Scotching rumours about Langholm: Our letter to the Guardian

It’s odd that Alan Carter forgot to mention (What we've learned of managing moors, 9 December) that the partnership that funded and ran trials on a driven grouse moor, which aimed to shoot 1,000 brace a season, included the RSPB.

For ten years at Langholm, on the Scottish Borders, the project used traditional moorland practices such as; heather burning to restore the habitat; the killing of foxes and crows to help recover the ground-nesting bird species; and the use of medicated grit to reduce worm burdens in red grouse. The study clearly demonstrated that existing measures, such as the diversionary feeding of hen harriers, does not resolve the proven conflict between the harriers and red grouse. This is precisely why the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust supports the testing of innovative ideas, including Defra’s hen harrier brood management scheme – in the interests of both the hen harriers and red grouse.

Andrew Gilruth
Director of communications at GWCT