That the Parliament recognises the Glorious Twelfth and what it sees as the important contribution that it makes to Scotland’s rural economy and biodiversity; understands that grouse shooting generates £23.3 million for the rural economy and supports more than 1,072 full-time equivalent rural jobs; further understands that the Scottish Government report, The socioeconomic and biodiversity impacts of driven grouse moors and the employment rights of gamekeepers, reportedly shows that grouse shooting contributes a higher per hectare employment impact from grouse moors than sheep farming and forestry; understands that 60% to 80% of direct spending on grouse shooting occurs within the local or regional area, supporting jobs in remote areas, which, it believes, would otherwise have no other employment opportunities; notes the campaign by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), #MoreThanAGrouseMoor, which showcases how grouse moor management delivers on climate change, nature and wellbeing; believes that grouse moors boost biodiversity, providing important refuges for many moorland ground-nesting birds, including lapwing, curlew and golden plover, all benefitting from excellent habitat management and predator control; recognises the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's (GWCT) research, which reportedly found that these species were found to fledge more than three times as many young when predator control on grouse moors was carried out, compared with there being no such measures, and wishes all rural workers in rural uplands the very best season ahead.
Supported by:
Jeremy Balfour, Alexander Burnett, Donald Cameron (Registered interest)
, Finlay Carson, Sharon Dowey, Murdo Fraser, Dr Pam Gosal MBE, Jamie Greene, Dr Sandesh Gulhane, Craig Hoy, Liam Kerr, Stephen Kerr, Dean Lockhart, Douglas Lumsden, Edward Mountain, Douglas Ross, Alexander Stewart, Sue Webber, Annie Wells, Tess White, Brian Whittle