The Glorious Twelfth returns with a sense of optimism for Yorkshire estates and wildlife species

It has marked the start of the open season for red grouse since Victorian times, and this year there is a sense of optimism, with shooting on the moorlands of Yorkshire for the first time in a couple of years due to weather conditions proving more favourable for breeding.

Country estates, hotels, moorlands and restaurants are gearing up as surplus counts of grouse mean that shooting can go ahead this year.

It has been a long and difficult year in preparing Yorkshire’s uplands for the season from dealing with predators, wildfires, extreme heat and diseases such as avian flu but game shooting enthusiasts are looking forward to the season - which provides a knock on benefit to the economy and local employment.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “We will be having shoots this year where in the past we have not.

“Grouse are wild birds and we are very much, like any other farmer, dictated to by the weather. Over the last few years, it has not been good for birds breeding up on the moorland and it was not enough to make any surplus for shooting.

“This year conditions have been better, all birds have hatched well so far and we have not had avian flu which affects other birds.”

It is the lack of shooting possibilities over the last few years that have led to high levels of interest in the region’s offering this year.

And they will all be coming to Yorkshire moorlands over the next few months for something that is “on our doorstep”. Mr Cunliffe-Lister also said he could have sold many more shooting days on his 20,000 acre estate than he has, while The British Association for Shooting and Conservation says the season will provide a welcome boost for estates and the wider local economy.

The organisation says the value of grouse shooting each year across England and Wales is £100m with about 40,000 people taking part annually and more than 2,500 full time jobs supported through grouse shooting.

Gareth Dockerty is the head of uplands at BASC and lives in the heart of the North York Moors.

He said: “For us, it is basically what we have on our doorstep. From a shooting opportunity - it is one of the things on the bucket list that people want to do around the world. What comes with that is that people will spend time exploring the north of England.”

The grouse season is also seen as an opportunity to educate people about how much work goes into the upkeep of a grouse moor and this year BASC is running a ‘No Moor Myths’ campaign to raise awareness of what goes on behind the scenes.

Grouse live on high moors where temperatures can dip far below that seen in lowland areas.

Gareth Dockerty added: “The Glorious Twelfth is about the start of the season and we tend to forget that national parks are dominated by grouse moorland. The Peak District and the North York Moors - 30m people visit these each year because of the iconic landscape - but the vast majority don’t even know it is a grouse moor.”