REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform in Scotland has launched a new campaign this week highlighting the ‘killing to kill’, where hundreds of thousands of animals are killed on grouse moors just so more red grouse can be killed for ‘sport’.
A short video can be viewed here:
REVIVE isn’t arguing that no animal should ever be killed – there are many situations where it is necessary – what REVIVE is arguing for is that when it is necessary, it should be based on the seven internationally-approved principles of ethical decision-making for wildlife management, as devised by a panel of experts in wildlife conservation, management and welfare (see here).
The seven principles can be summarised as follows:
- Modifying human practices when possible
- Justification for control required
- Have clear and achievable outcome-based objectives
- Cause the least harm to animals
- Social acceptability
- Systemic planning
- Base control on the specifics of the situation rather than labels (like “pest species”)
REVIVE argues that the widespread killing of wildlife on grouse moors does not meet these principles.
As we await details of the Scottish Government’s plans for the introduction of a licencing scheme for grouse shooting, Environment Minister Mairi McAllan has indicated that the seven principles will be considered as the legislation is drafted.
REVIVE is now asking the public to urge the Government to commit to the seven principles – you can find out how to get involved here.
STV News covered this news here
There’s also a comment piece about grouse moor reform in general from Max Wiszniewski, REVIVE’s Campaign Manager, published in The National last week (here).
Raptor Persecution UK 
This is an excellent approach and I hope it will be an effective campaign.
The 7 principles are absolutely the approach we should be taking if it is absolutely necessary to ‘control’ wildlife. I suspect though that if these principles were to be followed to the letter, very few of our sentient creatures, who I for one cherish, would be killed.
Well done to Revive.
If at all possible what would it cost to get this onto prime time tv as an ad. and could it be crowd funded?
Excellent idea. I’d be happy to donate.
I genuinely think that most ordinary & sceptical* shooting folk (perhaps from a low ground or mainly roughshooting background) reading this right now would be stunned if they had knowledge of the sheer numbers of things being killed on the “best” grouse moors. I am in favour myself of some regulated killing of foxes, crows and stoats in winter – but what goes on now is industrial scale extermination across hundreds of thousands of acres. If all of the corpses were hung out on gibbets around the Estates boundaries it would be considered a national scandal – but flung in holes and ditches here and there all over the place, few people seem to notice.
*of this blog
Brilliant stuff! Images of the animals deliberately and accidentally killed in snares and traps on grouse moors are a really good way of getting through to the public why grouse moors are abominable for wildlife. Well done Max!!!