Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the value is to the economy in (a) jobs and (b) monies generated by the grouse-shooting industry.

Government does not hold information on the value of shooting to the economy.

According to the Moorland Association (www.moorlandassociation.org/grouse-shooting-economics/), in England grouse moor management creates 42,500 work days a year and is responsible for over 1,500 full-time posts. Of these, 700 are directly involved in grouse moor management, with a further 820 jobs in related services and industries.

The Moorland Association also state that each year owners and sporting tenants of their 175 member grouse moors in England and Wales spend a combined total of £52.5 million on land management.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (http://basc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2015/03/Research-White-Paper-Grouse-shooting-and-management.pdf) estimate the annual value of game meat in the UK as £61 million, with the retail value per bird varying between £6.50 and £12 per animal.