this is all natural regeneration. that s why we have a 200 year vision to get this whole debate away from the here and the now, me and you, them and us. it s a 200 year vision. we are not going to be here. this is for future generations. the aim is to undo the ecological degradation inflicted by previous generations. the victorians romanticised this land as wild and unspoilt, but they turned much of scotland into shooting estates. deer for stalking laid waste to native plant and tree life. my own grandfather was a gamekeeper on a lowland estate from the 1930s to the 1970s and this is the game book from the estate. it s a meticulous record of every shoot that took place and it begins in 1847, just at the period when the victorians were turning so much of scotland over to bloodsport estates. this seems to me to be a historical artefact that bears witness to a period when human beings really thought they could bend nature
shoot that took place and it begins in 1847, just at the period when the victorians were turning so much of scotland over to bloodsport estates. this seems to me to be a historical artefact that bears witness to a period when human beings really thought they could bend nature to their own will to satisfy not just their need for food but also their desire for recreation and entertainment. in an age of climate crisis, can the grouse moors survive? estate managers say their land is a carbon sink where the peak land, if managed properly, locks huge quantities of carbon in the ground. this idea that nothing else happens apart from grouse shooting on grouse moors is just not true. you know, what you see is a balanced approach to managing the landscape so that you can give the best possible chance for a wild bird to thrive, and it is only the surplus
to bloodsport estates. this seems to me to be a historical artefact that bears witness to a period when human beings really thought they could bend nature to their own will to satisfy not just their need for food but also their desire for recreation and entertainment. in an age of climate crisis, can the grouse moors survive? estate managers say their land is a carbon sink where the peatland, if managed properly, locks huge quantities of carbon in the ground. this idea that nothing else happens apart from grouse shooting on grouse moors is just not true. you know, what you see is a balanced approach to managing the landscape so that you can give the best possible chance for a wild bird to thrive, and it is only the surplus which are shot. and country sports, yes, it s a pleasure in the same way that golf and hill walking and other things which happen