Peers back keepers as wildfire risk grows

Gamekeepers and land managers were strongly defended in the House of Lords earlier this month, as peers warned that Natural England’s clampdown on controlled burning is fuelling the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

In a passionate debate led by the Earl of Caithness on 12 June, speakers with deep roots in the countryside criticised the sidelining of traditional moorland management and called for policy to be based on science, not ideology.

Moorland owner Lord Jack of Courance set the record straight:

“It is a common misconception that muirburn is peat burning. It is not. Muirburn is a cold fire. [You] can… watch videos of cold fires going across Mars bars that have been laid in the heather and not damaging them or harming them in any shape or form.”

Natural England’s approach increasing wildfire risk

Others warned that recent decisions by Natural England are pushing up fuel loads and tying the hands of the very people best placed to prevent fires: gamekeepers.

“Controlled and specific moor burn, carried out by highly trained and skilled gamekeepers, plays a vital role in the prevention and control of wildfires – as was demonstrated in the Peak District earlier this year,” said the Earl of Shrewsbury.

Local knowledge at the heart of prevention

Several peers highlighted the practical knowledge of keepers and stalkers, who know their ground intimately.

The Earl of Erroll added:

“The people who have lived and worked there for generations know what they are doing. It is about time someone listened to them,” instead of taking advice from “experts who’ve done a brief environmental course and borrowed a pair of green wellies”.

Moorland Association welcomes Lords support

The Moorland Association, which represents the people managing more than 1 million acres of upland England, welcomed the focus on local expertise.

Chief executive Andrew Gilruth said:

“Last week’s Westminster debate on wildfire was a turning point. It laid bare the scale of frustration with Natural England.
One peer called Natural England ‘not fit for purpose’. That wasn’t hyperbole. It was a hard truth, shaped by lived experience and it resonated because it’s a view shared across both the uplands and Westminster.”

The debate wasn’t without provocation. Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb used it to call for an outright ban on pheasant shooting, calling it “selfish and senseless” – a comment that jarred with the otherwise constructive tone of the debate.

Ministers promise further review

Ministers have promised further review, but the message from the hills was clear:

If you want to reduce wildfire risks, listen to the people who fight them every season and let them get on with the job.

You can watch the full debate here.