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Concerns over Asulam ban

Red grouse are dependent on moorland management

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By Will Finch

Thursday, 16 August 2012

EU bracken herbicide ban threatens moors

An EU ban on bracken control herbicide Asulam will change the face of Britain’s countryside, devastate wildlife and destroy land management worth £100million a year, says the Moorland Association (MA).

As the grouse shooting season begins, moorland owners say the ban will end successful stewardship of 850,000 acres of precious heather moorland and leave vast tracts of the countryside vulnerable to massive bracken infestations.

MA vice-chairman George Winn-Darley, who manages 6,500 acres of North Yorkshire moorland, said it was “European bureaucracy gone mad”.

“Without the governmentapproved chemical, which was successfully and safely used for 35 years, our countryside and rural livelihoods will suffer very erious consequences,” he said.

“This will not only adversely affect biodiversity, including red-list endangered species, but will also radically impact on grouse management, jobs and ultimately the appearance of globally important moors.

The rest of this article appears in the 15th August issue of Shooting Times.

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The rest of this article appears in the 4th July issue of Shooting Times.

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