The burning question on moors

We go inside the debate on grouse shooting and the perceived benefits of burning heather

- James Fair

TO UNDERSTAND WHY THERE IS continued acrimony over our uplands, with the illegal killing of raptors, such as hen harriers, still a major point of contention, you have to realise this is not just – or even mainly – about birds. Birds of prey, waders and even songbirds are all collateral damage (or, in some cases, winners) in a much bigger conflict about what these areas – the Yorkshire Dales, the North York Moors, the Peak District and others – should look like.

"In order to have sufficient numbers of grouse for shooting, you have to effectively farm them, which you do partly by burning heather"

It's about areas of deep peat called blanket bogs, for which the UK is the most important country in the world, and which store vast quantities of carbon. It's about what makes these uplands special, how we keep them that way and who pays for it. The people who own these moors say that they love the moors. They want to see wildlife – including birds of prey – thriving, and they say that grouse shooting is the best way to do that.

In order to have sufficient numbers of grouse for shooting, you have to effectively farm them, and you do that partly by burning heather. Adult grouse feed on fresh, tender heather shoots, and the best way to get the plant to rejuvenate is to burn it. Moor owners argue that burning heather both increases biodiversity and helps to store carbon, and there is plenty of science to back this up.

For example, one long-running and ongoing study by scientists at the University of York looked at three management options for peat-dominated moorlands, and found that both burning and cutting were effective ways to increase sphagnum moss cover, along with shrubs and sedges.