Grouse shooting

The red grouse is a very important bird on the moors. It is a game bird, which means people shoot it for sport. This became popular in Victorian times and is still carried on today.  

Grouse shooting is important for landowners because they make money from organising shoots. People pay to join a shoot and the landowners use this money to look after the moorland. A lot of local people are involved in grouse shooting or in providing accommodation and food for the people who go shooting and this is very important for the local economy in the winter months.  

The shooting season is short, beginning on August 12th each year and finishing in December. This is after the birds have finished nesting and the chicks have left the nest.

Red grouse only live wild on heather moorland and nowhere else, so landowners have to look after the moors to suit the grouse. Red grouse need some patches of young heather with plenty of tender, new shoots to eat and some patches of taller, older heather to shelter and nest in. Gamekeepers are people who are employed to look after the moorland and the grouse. They keep heather in good condition by burning small patches regularly to encourage new growth and this provides a better habitat for lots of other types of wildlife too.  The wildlife on the North York Moors is so special that the whole area is called a 'Site of Special Scientific Interest'. This means it is one of Britain's best wildlife habitats.     

Did you know?

A well managed grouse moor provides a good habitat for many other types of wildlife too including birds such as merlin, golden plover, lapwing and curlew. 

Find out more about the red grouse here.

Find out more about moorland wildlife here.

Find out more about grouse shooting here. This link takes you to the Moorland Association website.