Are cats and dogs killing off our game?

“Available habitat for wildlife will become condensed by land uses that often favour predatory species”

Across more than 5,000 acres of rural Galloway, you’d expect there to be plenty of good spots to have a seat, but there is one particular heather-clad knoll on the periphery of our shoot that I visit at least once a week during the spring months. It doesn’t look like much but it serves a purpose. This mound is positioned above the flattest area of our shoot, a 200-acre bog with tall reed beds, rank heather and deep uncrossable ditches. It’s not the best view, but it looks over a place that’s almost impossible to access and has been left practically untouched since the drainage ditches were dug by the Improvers in the 18th century.

This unmanaged remote corner of our shoot provides a service; its rough edges, untamed corners and small natural clearings act as a refuge for wildlife in an otherwise