Grouse will soon be on the menu again, so what about getting your hands on a small grouse moor tenancy, or even a bit of marginal land to shoot over? It would be a challenge, of course, but not impossible. If you are the intrepid type, and fancy your chances, here are a few things to think about…
During the past ten years the pressure and scrutiny placed on upland grouse shooting estate owners, particularly those in the corporate sector, has increased dramatically.
The corporate sector – which includes the water companies, Crown Estate, Forestry Commission and National Trust, among others – are ever more conscious of the need to protect their reputation and environmental credentials. So, if you don’t get that, and they have shooting rights on offer, it’s probably not worth applying!
The corporate landowning sector is unlikely to welcome highly commercial shooting on their land these days. In the present political climate, they are more likely to favour the smaller operator with a sound knowledge of upland land management and conservation, and an ethical and legal approach to everything they do. To put it bluntly, they will need to trust you. What can you bring to the table?
Think holistically (sorry about the buzzword). What else can you offer other than rent money? Well, quite a lot, actually. A good grouse shooting tenant could be an asset to the landowner so long as they act fairly and responsibly.
For example, I remember having to deal with a large moorland wildfire on the estates. The farming tenant, my own staff, and even the fire brigade were struggling to get it under control.
What made things worse, there was no firefighting (and very expensive) helicopter available. These were all tied up dealing with fires in the Peak District.
What helped to save the day was the shooting tenant, who turned up with as many fire beaters and men as he could lay his hands on.
He’d also contacted the neighbouring keepers and estates, and they turned out to help too. This stopped the fire from spreading even further onto sensitive water catchment land.
That’s what I mean by ‘adding value.’