Why the twelfth could still be glorious for wildlife

But the advent of the Glorious Twelfth tomorrow has been held up as a saviour of the endangered bird of prey.

The time of year when Yorkshire’s heather-clad moorlands become sporting arenas for shooting parties and nature’s tranquil purple carpets are sprinkled with tweed has been made all the more glorious with the launch of a new multi-million pound conservation scheme.

Landowners and countryside organisations have pledged £52.2m every year to safeguard 860,000 acres of heather moorland for wild red grouse, which they say has benefitted some of the UK’s most endangered birds.

It comes after the UK’s first ever hen harrier day, held yesterday, led by conservationists campaigning for further crackdowns on landowners illegally persecuting the bird of prey because they eat red grouse chicks. Some protesters have called for an outright ban on grouse shooting.

But the Moorland Association has today thrown its weight behind countryside organisations lobbying for a sustainable increase in the population. They warn that without the income created by the Glorious Twelfth, wildlife would suffer “severe consequences”.

“We have a vital part to play in stemming the decline of some of our most vulnerable bird,” said chairman Robert Benson.

“It is careful game management which has seen significant gains in a number of at risk species. Endangered lapwing, curlew, golden plover, ring ouzel, merlin, black grouse and grey partridge all fare far better on moorland with gamekeepers.”

A notable milestone for conservation came when the country’s first hen harrier chicks for two years recently fledged in north Lancashire.

Of the three successful nests, two were on grouse-managed land and produced 11 young.

The cause has been championed by George Winn-Darley, who manages several estates on the moorland North Yorkshire moorland.