Revive’s non-peer reviewed report is sadly partial raspberry at a time when festive cheer for our moors should be the order of the day (Close grouse moors to help environment, report urges, 9 December).
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has published three major reports and 19 peer-reviewed papers in the past three years which show the positive contribution of managed heather moors.
Scottish moors, managed for red grouse shooting, are a national and global asset, protecting this open landscape against a tide of scrub and commercial conifer forest. Their international significance has been recognised in no less a journal than the National Geographic. These moorlands provide magnificent heather bloom and are the only truly effective refuges for rare wading birds and mountain hares.
Reports already published by Scottish Government identify that investment from grouse shooting is the only substantial income for maintaining these benefits that does not rely on public subsidy. Moors are a gift that keep on giving and as a nation we should recognise and enjoy these benefits in the future.
Bruce Russell
GWCT Director Scotland
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