WHILE it is wonderful news that the Duke of Northumberland’s Burncastle estate is working to support the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project by providing artificial nesting platforms, could I remind your readers that this estate and others are promoters of driven grouse shooting?
This practice is a legacy of the Victorian period and it has no place in modern Scotland. Birds are driven towards guns to make the slaughter easy for the shooters, and only a wealthy few benefit from the income generated.
READ MORE: Artificial nests built in bid to help save golden eagles
Licensing of these moors is vital and it is well documented by conservation bodies – who do not support these activities – that moors used for wildlife tourism would bring in more employment and money to local villages and towns.
Great news for our iconic eagles, but we must not allow organisations like the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust to take credit for this, when their members kill birds for pleasure and grouse moor practices affect biodiversity in Scotland.
Keith Taylor
via email
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