This guidance aims to provide the owners and managers of land with a population of Red grouse with:

• Sufficient understanding of the issues to make an informed decision about whether or not to implement a worm control programme,
• Sufficient knowledge to carry out disease control in a legal, responsible and sustainable manner, and
• Information about the different techniques that can be used.

Red grouse is a wild bird and intervention through medication should only be considered after careful consideration of the risks, costs and potential benefits.

Three forms of worm control are available:

• Managing grouse numbers:
  • Reduces densities and thus the transmission of worms; this was the traditional approach.
• Direct dosing: 
  • Catching grouse by hand and treating them with an oral drench wormer.
• ‘Medicated’ quartz grit:
  • This is provided to free living grouse.  
  • The grit has been prepared with a digestible coating into which a wormer drug is impregnated.

Downloads

• Guidance
• Supplementary Information – additional technical detail