Driven grouse shooting Driven grouse shooting Driven grouse shooting is the hunting of the red grouse, a field sport of the United Kingdom. It is popular because it provides a challenge due to the rapid flight of the grouse. The grouse shooting season extends from 12 August, often called the "Glorious Twelfth", to 10 December each year. Shooting takes place on grouse moors, areas of moorland in northern England and Scotland. The name 'driven grouse shooting' refers to the way in which the grouse are driven towards the hunters (otherwise known as 'Guns') by beaters. A shooting party usually includes 8–10 Guns who
Driven grouse shooting a subspecies of the willow grouse, but is sometimes considered to be a separate species "Lagopus scoticus". It is also known as the moorfowl or moorbird. The grouse can fly at up to . Heather moorland is rarer than tropical rainforest, and 75% of it is found in the UK as a result of grouse management, which provides an incentive to conserve heather moorland despite economic pressures of subsidies to intensify forestry and farming operations. 60% of all England's upland Sites of Special Scientific Interest are managed for grouse shooting. To support a large population of grouse, gamekeepers employ heather