The Group will examine how to ensure that grouse moor management continues to contribute to the rural economy while being environmentally sustainable and compliant with the law. 
• The Group will recommend options for regulation including licensing and other measures, which could be put in place without new primary legislation.

It was noted that the Cabinet Secretary has also commissioned a socio-economic study to be undertaken in parallel with the work of the Group, with interim findings made available later in the year.

Framework

In addition to identifying a schedule for meetings, the Group agreed the following framework:

January to July 2018: gathering evidence and identifying key issues

Meeting 2. Evidence 1 (Environmental law relevant to grouse moors, current licensing systems and Codes of Practice, wildlife crime) 

Meeting 3. Evidence 2 (Predation/raptors and mountain hares) 

Meeting 4. Evidence 3 (Muirburn and medicated grit, call for written evidence) 

September to December: written and oral evidence, visit to estate(s), socio-economics

Meeting 5. Written evidence reviewed and oral evidence from key stakeholders 

Meeting 6. Visit to grouse shooting estate(s) 

Meeting 7. Review input from socio-economic study 

January to March 2019: drafting report and recommendations

Meeting 8. Review evidence and initial drafting of report and recommendations

Meeting 9. Finalise report and recommendations.

Presentations were given by Specialist Advisers to the Group:

• Adam Smith (GWCT): Grouse moors and their management: an introduction, 
• Ben Ross (SNH) Current regulatory system governing grouse moor management, and 
• Des Thompson (SNH) Raptor persecution and driven grouse moors.