The REVIVE coalition has come up with another creative idea to lobby effectively for grouse moor reform in Scotland.
In 2020 the coalition produced a spoof version of Dragon’s Den, where representatives of the grouse shooting industry were seen pitching their case in the Den, only to be met with incredulity by the Dragons (watch the video here).
Last week they took an interactive game based on the game show ‘Play Your Cards Right‘ into the Scottish parliament building, inviting MSPs to choose ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ cards from the board.
The game is designed so that the cards / numbers on the top row become progressively higher and more disastrous (the environmental impact of grouse shooting) while the cards / numbers on the bottom row become progressively lower (the so-called economic ‘benefits’ of grouse shooting).
At the end of the game, the MSPs are left with the juxtaposition of a large number of animals killed (including an estimation of grouse numbers killed) next to the economic contribution figure of 0.02%.
Lots of MSPs were encouraged to have a go, from across the political parties, and even Environment Minister Mairi McAllen was game.
This is a very clever way to engage with the policy-makers and get across a message that is likely to be remembered.
Well done Max Wiszniewski from REVIVE and many thanks to all the participating MSPs.
Special thanks to Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell for sponsoring the event.
Raptor Persecution UK 
A very clever and innovative ploy by REVIVE. Let us hope that it finally gets the message across, because facts and figures and public opinion have not really been much of a success.
Just curious whether Fergus Ewing had a go?
I strongly support the message that Revive are trying to get across. But foremost on politicians minds will be policies to tackle inflation and rising living costs which effect the majority of the electorate. Ultimately grouse moor reform could have major economic advantages, as well as being good for the environment and wildlife. But politics is frequently dominated by the moment, and it is a well understood feature of British politics that long term strategies are often ignored as politicians simply look at how to manipulate the short term to ensure being voted in at the next election. My concern is that the importance of Revive’s message could be lost as politicians think more about how to retain the urban vote in the central belt from Glasgow to Edinburgh, as families struggle with rising living costs rather than necessary long term land reform to better use Scotland’s wilderness. Well done Revive for trying to keep grouse moor reform within the political consciousness, but with politics timing is everything, and I am not sure the timing was right on this occasion.