The Revive Coalition’s conference was a huge success at the weekend – many thanks to Max Wiszniewski, Revive’s Campaign Manager, who pulled it all together, and an incredibly engaged audience, who enthusiastically interacted with a number of expert discussion panels throughout the day.
Revive will be reporting separately on the conference so for now, here’s a report in yesterday’s Courier:
Hundreds of campaigners flooded into Perth Theatre on Saturday demanding radical reform of Scotland’s grouse moors.
The Revive Coalition, consisting of Common Weal, Raptor Persecution UK, Friends of the Earth Scotland, OneKind and League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) organised the inaugural event at the theatre’s Joan Knight Studio.
Sparked by the ongoing blight of illegal persecution of birds of prey across Scotland, the group are calling on stringent legal changes to grouse moors across the country.
The group believe that almost a fifth of Scotland is grouse moor, and have called on the wider “circle of destruction” to be reigned in.
Amongst the coalition’s demands are an end to government subsidies for grouse moors, fairer taxation, stricter policing and a requirement for full planning permission to build tracks on moorland.
Limitations on the amount of heather which can be burned and a ban on burning on peat reserves is also being sought by the group, along with bans on snares, medicating grouse.
TV conservationist Chris Packham addressed the audience with an video message before the speakers took to the stage.
With MSPs Alison Johnstone, Claudia Beamish and Andy Wightman all speaking at the event, the group already has plenty of political support.
Robbie Marsland, director of LACS, said: “It’s so much bigger than just the shooting of the birds. To make sure there are enough to shoot, you’re looking at a circle of destruction which includes unplanned tracks and roads which go across the moors, spoiling the countryside.
There’s also medicated grit trays which are supposed to control disease, but grouse pass on disease amongst themselves more frequently. This draws them together and they pass on the disease.
If you want to make sure there as as many grouse as possible, you get rid of everything which predates on them and their eggs or chicks. In effect, these foxes and crows and weasels are just animals.”
A reform is hoped would help clamp down on the number of birds of prey being killed or going missing over moorland, but Mr Marlsand’s organisation hopes that a reform could tackle wider issues relating to social justice and the environment.
Mr Marsland claimed that the grouse shooting industry is worth around £36m to Scotland, what he says is about the same annual income as two supermarkets, and employs less than 3,000 people with an average income of under £12,000.
Following this weekend’s event, Revive are looking to hold a parliamentary reception later in the year to further case.
ENDS
Raptor Persecution UK 
It was truly superb even better than expected and apparently hundreds of other people wanted to come too, but tickets had gone. It was masterfully organised (well done Max) and raptor persecution was used to open the door on a whole range of social and environmental calamities that grouse moors are responsible for. Particularly shocking were the stories from people living near grouse moors and the harassment, intimidation and surveillance they are put under. Having seen what comments their lackeys leave on social media it didn’t surprise me what people near grouse moors are subjected too, but still shocking to hear about it directly. These testimonies should really be collected together and made available to the public and MSPs in a document. I think it would be absolute bloody dynamite and get good press coverage – a similar document by people who left gamekeeper in disgust would also be interesting. It turned out that two fifths or even a half of the delegates came from grouse moor areas. Clearly there’s a lot of resentment there that I certainly underestimated.
There was a feeling of restrained anger and determination by the end of the conference and if I had been a grouse moor owner at it I would have been feeling very, very uneasy by then and wondering if now would be a good time to sell up and get out of this. This is only going in one direction now and that is the eventual death of driven grouse shooting. Ruth of course did a great job representing RPUK, and a speech from 14 year old eco activist Holly was really inspiring. Robbie Marsland’s summation that the total economic worth of grouse moors in Scotland was equivalent to the annual takings from two supermarkets was brilliant. As my nearest Tesco is a biggie and takes in a million quid a week its economic value is greater than all of the grouse moors in Scotland. That’s now something I’ll think of every time I go there. Fantastic conference and I’m really looking forward to the next one.
An amazing day full of like minded wonderful people! Thanks to all the organisers, politicians and “just” the members of the public! This is the future! ❤️
One thing that will happen to some of the ex Grouse Moors is Forestry planting, thousands of acres of Sitka, with that comes the land draining, many miles of new roading for access, acidic flushes, decline in flows of streams, Moorland birds will go, some birds will benefit though, shame about the Curlew, they wont stand a chance against the big increase in foxes and Crows, on whats left of their Habitat. Just need a few Lynx letting out to top the job off. The young gamies could be given jobs as tree planters, and then in 60 years time their grandchildren ( if humans are still here), could operate the forest harvester machines, its either that or Sheep, plough the lot up and re seed with grass, its already happened on parts of many Moors, its then a green desert, Grouse would become so rare, they could be a new red data listed bird, with a new RSPB appeal for cash to protect them, one idea for some of the ex Grouse Moors would be for them to be turned into a huge Nature reserve, the opportunitys for this are already always here, with the likes of Langholm Moors and many other Estates always being on the market, maybe have more wind turbines, but with that comes many new roads for access and the tons and tons of concrete to base them on. Mountain biking maybe, but theres already many miles of forest roads to go on, could have some simulated driven grouse days, using the existing butts, blattering at clays, theres already companys that already do that, and it could become more popular when the real thing has been banned, lead free of course, Badger watching, ?, Harriers MUST be allowed to breed, or it will be the end of Grouse Shooting, I get the feeling its now about 10 to midnight, tek note, heed the warning, writings on the wall.
Keen SHOOTER, more like!
Like it or not keen birders comments have more than a ring of truth…but thats because he is describing the status quo with the present destructive use of our Uplands…nice that people are actually thinking about removing grouse moors but think hard about how to get ecologically rich sustainable alternatives, dont just open the door to plantation forestry and sheep ranching.