Bryn Truscott
@beetrootbrownie.bsky.social
Reposted by Bryn Truscott
The Guardian piece - I couldn’t find it online. @guyshrubsole.bsky.social’s book titled The Lie of the Land is excellent on this & other related matters.
![Inglorious Twelfth? Calls to outlaw grouse shooting to prevent wildfires
Helena Horton
Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in London's Mayfair to dine on grouse served
with bread sauce and game chips.
But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK's moorlands, may be disappointed this year. Wildfires have been raging, burning habitats and incinerating wildlife, after record-breaking heat turned the landscape into a tinderbox.
The intensive management of grouse moors involves the draining of peatland and the burning of vegetation that grows on it. Experts say this creates the conditions for wildfires as dry peat acts as fuel and smoulders for extended periods, making fires almost impossible to extinguish.
Because of this, the Green Party
in Scotland, where there are a large number of grouse shoots, has called for the Glorious Twelfth - the start of the season, before which grouse cannot legally be hunted - and grouse shooting to be banned.
The climate crisis makes every heatwave more likely and intense.
The end of June heatwave was the most severe ever recorded in Europe. Richard Corrigan, who owns both Corrigan's and Bentley's oyster bar and grill in Mayfair, has always served grouse during his decades-long career. But this year, they are in short supply.
He said: "I was hoping to get something on the 12th, it's looking like it's running a week and a half late. They will be smaller and fewer, which is fine and it is a treat. The hot weather hasn't helped everything this year, that's
Corrigan will be finding it more difficult than some chefs to get birds because he has become more particular about who he buys grouse from. "We now insist [birds] come from small estates rather than the large shoots, where dozens are shot at a time. I am not too sure I agree with the large shoots. I would rather people shoot wild animals for the table rather than shoot for the sake of having a day out." He also re…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:b3a5t3hq7ibv7f7bdepckt4c/bafkreiea2bxm54xw3wfm7q5pi5dupjxswcgfrwguzqwlt6b44z6pypc6ci)
August 13, 2026 at 11:09 AM
The Guardian piece - I couldn’t find it online. @guyshrubsole.bsky.social’s book titled The Lie of the Land is excellent on this & other related matters.