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Good news for bloodthirsty toffs bad news for birds: Grouse shooting season begins

Gamekeepers and shooting parties took to the moors on the ‘Glorious 12th’.

Mike Wimberley on a shoot on the moors in Dunkeld, Perthshire (Jane Barlow/PA)

Gamekeepers say they are looking forward to welcoming international tourists again following the pandemic.

A shooting party on the Glorious 12th, the official start of the grouse season (Jane Barlow/PA)

Head keeper at Forneth Farm in Perthshire, Craig Brown, said: “Most estates will be finalising their programme of shoots for the season with reports of many group bookings being made. Last year, uncertainty caused by travel restrictions and poor weather conditions had an impact and we’re delighted to see things bouncing back.”

Grouse in flight on the moors in Perthshire (Jane Barlow/PA)

Shooting parties also took to the North Yorkshire Moors near Whitby, where country sports enthusiasts were putting gundog trainers and their dogs through their paces, pointing and retrieving grouse.

Shooting parties also took to the North Yorkshire Moors (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Tay House, a sporting lodge in Dunkeld, Perthshire, hugely benefits from the grouse season.

It is welcoming shooting parties from home and abroad this year, including a group of 16 from America.

Three local group bookings alone this season are estimated to generate more than £210,000 for the Dunkeld economy.

Shooting parties provide a boost to local economies (Jane Barlow/PA)

Not everyone is thrilled that the shooting season has begun:

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Related: Grouse shooting: ‘A glorious 12th for hunt saboteurs’

Joe Mellor

Head of Content

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