The Glorious Twelfth: Tradition Meets Disruption

Coordinated hunt saboteur action failed to overshadow this year’s Glorious Twelfth, as multiple groups targeted grouse shoots across the UK in a bid to halt the opening day of the season.

In the end, the hooded anarchists targeted the Catlow shoot, on ground owned by United Utilities and managed by a local tenant farmer.

Out of all the grouse shoots they could have chosen to target because of their class hatred towards what they perceive as ‘rich toffs,’ they couldn’t have been more wrong. They’d have been better off protesting against United Utilities for poisoning our rivers at their Warrington headquarters.  

The Glorious Twelfth has long been a fixture of the British countryside calendar. Marking the start of the red grouse shooting season, it’s a tradition rooted in the Game Act of 1831, which sets regulated hunting seasons for various game birds. For many rural communities, the 12th of August represents more than just sport, it is part of a cultural heritage that supports livelihoods and preserves the moorland landscape.

The police monitored this year's sab activity closely, aiming to prevent violence and ensure public safety. Saboteurs reportedly struggled to interfere with proceedings, finding themselves outpaced and outmanoeuvred.

Yet the disruption raises questions about the saboteurs’ stated aims. Two Counties Sabs have recently declared: “Harassing people in what should be a safe place… is completely unacceptable.” However, such statements appear at odds with actions taken on the moors, where lawful activities are regularly obstructed through direct interference, intimidation and trespass.

The sab’s presence illustrates a growing trend: opposition not only to trail hunting, but to country sports and rural traditions. Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs claimed that “years upon years of shooting and the effects of climate change” have contributed to low grouse numbers this year. Nottingham Hunt Saboteurs reported seeing “a couple of people on moorland below some burnt heather.”

Burning heather is, however, a recognised and regulated practice in moorland management. Controlled burning removes older, less nutritious growth, encourages new shoots for grazing birds, and reduces the risk of severe wildfires.

A study by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) concluded that grouse shooting is one of the most effective methods for maintaining the ecological health of moorland.

Throwback to Last Year’s Paid Protest

The hypocrisy is hardly new. Only last season, a mob of around 70 masked sabs were bussed into Wemmergill Estate, allegedly paid £200 each to disrupt proceedings. Coaches from Lincolnshire delivered Staffordshire and Calder Valley Hunt Saboteurs, backed by the Hunt Saboteurs Association (HSA), straight to the action.

Dressed in black masks and balaclavas, they tried to provoke local gamekeepers into a fight. When that failed, they reportedly let air out of police vehicle tyres and lay across the road to trap guests in. The police eventually dispersed them for trespassing, but not before the sabs helpfully explained that they couldn’t leave early, they were being paid for the full day’s work.

The attack on legal grouse shoots exposes the true agenda. This isn’t about wildlife conservation, nor is it about trail hunting. It’s about looking for a fight, attacking lawful rural traditions, and indulging in a spot of class warfare, masked up and bankrolled.

The Glorious Twelfth might mark the start of the grouse season for country sportsmen and local communities, but for hunt saboteurs, it’s just another excuse to prove that the only tradition they truly value is causing trouble.