Hen harriers and red grouse: the ecology of a conflict

Abstract

INTRODUCTION One of the most contentious conservation issues in the UK concerns the conflict between the conservation of hen harriers ( Circus cyaneus ) and commercial hunting of red grouse ( Lagopus lagopus ) (Thirgood and Redpath 1997; Thirgood et al . 2000a). Hen harriers are rare raptors in the UK and are of high conservation importance. Despite their legal protection, harriers and other raptors are killed on grouse moors because they are thought to have a negative impact on grouse-shooting. Grouse-shooting is an important land use in the uplands and benefits conservation because it retains heather moorland, a habitat of conservation significance in Europe. Shooting also generates income for landowners and is important in some rural economies. The conflict between raptor conservation and grouse management thus brings into opposition two powerful groups of stakeholders: ‘hunters’ who own much of the uplands; and ‘conservationists’ who attach value to birds, particularly raptors. The conflict is highly politicized and often the entry point to debates about land use and landownership. In this chapter, we review 10 years' work that has quantified the problem of raptor predation on grouse and tested management solutions. We begin by placing the harrier–grouse conflict into a wider context by assessing the conservation significance of heather moorland, grouse management and lethal control of raptors. We then examine the impact of raptor predation on grouse populations and grouse-shooting and go on to investigate potential solutions to the conflict.