GAMEKEEPERS are predicting that extreme weather conditions will mean an inglorious twelfth ahead of the traditional start to the grouse shooting season.

Experts say some of the worst breeding conditions in living memory could lead to 50 per cent of shooting days being cancelled.

Prolonged extreme weather conditions have affected all our wildlife, says Robert Benson, chairman of The Moorland Association, whose members manage one million acres of England’s uplands.

He said: “There are areas where things are not quite so bad, including the North York Moors, but we are looking at many cancelled days. Reports indicate that there may be very little shooting on Cumbria’s higher, wetter moors or in the Peak District.

“However, sections of the Yorkshire Dales, South Pennines and the North Pennines are faring better. The situation elsewhere is not good at all.

“In general, the further east and the lower and drier the land, the more promising it looks. It’s impossible to predict at this stage, but it looks as though the worst hit may be down by as much as 70 per cent with 30 per cent being a realistic figure for many.

“Areas with gloomy prospects will see a knock-on effect on local communities who rely on income generated from grouse shooting.”

Moorlands specialist Adrian Thornton-Berry, of Farmoor Services in Swinithwaite, near Leyburn, estimated that around 50 per cent of days would be lost

"It's not been easy at all. The hail killed a few and the cold and wet weather has not helped."

George Winn-Darley, who manages 6,500 acres on the North York Moors, said: “Some of the older keepers on the higher western moors of England, where red grouse have had a particularly bad time, are saying they have never seen such lengthy and adverse conditions, but on the North York Moors they have not suffered to the same extent.

“Heather, in previously poor condition from unparalleled blasts of freezing wind in March 2013, has by and large recovered. This is thanks, in part, to carefully planned and orchestrated burning, helping North York Moors’ birds do better than in other areas.

“However, there was a lack of cotton grass seed heads for our pre-nesting hens - it appeared two months too late. Added to that, there was little insect life for newly hatched early broods of chicks, denying them vital protein.”

Red grouse are wild birds and extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of weather, added Mr Winn-Darley. Each year estates assess nesting stock and then carry out pre-season July counts. If there is no surplus to harvest, shooting will be cancelled.