The
Glorious Twelfth is a term used usually to refer to 12 August, the start of the
shooting season for
red grouse (
Lagopus lagopus scotica), and to a lesser extent the
ptarmigan (
Lagopus muta) in
Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is one of the busiest days in the shooting season, with large amounts of
game being shot. The date itself is traditional, the current
legislation enshrining it in England and Wales is the
Game Act 1831 (and in
Northern Ireland, the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985). Not all game (as defined by the
Game Act 1831) have the same start to their open seasons - most begin on 1 September, with 1 October for
woodcock and
pheasant. Since English law says that the start of the season cannot fall on a Sunday, it is sometimes postponed to 13 August, as in 2001 and 2007. Because grouse are not and never have been reared to any extent for shooting, their numbers fluctuate naturally from year to year. In recent years, the Glorious Twelfth has also been hit by
hunt saboteurs, the
2001 foot and mouth crisis (which further postponed the date in affected areas) and the effect of
sheep tick, heather beetle, the gut
parasite Trichostrongylus tenuis and
severe flooding and bad weather. In some seasons where certain moors are hit by low numbers of grouse, shooting may not occur at all or be over by September.