Latest news with #GloriousTwelfth
STV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- STV News
Glorious Twelfth: Grouse shooting season gets under way
The start of the red grouse-shooting season gets under way on Tuesday. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) marked the Glorious Twelfth by warning that new muirburn licensing rules could 'jeopardise' effective moorland management. From the start of next year, a licence will be required for all muirburn activities in Scotland following the passing of the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. The BASC has said that muirburn – the controlled burning of heather – actively enhances biodiversity, promotes fresh plant growth, supports species such as deer and grouse, and reduces wildfire risk by managing dry, combustible vegetation. But it says the new system is overly-complex and could unintentionally hinder controlled burning. 'This, in turn, risks increasing fuel loads across moorlands and raising the threat of wildfires across Scotland's moorlands,' it said. However, the Scottish Greens said there is 'nothing glorious about the mass killing of animals for entertainment' as it called on the Scottish Government to ensure all regulations are followed and that 'any new loopholes' are identified and closed. It said the new rules for the 'cruel' sport were a step forward, but suggested hunters could find a way to evade them. BASC is marking the start of Scotland's red grouse season by highlighting the sport's economic, social, and environmental contributions – and warning that new muirburn licensing rules could threaten effective moorland management. Find out more ⬇️ — BASC (@BASCnews) August 11, 2025 The BASC said shooting sustains thousands of jobs across rural Scotland and contributes £340m in GVA to the Scottish economy – including gamekeeping, hospitality, sporting tourism, and local services. It said its latest figures showed the recreational value to those involved in grouse shooting was £9.2m, while the value to the public of managed landscapes is £1.2m. Ahead of the 12th, the BASC is urging the Scottish Government to make changes to the 2024 Act to ensure that muirburn licensing does not hinder effective moorland management. BASC Scotland director Peter Clark said: 'The start of the grouse season in Scotland is the culmination of months and years of hard work by gamekeepers and land managers. 'The figures speak for themselves; this is an integral part of the Scottish rural economy. 'Moorland management is an enormous part of protecting and enhancing Scotland's uplands, delivering both economic and environmental benefits. 'Yet the new muirburn licensing regime, in its current form, hinders moorland managers in their efforts to reduce wildfire risk and provide habitats for grouse. 'We have urged the Scottish Government not to risk these benefits with an overly complicated and unworkable muirburn licensing scheme.' PA Media Ariane Burgess condemned grouse shooting (Fraser Bremner/Scottish Daily Mail/PA) Scottish Greens Communities spokesperson Ariane Burgess said: 'There is nothing glorious about the mass killing of animals for entertainment, but that is what was allowed to take place across our communities for far too long. 'The new protections have been a big step forward in curbing the cruel sport, but there are real concerns about loopholes in the licensing. 'We need to ensure that the system is as robust as possible. That means identifying any gaps in the legislation and ensuring that they are closed as soon as possible and that we do not undermine the intention of the Act that was passed. 'At heart this is a question about what kind of country we want to be. 'The Scottish Greens will always stand against bloodsports and the ritualistic killing of animals that goes with it. It has no place in a modern or compassionate Scotland.' Burgess said there was a 'big opportunity' to invest in greener jobs that boost nature as she described those who worked in shooting estates as 'extremely skilled'. She added: 'What we need is for them to be supported to take those skills and use them to work with nature in support of regeneration and restoration of our much degraded biodiversity.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Spectator
02-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
How Cowes found the secret of a successful seaside resort
These days, most English seaside towns are sites of national mourning. You pay your respects by walking up some deathtrap pier, dropping two pence in an arcade coin pusher and whispering, your flower now on the grave: 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.' But Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, has managed to stave off this sorry end. Its secret is Cowes Week. Cowes Week, which starts today, is an annual sailing regatta. It has earned its place as a respected event in Britain's sporting calendar – always in August, between Glorious Goodwood and the Glorious Twelfth – but its beginnings were unambitious. On 10 August 1826, following an advertisement in the Southampton Town and Country Herald a fortnight before, ships raced from Cowes to Southsea Castle near Portsmouth and back, eight nautical miles each way, for a prize of £100. Cowes's genius – and what has secured its survival – has been turning this local lark into a money-spinner: 'Cowes Week, The Oldest Sailing Regatta In The World.' While Poole and Bournemouth are still flogging sticks of rock to the same diminishing group of day-trippers, Cowes has rebranded as a 'sailing town'. To get technical, it has mastered what The Spectator's Wiki Man Rory Sutherland calls 'reverse benchmarking'. Rather than trying to compete with other seaside towns on the usual terms – best fish and chips, nicest beach – Cowes has gone its own way. It has a Henri Lloyd, some lovely bakeries, a big M&S and a nice restaurant that sells expensive seafood platters. The beach is not great, but no one cares. Before Cowes Week, Cowes was a dull administrative centre for the British Empire. Rice from the American colonies was brought to the town, which is at the northernmost point of the Isle of Wight, to clear customs before being distributed across Europe. Tourists only really started coming to Cowes when Queen Victoria built a palace in Italian renaissance style on a cliff on its eastern outskirts. Prince Albert said that the vista, overlooking the grey and murky Solent, reminded him of the Bay of Naples. Perhaps Albert was getting ahead of himself, but the Isle of Wight does have a foreign allure. This makes the rebrand to 'international sailing town' believable. Friedrich Engels, who visited the island often, said it was a 'little paradise', and oddly also compared it with Naples. Engels was apparently drawn to the Isle of Wight after reading a book by James Clark, a physician, who wrote in 1829 that the Isle of Wight's air had miraculous medicinal properties. '[The island] possesses several peculiarities of climate and situation,' said Clark, 'which render it a very favourable and commodious residence throughout the year for a large class of invalids.' There are still some wrong 'uns around the Isle of Wight, and around Cowes. Last year, a criminal who was on the run registered himself as living at my parents' address for the purpose of acquiring a driving licence, and I have also become friendly with a former convict who likes to pick magic mushrooms from a field near the town. HMP Isle of Wight, a high security 'super prison', is a ten-minute drive from Cowes. It was once home to the Kray twins and the Yorkshire Ripper. David Icke also lives on the Isle of Wight. Criminals, conspiracists and cosmopolitan sailors share Cowes happily.
