Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips. But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK\u2019s moorlands, may be disappointed.<\/p>\n
Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wildlife, after record-breaking heat turned the landscape into a tinderbox.<\/p>\n
The intensive management of grouse moors involves the draining of peatland and the burning of the vegetation that grows on it. Environmental experts argue that doing this creates the conditions for wildfires as dry peat acts as fuel and smoulders for extended periods, making fires almost impossible to extinguish.<\/p>\n
Because of this, the Green party in Scotland, where there are a large number of grouse shoots, has called for the Glorious Twelfth \u2013 the traditional start of the grouse shooting season, before which time the birds cannot legally be hunted \u2013 to be banned. The UK government recently banned the burning of vegetation<\/a> on deep peat in order to preserve these habitats.<\/p>\n The climate crisis, caused by pollution from burning fossil fuels, makes every heatwave more likely and intense. The heatwave at the end of June was the most severe ever recorded in Europe<\/a> and would not have been possible without human-caused global heating.<\/p>\n The chef Richard Corrigan, who owns Corrigan\u2019s and Bentley\u2019s in Mayfair, has always served grouse during his multi-decade career running kitchens. But this year they are in short supply.<\/p>\n Richard Corrigan: \u2018I am not too sure I agree with the large shoots.\u2019 Photograph: Jamie Lorriman\/Alamy<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI was hoping to get something on the 12th; it\u2019s looking like it\u2019s running a week and a half late. They will be smaller and fewer, which is fine and it is a treat. We should treat them with the respect they deserve. The hot weather hasn\u2019t helped everything this year, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Corrigan will be finding it more difficult than some chefs to get birds for the table because he has become more particular about who he buys grouse from. \u201cWe now insist [birds] come from small estates rather than the large shoots, where dozens are shot at a time. I am not too sure I agree with the large shoots. I would rather people shoot wild animals for the table rather than shoot for the sake of having a day out.\u201d<\/p>\n He also refuses to buy grouse from any moor that has been associated with raptor persecution \u2013 the shooting or poisoning of birds of prey to artificially boost grouse numbers. \u201cSomething that has really annoyed me is the killing of raptor birds on the estates. They are being poisoned by people on these estates. I would never buy grouse from those estates. We all know who they are,\u201d Corrigan said.<\/p>\n The chef, who grew up in County Meath, Ireland, said the management of the moors had led to them being more susceptible to wildfires. \u201cI was brought up in moorland, I am very aware of the heather and the turf, they need the wetlands to be restored to keep the moors in good shape. Some estates have taken it all a bit too far and have turned it into factory grouse shooting operations.\u201d<\/p>\n While some will be serving their grouse with bread sauce and game chips, which are deep-fried, thin slices of potato, Corrigan is going to dish out a lighter option. \u201cThey will be on the menu barbecued with peaches and jalape\u00f1o. There is nothing better to eat than peaches from Provence and little spatchcocked grouse.\u201d<\/p>\n Henry Harris at Bouchon Racine. Photograph: Sarah Lee\/The Guardian<\/p>\n