THE “glorious 12th” falls this weekend. It’s the start of the UK’s grouse-shooting season, attracting the rich and famous from around the world. But the country will be getting a bigger bang than it bargained for. Attempts to breed more grouse on the moors to meet rising demand are boosting the UK’s contribution to global warming.
“In terms of carbon storage, the moors can be thought of as Britain’s rainforests,” says Adrian Yallop, an ecologist at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire. Yet gamekeepers are burning the moors at an unprecedented rate to encourage the growth of heather, a prime habitat for grouse. The burning threatens to release…
