Hunting, shooting and taxing: call for grouse estates to pay green levy

Move would encourage landowners to repair peatlands, restore woods and cut carbon emissions, says conservation group

Taxing deer and grouse estates for failing to ensure their land properly locks up carbon dioxide could play a crucial role in fighting the climate crisis, a leading conservation group has said.

The John Muir Trust, a charity set up to protect wild places in Britain, says such a plan could help to absorb millions of tonnes of carbon every year, and help the UK - in particular Scotland - achieve its goal of reaching net zero emissions as soon as possible.