A recent survey by the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation has revealed that grouse shooting in the North of England provides more than 50,500 days of paid casual work in a season, putting around £3 million into the pockets of local people in the process.

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, using data it collected from more than 60 grouse moors across the north, uncovered the huge extent to which income generated by grouse shooting is spread across the region. During the grouse season, which runs from 12 August to 10 December, there are a total of 50,685 paid days filled by seasonal staff up in the hills – working as beaters, flankers and pickers-up – giving rise to wages worth some £2,869,635.

In addition to this key seasonal workforce, more than 230 full-time workers are employed on the grouse moors that the NGO surveyed in Northern England.

Liam Bell, Chairman of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, commented: “Our study has demonstrated that grouse shooting has a perhaps unique ability to provide income on a large scale for casual workers in remote parts of Northern England. The income from working on grouse moors is especially important to many of these seasonal staff as casual work on this scale can be extremely hard to come by in rural areas. What’s more, the money often stays in the countryside, oiling the wheels of the local economy. It is yet another example of driven grouse shooting as being demonstrably a force for good.”

“I would like to thank the moorland estates for having kindly provided us with information, and the NGO’s Northern Development Officer, Sarah Read, for collating the raw data and doing the number crunching.”

Notes to Editors

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