Kudos to zoologist, author, photographer and broadcaster Mark Carwardine for having the courage to take on driven grouse shooting in his latest opinion piece for BBC Wildlife Magazine.
Too few of the ‘big names’ in wildlife/nature conservation are prepared to stand up and speak out on this issue (with a handful of exceptions).
Mark can be forgiven for repeating the myth that ‘the UK has 75% of the world’s heather moorland’ (for a forensic debunking, read this excellent blog by Professor Steve Carver) because it doesn’t detract from the rest of his clear-eyed view on why driven grouse shooting should be banned.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Here here Mark. Well said
At a glance, I assumed because of the title “Why should wildlife lose to businesses underpinned by criminal activity?” that it was going to be about the brood meddling thing. But no mention of it, nor medicated grit – perhaps due to limitations of space? Perhaps it is to follow in a longer article – if it’s reader interest is piqued. A good article though, I can see it causing some frothing at the mouth in certain quarters and some phone calls to friends among senior civil servants / BBC hierarchy.
Pretty powerful for a short article.
I sense that things are beginning to turn, attitudes are starting to change… voices are beginning to be heard…
Thanks in no small part to years and years and years of effort from Ruth:-)
Good article. Keep chipping away.
The more often driven grouse shooting is placed in front of the public realm, the more, hopefully, people will become more aware about it – the damage it does to our countryside and the murder of the many birds, including our precious raptors who are seen as detrimental to it and are also murdered, often hideously – and start to protest against it.
Well done to Mr Carwardine for his article in the BBC’s ‘Wildlife Magazine’.
As stated earlier, I am sure this will really incense those involved in the hideous, so-called, sporting fraternity, and, I’m sure there are, sororities too