Red Grouse Welfare and Moorland Management Context

Key Facts

• Red grouse populations are maintained at high densities through heather burning, predator control, and grit provision
• Driven grouse shooting is economically significant but associated with large-scale illegal raptor persecution
• Strongylosis (Trichostrongylus tenuis) is the primary disease of red grouse causing population crashes
• Medicated grit containing flubendazole reduces strongyle burdens and maintains high grouse population density
• Driven grouse moors support ecologically artificial but economically motivated grouse densities

Welfare Considerations

Red grouse welfare is embedded in a contested landscape management debate. Individual grouse benefit from heather management, supplementary grit, and disease control. However, the driven grouse management model drives illegal predator persecution of protected raptors, causing significant welfare harm to harriers, peregrines, and buzzards. The welfare calculus requires weighing benefits to grouse against systematic harm to protected species. Licensing of driven grouse moors with raptor recovery as a mandatory condition would create accountability for broader wildlife welfare impacts.

What You Can Do

• Support grouse moor licensing campaigns that include raptor recovery conditions
• Report suspected illegal raptor persecution on moorland to RSPB Raptor Persecution UK and police
• Engage with policy debates about the wildlife welfare externalities of intensive grouse management
• Support agri-environment schemes promoting diverse moorland management beyond intensive grouse production
• Be aware of the broader wildlife welfare context when visiting managed grouse moor landscapes