Birds of a Feather

Moors and grouse and sheep go together. That is the message of the upland managers whether they be working for private shooting interests or on publicly owned land. The minor differences are played up by the conservation lobby in order to assuage the concerns of those who dislike grouse shooting and the persecutions of wildlife that go with it. But essentially they are on the same side. Both dislike and vigorously oppose natural landscapes because they bring in no money. However fascinating and beautiful and rich in wildlife such land is it must be damned as being 'unfavourable'. Once you've agreed that the grants will flow in.

This recent picture taken of Blacka Moor illustrates the level of collusion between the shooters and the wildlife trusts.

All you have to do is compare what you see here with the the background views on the heather trust's blog in the sidebars. Each organisation supports the idea of totally artificial and boring man-created landscapes. One side of the industry does it by burning. The other by flailing. My grandad's vegetable plot was more natural.