Press release from the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics (4th December 2023):
‘Predator control’ on Scottish grouse moors causes tremendous, unjustifiable suffering to animals, say academics.
Over 120 academics worldwide have backed a report that calls for an end to snaring, trapping, and poisoning animals on Scottish moors. Animals are killed in order to artificially inflate grouse populations for shooting.
“The best available estimates indicate that as many as 260,000 animals are killed as a result of legal ‘predator control’ practices each year in Scotland” maintains the Report.
The Report is signed by numerous ethicists and philosophers, including Scottish academics from the universities of St Andrews, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Aberdeen, and the Nobel Laureate, J. M. Coetzee.
Titled “Killing to Kill,” the 71-page report by the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics graphically details how each method of control “causes suffering, or prolongs suffering, or makes animals liable to suffering.”
Snares are condemned because they “inevitably mean that animals can struggle for hours in considerable pain and distress.” Even the supposedly most humane trap, the DOC (Department of Conservation) trap, only kills 80% of its victims quickly, while the remaining 20% are left to suffer appalling injuries, with no requirement for inspection. And poisons mean that animals suffer for days.
“This is a major moral issue” claims Centre director the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey, “it simply cannot be right to cause tremendous suffering for non-essential purposes. When we began the report, we knew hardly anything about these control measures, but we have been staggered by the degree of suffering. Few people are cognizant of the situation. It is a much neglected and overlooked area of animal cruelty.”
The report concludes by calling for a new charter for free-living animals. “Scotland could lead the way in pioneering legislation that encompasses not only domestic animals, but also free-living ones. This legislation should begin with the recognition of sentiency and enshrine in law the value and dignity of free-living animals such that their right to live unmolested is respected.”
The report is written by a fellow and the directors of the Centre, Dr Katie Javanaud, Dr Clair Linzey, and the Revd Professor Andrew Linzey. It was commissioned by the Scottish charity, the League Against Cruel Sports, but is an entirely independent report and at no point did the League seek to influence the Report’s findings or conclusions.
Director of the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland Robbie Marsland, commented: “The League Against Cruel Sports is not surprised that many people believe Scotland’s “grouse moors” are an animal ethics free zone. Polling shows that 76% of Scots do not support the practice of ‘predator control’ to kill hundreds and thousands of animals so that more grouse can be shot for entertainment.
“This report clearly outlines the ethical case against this uncontrolled killing. The biggest surprise is that any suggestion that this killing should stop is met with incredulity by the shooting fraternity. We hope the report will open the eyes of politicians considering the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill to the enormous ethical issues before them.”
ENDS
The report can be read / downloaded here:
The report’s publication received front page coverage in The Herald this morning (here).
Raptor Persecution UK 
It just gets better and better. The evidence is piling up and can no longer be ignored.
The League Against Cruel Sports are to be applauded for commissioning this report which cannot be ignored.
This really is piling the pressure on. The big question now is how to get it out there so that the general public can be made aware of it – indeed aware of the whole sorry saga. Hope Channel 4 News gets to see it.
Only read the summary so far which is excellent and would be hard to ignore. However, it’s only half the story. It addresses the pain and suffering inflicted on animals that would/ could predate the game birds bred for the shoot. But what of the shoot itself? How much suffering does that inflict?
Even a crack shot causing instant death would still be shooting at a bird fleeing for its life due to the beaters. Would it not be a little anxious, stressed?
And all the birds shot that are not killed outright but can flee into woods or hedgerows, what pain and suffering are they having to endure before death?
It would also be wrong to ignore the reptiles that loose their lives due to fire or flush butts as I have seen myself. Does a reptile not feel heat? Does a frog or toad not feel frightened having fallen into a flush butt with no means of escape? Can a frog not feel hunger and exhaustion?
The whole sorry ‘sport’ should be banned outright, but are we not also complicit if we don’t bother to write to our MPs and express our concerns?
Well done LACS. Now we have to do our bit and get this out to as many people as possible, and certainly our MPs.
Unfortunately its not just on Scottish grouse moors where this happens! It occurs south of the border on the grouse shoots in Northern England and is widespread on the pheasant and partridge shoots that take place on a large number of farming estates in England and Wales but as previously mentioned, hardly any of the public are even aware that this takes place in their beautiful English countryside
Poisons, they are illegal anyway so cannot be used, and the DOC trap saying they dont need inspecting, they are required to be checked every day, as any other trap should be, and snares are soon to be banned in Scotland.
Fair comments read, its just a wait now, till something happens.
I can expect seeing foxes daily, Curlews and Lapwings will be long gone as well as Black Grouse at Langdon Beck, Harriers will be having chicks taken by the foxes, so wont be as common as what some would think. Forestry will soon replace heather moorland and with it comes all the shite it harbours ,and acid rain, drying of burns, and silt pollution
But anyway bring it on, we can say, told you so.
How do you think most of our food is farmed, lands cleared and ploughed and god knows what, yet most of you lot will tuck in to a chicken dinner or a beef steak without a thought.
KEEN BIRDER YES, but im also a keen crow and fox killer.
Keen birder what on earth are you talking about regards Langdon Beck?
All of Raby estates ground west of High Force has been leased off to new management known as Harwood Moor Shoot about three year ago. It has never had such intense gamekeeping in all its history. It’s all in the regular Raby Estates Newsletter they put online for public, see their website.
DOC stoat traps are classed as instant kill traps, they do not legally need to be checked daily which would be practically impossible anyway. Game Conservancy might recommend daily checking that is just to make it sound good. New types of rat poisons used recklessly and accidentally on purpose are resulting in lots of cases illegal poisoning many reported on here.
What do you mean by ‘shite it harbours’ – you must know that on grouse moors they call birds of prey “shite & rubbish” and things like that??? A keen birder wouldn’t use that word.
So how did wildlife in general manage to survive before the shooting fraternity took over these areas with its extremely biassed form of management? Pretty well I would imagine!
Makes you wonder how anything survives in Africa; what with all the “shite” running around!
I’ve been a LACS supporter for years money well spent .Here here bibio and Quercus what a load of shite keen birder is spouting . Well done to all involved in the report killing to Kill .