TMA 02 amended
Question 1
Should the red grouse be conserved?
The red grouse and the management of the moorlands in which it lives is a controversial issue and has led to a polarisation of views of those who believe that the moorlands should be managed and those who think that nature should be allowed to take its course.
Those who are for the conservation of the grouse through the management of the moorlands claim that they have improved not only the land but the lives of those who live and work there. By the managed burning of areas of heather to allow the grouse to feed on the new growth they have allowed other species of birds and plants such as the meadow pipit to thrive as well as increasing the grouse population to 7 times the number that could be support on the moors if they were not managed in shape or form.
This management of the land and the grouse has come at a cost. Many of the birds and animals such as harriers, foxes and crows that feed on the grouse and their eggs were shot. This was particularly true of the harriers and other raptors whose numbers were seen to be increasing when the numbers of grouse were decreasing. It has also created an artificial ecosystem as they manipulated the land and creatures that live there to suit their own needs. This management hasn’t always well planned and instead of keeping the numbers of grouse constant has contributed to the decline in the grouse numbers
From a personal point of view I don’t really care much about the landowners and those who believe that they are improving things not only for the grouse but those who lives depend on them either directly or indirectly To be honest I would like to see the moorlands left alone and allowed to find their own balance between the red grouse, hen harriers and the people who live and work there but this not going to happen as long as we see the grouse as a cash maker for the land owners to the detriment of the moorlands and the other species that live there. Nature knows
Should the red grouse be conserved?
The red grouse and the management of the moorlands in which it lives is a controversial issue and has led to a polarisation of views of those who believe that the moorlands should be managed and those who think that nature should be allowed to take its course.
Those who are for the conservation of the grouse through the management of the moorlands claim that they have improved not only the land but the lives of those who live and work there. By the managed burning of areas of heather to allow the grouse to feed on the new growth they have allowed other species of birds and plants such as the meadow pipit to thrive as well as increasing the grouse population to 7 times the number that could be support on the moors if they were not managed in shape or form.
This management of the land and the grouse has come at a cost. Many of the birds and animals such as harriers, foxes and crows that feed on the grouse and their eggs were shot. This was particularly true of the harriers and other raptors whose numbers were seen to be increasing when the numbers of grouse were decreasing. It has also created an artificial ecosystem as they manipulated the land and creatures that live there to suit their own needs. This management hasn’t always well planned and instead of keeping the numbers of grouse constant has contributed to the decline in the grouse numbers
From a personal point of view I don’t really care much about the landowners and those who believe that they are improving things not only for the grouse but those who lives depend on them either directly or indirectly To be honest I would like to see the moorlands left alone and allowed to find their own balance between the red grouse, hen harriers and the people who live and work there but this not going to happen as long as we see the grouse as a cash maker for the land owners to the detriment of the moorlands and the other species that live there. Nature knows