National Sheep Association warn that reducing livestock will increase wildfire risk

The National Sheep Association (NSA) have spoken out about this year’s dramatic record year of wildfires, highlighting the urgent need to better recognise the role of grazing animals and active farming in reducing fire risk.

Wildfires are becoming increasingly common in the UK, not just destroying land and habitat, but also releasing dangerous pollutants into the air.

This year, UK firefighters have warned that 2025 is on track to beat the national record for wildfires. The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said that in England and Wales in 2025 crews had, until mid-August, already tackled 856 wildfires – a third higher than the record-breaking totals seen in 2022 and six times the number recorded in 2024.

While prolonged dry weather and hotter summers have a part to play in the wildfires we are seeing, land management practices and fuel load also have a huge part to play.

The NSA believes that the benefits of grazing and active land management, particularly in upland areas, are being consistently overlooked in policy and public debate.

NSA Chief Executive, Phil Stocker, said:

“Recent Defra figures show sheep numbers in England have fallen by 11% in the past three years. I would expect much of this decline to be concentrated in the uplands, as schemes such as Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) have reduced stocking rates, and more land is lost to tree planting or rewilding projects linked to carbon credits and other offsetting measures.

“The result is an increased risk of wildfires, with devastating consequences for nature, vegetation, peatlands, air quality, and carbon emissions.”

He added:

“At a time when climate change is heightening the risk, we should be placing a far higher value on livestock grazing and active farming as frontline fire prevention tools.”

This comes, of course, at a time when Defra are consulting on the current Heather and Grass Burning Code, which includes proposals to increase the area of land over which burning can’t be carried out, as well as banning burning on peat over 30cm deep, rather than the current 40cm.

The NSA has also questioned land management approaches that prioritise rewilding, insisting that small-scale, controlled burning brings benefits by reducing fuel loads and helping prevent catastrophic blazes.

Mr Stocker also praised the Welsh Government’s new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS), which recognises the active role farmers play in their communities through a proposed ‘social payment’, and the NSA is urging Defra to follow suit. “It’s to the Welsh Government’s credit that they are valuing farmers’ wider contributions. In England, Defra must take note.”