WILDLIFE campaigners took to the Walshaw and Lancashire Moor grouse shooting estate to oppose wildlife mistreatment.

Around 40 moorland monitors from the Ban Bloodsports on Yorkshire's Moors and Calderdale Moorland group took to the moor to document potential traps, snares and animal carcasses left out to encourage predators.

The campaigners said gamekeepers on the popular moor have begun an annual drive to kill off native wildlife which interfere with grouse shooting operations.

The group claimed large numbers of foxes, stoats, weasels, corvids and hare will be killed on the moor this spring.

The group also said moorland has been set on fire to boost red grouse populations for shooting, which has an impact on wildlife and damages peatland habitat.

Luke Steele, from the group, said: "Pendle draws in visitors from across the region who take leisure among the surroundings and admire the scenic views.

"Yet gamekeepers are setting hundreds of deadly traps and snares across popular moorland above the valley to kill off native wildlife which interferes with grouse shooting operations.

"There is only one way to manage moorland for grouse shooting and that's through eradicating native wildlife and burning away precious habitat, as the expense of biodiversity and the region's natural flood barrier.

"The conservation calamity being inflicted by grouse shoots on Pendle's world-famous moorland has to stop - enough is enough."

Grouse shooting has become increasingly contentious in recent years because of the widespread negative impact on wildlife and the environment.

Plans for a controversial 'grouse shooting highway' across sensitive moorland habitat in the area were defeated by campaigners in January.