Predator Control

All ground nesting birds, which use the moors as a sanctuary to nest and rear their young, are very vulnerable to foxes, carrion crows, mustelids (stoats, weasels and mink) and other predators. A moor keeper spends much of his time ensuring that those it is legal to control are kept in check.

There is a wide range of legal and humane methods of predator control. Foxes, for example can be controlled effectively by shooting at night, using a lamp to attract and identify the target and a high calibre rifle to complete the kill quickly and humanely. Legally set stopped snares also provide another method of control. Carrion crows and other corvids can be caught in crow and Larsen traps. These 'live' traps have the advantage that any protected species they might catch can be released unharmed, while the target species can be killed. Mustelids are controlled using a mixture of tunnel, rail and stop traps, and it is a requirement that keepers visit all their traps regularly and snares on a daily basis. It is essential that members of the public finding these devices leave them well alone.

A Study by Professor Tharme, sponsored by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust and RSPB, showed that ground nesting birds can be up to five times more abundant on keepered moors than on moors not keepered for grouse. It is widely acknowledged that predator control accounts for this comparative abundance, but to provide proof, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust recently completed a nine year experiment at Otterburn. This has provided irrefutable scientific proof of the benefits of keepering for grouse and other ground nesting birds. Click here to view .

Although foxes and carrion crows are a problem for sheep, it is difficult for the hill farmer on his own to justify the necessary time to control them. However, where there is a grouse shooting interest to finance employment of a keeper, control can be carried out and the sheep, as well as ground nesting birds, benefit.