What to know

• The Scottish Green Party has called for banning the traditional August 12 start of grouse shooting season, citing evidence that intensive moor management creates conditions for wildfires.
• Peatland drainage and vegetation burning, standard practices on grouse moors, leave dry peat that acts as fuel for fires that smoulder for extended periods.
• Record-breaking heat this year has already reduced grouse populations, leaving London restaurants with smaller and fewer birds available.
• Chef Richard Corrigan and environmental experts argue large-scale grouse shoots operate as unsustainable 'factory' operations that damage ecosystems, while the UK government has already banned vegetation burning on deep peat.

“Something that has really annoyed me is the killing of raptor birds on the estates. They are being poisoned by people on these estates. I would never buy grouse from those estates.”

Richard Corrigan, Chef and restaurant owner · The Guardian

Scottish Green Party Environmental advocacy organizationRichard Corrigan Chef and restaurant ownerUK Government Regulatory authority