Driven Grouse Shooting

David Simmonds Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Harris. I follow the tradition set by a number of Members by declaring that I am a resolutely suburban Member of Parliament. There are no grouse moors in Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, although there is a significant number of members of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak) made reference to the work of Purdey in manufacturing traditional British weapons; Holland & Holland has a base in my constituency and also makes a significant contribution, as both an employer and a creator of opportunities for young people locally. I place on the record my thanks to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Countryside Alliance for their work to ensure that the Members who spoke in the debate were widely briefed on all the issues raised by the e-petition.

Like the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Northallerton, I have never shot a grouse. I have never shot a game bird of any kind, although I have enjoyed the opportunity in my constituency and elsewhere to shoot clay pigeons—I have always felt that the degree of harm involved is fairly minimal—but like many of my constituents I have a great interest in nature and biodiversity. My constituency is home to a number of significant reserves on the edge of London, including important locations for migratory species, such as the lakes at Harefield, and other significant habitats that, like grouse moors, were created largely by the influence of human beings but are incredibly important for the conservation of nature and biodiversity.

Habitats such as chalk streams throw up a similar set of issues. Environments that have been created by human hand for leisure and the enjoyment of the natural environment are also incredibly significant for the maintenance of the environment, for the preservation of species, some of which are at significant risk, and for the work we are doing as a country to tackle climate change, which a number of Members mentioned. This debate is about not simply the narrow point of what happens on our grouse moors, but the bigger picture of how we, as humankind, exercise our responsibility to be effective stewards of nature.

The comparison between heather moorland and chalk streams was made in one of the briefings, and I want to draw that comparison again, simply because of the striking fact that 75% of all heather moorland is here in the United Kingdom and 85% of all the world’s chalk streams are here in England as well. People’s hobbies help to maintain both of those habitats: grouse shooting provides the economic infrastructure that maintains heather moorland and allows it to continue to act as a carbon sink, which makes such an enormous contribution to the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change, and fishing contributes economically to the maintenance of chalk streams, which are a vital environmental asset.

In the debates on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is now in the other place for consideration, a great deal of time and effort was devoted by the Government —I applaud them for considering the issue to be a high priority—as well as by Opposition parties and some Government Back Benchers, to the use of planning gain to enhance the environment, to ensure that the impact of planning legislation on natural habitats is minimised—at least one Member mentioned that—and to ensure that, where possible, it makes a contribution to maintaining them.

We also spent a good deal of time in our consideration of the Renters’ Rights Bill on issues such as people’s ability to access accommodation that is supported by not just grouse shooting but other kinds of game shooting, fishing and various types of countryside activities. The many BASC members in my constituency—most of whom are probably more on the side of the ratcatchers than the grouse shooters—see those activities as being an important part of the infrastructure of our country.

In the debate on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, with the proposal for swift bricks, we considered the impact that human measures can have on species such as swifts, and the impact of building and development on bird species’ ability to access food that is critical to maintaining successful breeding populations. For all Members—even for those of us who are in the suburbs, much as we cherish our green spaces—it emphasised the need to recognise that one of the characteristics of our country that people value is its beautiful countryside. It is not there by accident. Much of it depends on the effective management by human beings of habitats such as grouse moors. None of that would be taking place were it not for the fact that there is a sporting and shooting infrastructure behind it, which brings the resource forward and means that this environment is conserved for the benefit of us all.

Whether it is the biodiversity net gain from our grouse moors, the effective management that reduces the harm caused by wildfires, or the wider contribution that the species supported by that environment make to all kinds of other birds that are not part of the grouse-shooting fraternity, but are none the less incredibly important to the wider biodiversity of our country, it is clear that grouse shooting makes a valuable contribution and is worth our time and attention. Given that the Government clearly hint in their statement that they have no interest in banning grouse shooting, they must recognise that we should make appropriate policies that support our economy in supporting our environment, and vice versa.

Members from across the country, from my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth), to myself, speaking on behalf of the suburbs, recognise the value that grouse shooting contributes to our country and environment. We want to ensure that the Government get the clear message that what is outlined in this petition is not a helpful way to proceed if we want to conserve our environment, our bird species, and our biodiversity for future generations.