On one side are the area’s grouse estates (mostly owned by business tycoons and aristocrats), their gamekeepers and remote moorland villages. “It completely undermines our position as president of Cop26.”Wildlife experts also have concerns about the way grouse estates manage moors. Thompson accepts that some bird species do well on grouse moors – curlews, peewits, red kites and the like. “These ecosystems are completely out of balance.”Back on the Yorkshire moors, fires burn on the Walshaw Moor estate, in the south of the county. Some of the biggest days are 300 to 400 brace.”Bosomworth says grouse estates help keep smaller rural communities alive.

Source: The Guardian May 01, 2021 10:52 UTC