When I was twelve, I went hunting with my father and we shot a bird. He was laying there and something struck me. Why do we call this fun to kill this creature [who] was as happy as I was when I woke up this morning.
Marv Levy
If you don’t have time to read the information below but would like to bring an end to grouse shooting scroll down for action you can take, including two demonstrations on the 12th August.
It’s approaching that time again, the so called Glorious Twelfth (August 12th), the beginning of the Grouse shooting season. I have written about this atrocity of barbarism several times in this blog here here and the latest here
From beasts we scorn as soulless,
In forest, field and den,
The cry goes up to witness
The soullessness of men.
M. Frida Hartley
As I have said time and time again I cannot understand the mentality, the cold indifference to taking the life of another sentient creature by hunting or shooting, but to get pleasure from doing so is even more baffling.
Moreover few people who participate in blood sports ever question that there is anything wrong with killing animals for fun. In the video below the shooter shoots from the sky a beautiful bird in full fight, ending the life of this defenseless unsuspecting creature simply for pleasure. It turns my stomach, makes me sick inside as it does most people. That is why the majority of people in the UK and worldwide would rather see an end to such wanton killing as a result of so called sport.
Grouse Shooting is the sport of kings says the shooter in this video.
The sport of kings indeed, is this saying meant to elevate this cruelty? Hunting and shooting is more like the sport of psychopaths! It is sickening that anyone can glorify such a vile act of cruelty against other feeling thinking sentient beings. It shames us as a nation that we allow this barbarity to continue. To be fair there may be a few who simply fail to comprehend what they do and there are those who even give up blood sports however for the majority it is a much anticipated pass time undertaken with disregard to the suffering caused.
Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself.
James Anthony Froude,
The reality of grouse shooting
While for many people grouse shooting is deemed undesirable because of the harm it does to other creatures – including Hen Harriers and Peregrines as is emphasis of the video below – it has be said that grouse shooting is inhumane simply because it kills 700,000 grouse each year. All animals to my mind are equal and for each individual animal his or her life is important. However if the concern over the killing of endangered species rather than the grouse itself brings about an end to grouse shooting all well and good. The important thing is that no animal is harmed or killed whether it is a grouse, a fox or a hen harrier.
A number of animals are killed deliberately because for one reason or another their existence interferes with the number of grouse available for shooters to use as living targets.
“This film sets out the case for banning driven grouse shooting both on the grounds of its dependence on the illegal killing of birds of prey and for its wider impacts.”
So you see it is not only the unfortunate tiny grouse who are killed or harmed and left to die a slow painful death but other wild animals and even domestic animals become victims of this outdated cruelty of a bygone age.
Look carefully at the photo in the tweet below a vehicle filled with beautiful mountain hares murdered – yes I am going to say murdered what else is it – in order to protect grouse from hare-born disease. Basically killing one animal in order to have plenty of another animal to kill, simply for pleasure.
Humans also get maimed or killed participating in blood sports such as hunting and shooting. There are no statistics for the UK . However as far as I can ascertain there have been fatalities here. A woman in Oxford back in March 2016 was left shaken after deer hunting accident when a bullet was shot through her window. Whilst no one was injured things most certainly could have been quite different. There have also been significant and serious incidences of hikers killed during hunting in the USA and Canada, Also in Italy during, a four month period 35 people were killed in hunting accidents. It can only be a matter of time before something like this happens here, in areas such as the Yorkshire and Durham Dales the Yorkshire Moors, anywhere where people have the right of way there is always that risk.
Concerning the UK and indeed world wide the licensing of guns to hunters and shooters puts a deadly weapon into the hands of people who have violent tendencies – there is surely no one who can argue that hunting and shooting is not an act of violence. It is bizarre when you think about it but most licenses are issued to people to kill animals, though some licenses of course are issued to people for sports such as clay pigeon shooting. Here in the UK 567,015 people have a shotgun license , any one of them can use their weapon to kill not only helpless animals but people also, as was the case of Derrick Bird in Cumbria who shot twelve people with the gun he used to kill rabbits. Make no mistake these are deadly weapons which maim and kill helpless animals with the potential of killing defenseless humans also. The less weapons in public hands the less the chances of people being killed.
The following article includes a short video of the cruel and untimely death of animals killed by a gamekeeper in one of the UK’s National Parks. These animals are deemed to interfere with the numbers of grouse available for the shooters to kill.
Footage shows animals trapped and shot in a UK national park
Warning images which some people may find disturbing.
http://www.aol.co.uk/travel/2017/07/11/footage-animals-trapped-shot-uk-peak-district-national-park/?ncid=webmail
I found the images upsetting, sickening as I find it disturbing that anyone can wantonly shoot helpless animals who have as much right to their lives as the person who shoots them, as do the grouse and every other being that lives.
Vast areas of our countryside are managed in this way to prepare for the massacre of these tiny helpless birds for no other reason than some disturbed sense of pleasure and enjoyment.
Why should a large percentage of our countryside be used and it’s inhabitants abused simply to satisfy the bloodlust of a very small group of over privileged people to kill helpless wild animals simply for enjoyment for four months of each year. Shooters are wealthy, some extraordinarily so as are the people who profit from organised shoots. A few years ago now while in a pub in the Yorkshire Dales my husband and I got into conversation with a former sheep farmer who was now retired. He told us that he had sold his land for the purpose of shooting as he was approached to do so and made an offer he could not refuse. A considerable amount I assume paid simply to have access to the land for four months of the year just to kill helpless birds, shoot them from the sky after driving them into the line of fire by terrifying them by a method referred to as grouse beating – hunting for grouse by trying to drive them towards the shooter by using flags, sticks, and other devices.
