Tag: grouse shooting

  • “The Glorious Twelfth” — A Tradition Under Scrutiny

    “The Glorious Twelfth” — A Tradition Under Scrutiny

    The moors were eerily silent this morning, a stark departure from the cacophony of gunfire that might be expected to reverberate across the heather today. Not a single report echoed in the air, just an eerie silence that draped the landscape like a shroud. Even the normally noisy grouse seem to sense an awareness of…

  • Nothing to see here …

    Nothing to see here …

    Just a scene of everyday countryfolk mingling prior to exercising their natural right to kill the red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scotica. The keepers, beaters and general folk of a lower class were mustering out of shot. Grouse shooting has been declared an “organised outdoor sport” or “licensed outdoor physical activity” and as such is exempted…

  • Shooting butt, Great Ayton Moor

    Shooting butt, Great Ayton Moor

    As a 17-year-old, I played wing forward for my school rugby team. We were unassailable, the best in the county. Against one school I remember a 70+ point score. We took it in turns to score. Can such a one-sided game really be classed as a sport? A no lesser body as the United Nations…