Twelfth far from glorious

Today - the Glorious Twelfth - is supposed to mark the beginning of the traditional hunting season, with thousands taking to the moors in search of Scottish grouse.

But poor weather during the breeding season along with the recent rains that have battered parts of the country has forced many shoots to be cancelled.

"Prospects are pretty bleak this year," said Dr Colin Shedden, Scottish director of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. "It is not going to be a very Glorious Twelfth at all."

Grouse hunting can normally expect to bring around 15-20 million to the Scottish economy in an average year. This year’s slump will hit some hard.

"There will be very little income to individual estates this year," said Dr Shedden.

"The big commercial days where there is a lot of shooting will be far fewer this year. Only a very small number of estates will be shooting seriously over the next couple of weeks."

The Game Conservancy Trust said a raft of cancellations had been made by estates keen to preserve their stocks of grouse. Experts at the trust put the slump down to the weather, poor food availability and disease.