Living Heritage Bid for Grouse Moor Management Passes 1,500 Signatures — Deadline This Friday

More than 1,500 farmers, gamekeepers, publicans, and field sports enthusiasts have pledged their support for a campaign to have community grouse conservation and shooting formally recognised in the UK's Inventories of Living Heritage.

The initiative, Our Upland Living Heritage, is backed by the Moorland Association, Countryside Alliance, and National Gamekeepers Organisation. It seeks inclusion in the national inventories established following the UK's ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2024.

The deadline for pledges is Friday 27 March, and the organisers are urging anyone connected to upland life to add their name before submissions close. You can join the campaign here.

Over 1,500 upland residents have already pledged their support for the living heritage submission.

A tradition, not just a pastime

The submission frames grouse moor management not merely as a sport but as a living land-use tradition encompassing year-round habitat management, wildlife stewardship, the training of working dogs, and seasonal shooting; sustained collectively by interconnected communities across the English uplands.

Importantly, this is not a petition. The UNESCO process requires evidence of genuine community practice and informed consent from the people involved. That means first-hand testimony from gamekeepers, farmers, beaters, flankers, dog handlers, hospitality providers, and rural residents. The people whose working and social lives are bound up with the moorlands.

The case in numbers

The submission draws on a substantial evidence base. A peer-reviewed 2023 report by Professor Simon Denny, independently overseen by Professor James Crabbe of Wolfson College, Oxford, found that shooting estates account for 29% of upland Sites of Special Scientific Interest - nearly double the proportion expected if grouse moors were randomly distributed. In England, 74% of upland Special Protection Areas are managed as grouse moors.

The social case is equally strong. The same research found that participation in driven grouse shooting has a statistically significant positive effect on mental health and wellbeing compared with the national average, while the World Health Organisation's assessment methodology valued the physical activity benefits of beating twice a week at up to £1,966 per person per year.

In communities where isolation and rural depopulation are persistent concerns, the economic and social networks sustained by moorland management play a vital role in keeping people connected and employed.

How to get involved

The pledge form takes a few minutes to complete. Supporters are asked to provide their name, their role in the moorland community, and a short account of the traditions and cultural practices they would like to see acknowledged and preserved.

The campaign is built around five pillars of value: living rural heritage, iconic landscapes, social and community value, health and wellbeing, and knowledge and education, placing it alongside recognised traditions such as bell-ringing, dry-stone walling, and Highland games.

With over 1,500 signatures already gathered, the submission has significant momentum. Those wishing to add their support should do so before Friday 27 March.

Visit ouruplandlivingheritage.com to pledge your support.