Red grouse management for driven shooting raises significant animal welfare questions, including the treatment of predators, disease management practices and bird density issues.
Welfare concerns on intensively managed grouse moors include illegal persecution of protected raptors, suffering of predators caught in legal traps if not checked frequently, high disease burdens from Strongylosis in over-dense populations, and the welfare impacts of the shooting process itself on wounded birds. Muirburn management also raises concerns about other moorland species.