Red grouse are managed intensively for driven shooting on UK upland moors. Their welfare is affected by disease control practices, habitat management, and the shooting itself.
Red grouse welfare on driven shooting estates involves genuine tensions. Disease management - particularly medicated grit - arguably improves individual welfare by reducing the suffering caused by heavy worm burdens. However, the shooting itself, including wounding rates, represents significant welfare impact. The intensive management that sustains high grouse densities for shooting also creates conditions for disease transmission between birds. Wounded birds that escape dying slowly in the heather represent a welfare cost that is difficult to measure but may be substantial.