As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.
Pythagoras
Ten Reasons to oppose grouse shooting – note the petition is now closed
http://markavery.info/2014/06/05/ten-reasons-sign-epetition-ban-driven-grouse-shooting-england/ – The most important reason in my opinion is that the grouse are sentient beings and have the right to live as do all the other creature mained and killed during the preparation for grouse shooting.
While shooting and hunting are categorized differently they amount to the same thing and that is wanton violence and the massacre of defenseless sentient creatures for fun.
The article below from PETA focuses on reasons why hunting is cruel and nowadays unnecessary. The same is the case for grouse shooting
“Hunting accidents destroy property and injure or kill horses, cows, dogs, cats, hikers, and other hunters. In 2006, then–Vice President Dick Cheney famously shot a friend while hunting quail on a canned hunting preserve.16 According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, thousands of injuries are attributed to hunting in the U.S. every year—and that number only includes incidents involving humans.17″
https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/wildlife-factsheets/sport-hunting-cruel-unnecessary/
Actions you can take to end grouse shooting.
There is limited organised action and as far as I am aware no current petitions. The last petition resulted in a debate in parliament but despite 123,077 signatures failed to bring about a ban on grouse shooting
Here is what I have been able to find, please take action if you possibly can.
Join protest ramble August 12th
If you live near or are able to get to Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire there is a protest ramble on August 12th.
Protest Ramble: No New Grouse Shooting Licence for Ilkley Moor
https://www.facebook.com/events/1956927037862012/
Here is more information about about grouse shooting and the protest ramble on Ilkley moor:
https://stoptheshoot.com/
At least the Bradford District council warn people of shooting.
In the Yorkshire and Durham dales which my family visit frequently for walking and just enjoying the countryside there are no such warnings. You can suddenly came across a shooting party in proximity to a popular foot path. While it offers an opportunity to express your opposition this is distressing for many people and could be a safety hazard. On one occasion police ignored our reports of shooters worrying sheep chasing after them in an attempt to remove them from the area saying that there was nothing they could do.
Join a protest to Make badger culling, fox hunting and driven grouse shooting history
For more information about the above protest:
https://www.facebook.com/events/239082489919954/
Also more information from the badger Trust
If you have a Twitter account you might post your protest and comments using hashtags such as the following:
Continue to write to your MP
http://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-your-mp/
It may well be a challenge to say the least particularly if your MP is conservative as the Tories tend to support blood sports, this is probably because a good majority participate in them and they therefore continue to put their own pleasures first, however dubious or unethical, before those of the vast majority who wish to see an end to such barbarities as shooting and hunting. Nonetheless please be persistent keep in mind fox hunting was eventually banned as a result of public pressure.
Related links
Chris Packham calls to end Ilkley Moor grouse shooting
“Wildlife presenter Chris Packham is campaigning for an end to grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor, calling it “moorland vandalism”.
He made his comments in a statement to moor owners Bradford Council ahead of the grouse shooting season next week. The council said it permits shooting for just eight days each year, under a contract to be reviewed in 2018.
Ilkley Moor is the last publicly owned place in the UK to allow grouse shooting during the season.”
Continue reading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-40815624
Grouse
“According to industry statistics an estimated 700,000 grouse are shot every year in Britain for ‘sport’ all over the UK. In driven shooting, red grouse are frightened from their heather homes by a line of beaters shouting and stomping to drive them towards eagerly awaiting men with guns. The grouse don’t stand a chance, as it is basically a massacre. Many will not be killed outright, but will be shot and wounded before hurtling to the ground where they will lie maimed, suffering and terrified.”
Read more this article contains suggested actions you can take to end grouse shooting:
https://www.league.org.uk/grouse?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwJqPqfXG1QIV5xXTCh1jSwMpEAAYAiAAEgLxsfD_BwE
Whats Wrong with Grouse shooting
- Grouse shooting is a bloodsport People pay vast sums of money (1000-2000 a day) to blast a sentient creature out of the sky for enjoyment. A creature that has been driven towards them to make it easier. Whether or not money changes hands is not the issue though – shooting or hunting animals for amusement is something the Hunt Saboteurs Association is unequivocally opposed to. Grouse are known as the king of gamebirds because of their fast flight. This speed makes a clean kill difficult and results in birds being shot without instantly falling to the ground, and many fly on wounded.
Continue reading:
https://www.huntsabs.org.uk/restore/archive/features/wwwgs.html
Wildlife crash on Ilkley Moor prompts fresh calls to ban grouse shooting
CAMPAIGNERS have renewed calls for a ban on grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor as figures emerge which reveal a decline in over half of protected breeding bird species
Ban Blood Sport on Ilkley Moor (BBIM) has written to the leader of Bradford Council Susan Hinchcliffe noting that populations of breeding birds have fallen as a result of grouse shooting and related moorland management, and called on the local authority to end the blood sport on public land.
Videos
This video shows the shocking use of cruel traps. Note the petition referred to is closed.
“Well done Terry Pickford for speaking the truth, exposing what gamekeepers would obviously prefer no-one to know. It is a terribly sad situation, but I for one must applaud your efforts over the last 4 decades, working to support and protect Hen Harriers and Peregrine Falcons in the Forest of Bowland, under such difficult circumstances. ” The petition referred to failed.
Rantings From a Virtual Soapbox 
Will it never end:( Will be tweeting and writing to my MP
I ask myself the same question. Thanks for contacting your MP. Hopefully with persistence like fox hunting one day this atrocity will come to an end though even with fox hunting the struggle continues.