Study shows grouse shooting plays key role

The new report found overwhelming support for grouse shooting in local communities

By Selena Masson

Thursday, 19 November 2009

The first social study of grouse shooting highlights the major contribution made by the sport to rural communities

The first-ever social study of grouse shooting in Britain has shown that the sport has a positive impact on rural communities.

The study, titled Red Grouse and the Tomintoul and Strathdon Communities, was published on 6 November and carried out by the Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College. The research was funded by the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust to look at the benefits to rural communities brought by the grouse shooting industry.

Of the 113 respondents (which accounted for 25 per cent of the adult population in the survey area), nearly 20 per cent felt their livelihood depended on grouse shooting and more than 80 per cent said that the entire community benefits from the sport. Nearly two-thirds of respondents recognised grouse shooting as a major local employer and said it made a “significant contribution” to the area’s economy.

Dr Rob McMorran, research associate at the Centre for Mountain Studies, told Shooting Times: “The findings presented in this report clearly highlight the importance of the grouse shooting industry to a specific Scottish rural community and may well be applicable, in a general sense, to other upland areas in Scotland where grouse shooting is a common activity.”

The rest of this article appears in 18th November issue of Shooting Times.