CHEMICALS FOR THE RED GROUSE

The following is a letter to The Courier, submitted by David Mitchell:

DRUGGED GROUSE

Sir,

It will soon be the “Glorious 12th” when thousands of grouse will fall to the guns of the rich and powerful to satisfy their unsporting bloodlust.

Prior to this medicated grit pans that are dotted all over driven grouse moors will be removed. This grit, essential for their digestion, is coated with a powerful drug, usually Flubendazole, which purges the grouse of debilitating worms.

And to make doubly sure of this, on some estates the birds are dosed with Levamisole Hydrochloride, a drug used in chemotherapy.

Add to this cocktail Respiratory Cryptosporidiosis, a didease normally associated with factory farmed poultry. It has now crossed over to estates with artificially high densities of grouse and affects their sinuses and causes painful, swollen eyes.

In Nature, grouse numbers crash every few years to keep a natural balance favouring healthy birds but perhaps these worming agents and an artifically safe environment some less robust grouse are preserved and are more susceptible to disease.

My concern turned to what food safety measures were in place before they were in shops and restaurants. Who checks the meat for the presence of these drugs?

Food Standards Scotland? No.

Animal and Plant Health Agency? No.

Local Authorities? No.

Veterinary Medicines Directorate? Yes!

Phew! That’s a relief! Until you realise that out of the hundreds of thousands of grouse that will be killed shortly, throughout Britain, the number of grouse designated to be tested for these substances is ten.

That’s right. Only ten birds will be examined for any indication of these powerful purging agents being present in the meat.

Well, I for one, will not be eating glow in the dark grouse, anytime soon.

David Mitchell, Kirriemuir.

Well done, David, a blog reader who regularly submits letters to The Courier on the subject of unsustainable grouse moor management. An excellent example of how anyone can help spread the word.

For those who want some background reading on the unregulated use of medicated grit on grouse moors and the rapid spread of disease resulting from it, see here, here and here.

We’ll be posting another blog shortly that appears to demonstrate an appalling abuse of so-called ‘best practice’ in relation to the use of presumed medicated grit on one particular grouse moor.

Meanwhile, here’s Mr Carbo’s interpretation of a drug-crazed grouse: