Rarely do you see such dedicated support from a brand to the conservation of an individual species. But this is exactly what is occurring in the case of the Black Grouse, that is nearing extinction in the UK, most notably as one of Scotland's rarest birds.
The Black Grouse, once abundant in the highlands of Scotland, has seen fierce decline over the past 40 years, dropping from a recorded population of 25,000 lekking males, to today's figures that are below 5,000 in the mountain wilds. Giving them red list status as an endangered species in the UK.
The cause for conservation is a strong one though, and championed by none other than the popular Scottish Whisky 'Famous Grouse', who have pledged no less than £450,000 from sales of their special limited edition Black Grouse Whisky towards development of habitat conservation in the Scottish countryside, to help preserve a natural environment across four RSPB reserves suitable for the Grouse to breed and flourish. This influx of cash will give the scheme the funds it requires to keep protecting the species for at least the next 3 years.
The work will include the development of perfect natural environments, including the creation of bog land, relocating and secluding natural predation from crows and foxes, as well as culling thick vegetation to create the heath land environment the Grouse used to thrive in previous years. Representatives have said if the work of the team at Famous Grouse had not financed such a project, we could have very well lost the bird from our countrysides all together in near years.
"It's a brilliant and spectacular bird. It's future is still a big worry but we are hoping to turn things around. Nature can't just be left to its own devices. We have to invest in it."
- Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland
"We wanted to do something to make a real, lasting difference. We feel very strongly about the black grouse."
- Gerry O'Donnell, director of The Famous Grouse
- Gerry O'Donnell, director of The Famous Grouse
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