SEBG News Archive
It may not be a Glorious 12th, but it’s a business to be proud of
12th August 2004If you were to believe everything you have read about the prospects for the Glorious 12th this year, you would be forgiven for thinking that those of us involved in the industry are running round, frantically echoing Private Fraser’s woeful declaration: "We’re doomed. We’re all doomed."
If we’re honest, it is a notable Scottish characteristic. If things aren’t looking good, there are those only too willing to believe we are automatically on the brink of disaster.
Of course, when it comes to grouse-shooting there is a palpable sense of schadenfreude. To some people, the prospect of a bad grouse season amounts to no more than an inconvenience to a few toffs in tweeds. Too bad is as good as it gets.
There is no doubt that this year the prospects for the grouse season are as poor as they have been in recent years. The Game Conservancy Trust’s figures show a drop in young red grouse of as much as 33 per cent. There are a number of reasons for this, mainly I would argue, to do with the weather pattern, which has decimated the number of chicks since the spring. However, I would strongly reject the notion that grouse-shooting is hurtling inexorably towards the end of the road. Grouse-shooting is a business, and a business of which Scotland can be rightly proud. On offer in our country is similar in quality to what we have to offer in golf - the best in the world.
Grouse-shooting provides jobs, income, conservation and land management into areas in which they would not necessarily exist without the grouse. It brings in an estimated £17 million a year and supports around 1,000 jobs - a sizeable turnover in any sector.
The purple-clad hills that tourists flock to see and that Scots are rightly proud of are the result of grouse moors. If the moor was not used for grouse, then there is a chance that it would disappear - being used to graze sheep or to plant forestry or being left to become scrub. The sought-after purple moorland mosaic is created by positive and effective management through heather-burning, bracken control and sensitive control of grazing.
The conservation and management of these moors ultimately creates local employment in fragile areas, both full- and part-time. Each moor will have keepers, shepherds, gardeners and maintenance staff managing it. In these increasingly tough times for Scottish agriculture, shooting can be a key way for men to preserve their employment. These jobs would simply not exist if the moors were not used for grouse-shooting.
The economic impact of the moor stretches further still. From the 12th onwards, the grouse season generally attracts a significant number of tourists who spend well in the local areas that surround the moors. They stay in local hotels, eat and drink in local pubs and buy in local shops. This welcome income comes at a traditional shoulder of the tourism season and keeps the tourism industry in these areas buoyant long after other areas are beginning to dip.
As our rural communities face increasing economic challenges, the income generated by fieldsports become ever more important. Grouse-shooting is a high-quality product, attracting tourists from all over the world and providing Scotland with a visible, attractive and credible marketing tool. Like any other quality product, the investment, product development and brand maintenance are significant and long-term.
That is why we have to look at this year’s poor prospects in context. Every sector in Scottish business enjoys the good times and lives with the downturns. The businesses that survive are those which invest and look to the future. Grouse-shooting is a risky business, and those prepared to take those risks know they have to take the good with the bad.
Commercial shoots are being cancelled - some because of the drop in numbers of grouse, but many because stocks are being preserved for future years. That, I would suggest, is a sound business strategy - planning for the future rather than going for the quick buck in the short term. Moreover, the people who come to Scotland to enjoy shooting - and the majority of them are British - are generally people who have a long-term commitment to the sport and will likely return again.
We in Scotland should remember it is an important industry and one we should be proud to sustain.
Those of us involved in grouse-shooting know only too well that every 12th of August cannot be more glorious than the last. But doomed? Far from it.
Article appeared in The Scotsman 12th August 2004. Read it on The Scotsman
website at:
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=927592004
