Press release from RSPB (24 November 2023):
Birdcrime report reveals hen harriers and white-tailed eagles amongst victims of continuing illegal persecution
*61 confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents nationally
·*At least 64% of all incidents are linked to land used for gamebird shooting
The RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report published today details the illegal shooting, trapping and poisoning of protected birds of prey. Amongst the victims are Buzzards, Red Kites, Goshawks, Hen Harriers, Peregrine Falcons and White-tailed Eagles. All these species are protected by laws designed to help our rarest and threatened species. There is clearly no place for such crimes against some of our best loved species.
The report documents that Hen Harriers, a red listed species, are being relentlessly targeted, particularly in areas dominated by driven grouse moors. Since January 2022, RSPB and Natural England data reveals that 39 Hen Harriers have been confirmed killed or have ‘suspiciously disappeared’ across the UK, with eight satellite-tagged birds being persecuted or disappearing in suspicious circumstances in the same area near Birkdale in North Yorkshire alone.
Two of the most shocking incidents recorded against Hen Harriers include a Natural England satellite-tagged bird called Free which had its head pulled off while still alive, and four Hen Harrier chicks that were trampled to death in a nest being monitored by Natural England. The report reveals that one RSPB tagged Hen Harrier named Dagda was found shot dead in May 2023 on a moor at Knarsdale, next door to the RSPB nature reserve at Geltsdale on which it was breeding. It is unknown who shot the bird, but the supporting tag data is clear in documenting where and when this incident took place. A recent peer-reviewed study by the RSPB found that survival of tagged Hen Harriers in the UK was very low, with birds living on average for only four months. As much as 75% of annual mortality of tagged birds was due to illegal killing associated with grouse moor management. If this relentless killing continues, the future of these rare and threatened birds remains at serious risk in the UK.
The report also highlights the significant case of a young White-tailed Eagle from the UK Government licenced re-introduction scheme on the Isle of Wight, which was confirmed poisoned on a shooting estate in West Sussex. This was the first case of this species being illegally killed in England since their extinction due to persecution in the 18th Century. On the same estate, three days after the eagle died from ingesting a banned poison, a Labrador dog suffered the same fate after ingesting the same pesticide – Bendiocarb. Frustratingly the police investigation failed to hold anyone to account for these crimes.
There were two successful convictions for raptor persecution crimes in 2022, with both individuals being gamekeepers. Disappointingly, in one case, where multiple birds of prey were shot or poisoned – the gamekeeper received a 200-hour community order and was ordered to pay just £1,200 in fines, costs and compensation. As this case highlights, existing wildlife protection laws are failing to protect birds of prey, acting neither as a deterrent nor as an appropriate punishment for the crimes committed.
This latest report, alongside peer-reviewed papers, intelligence and data from wildlife crime incidents continues to affirm that raptor persecution is frequently linked to land managed for gamebird shooting. Evidence shows on some shooting estates birds of prey are deliberately targeted to reduce potential predation on gamebird stocks and sometimes also to reduce disturbance to these quarry species on shoot days. The RSPB continues to call for the licensing of grouse shooting in England, and following such measures now being introduced by the Scottish Government, to provide a meaningful deterrent to the illegal killing of birds of prey.
RSPB Chief Operating Officer, James Robinson said “Sadly, once again, the report documents the shameful illegal killing of rare and vulnerable birds of prey, an important part of our natural heritage. Given the correlation in location between birds of prey persecution and land under game management, the RSPB is calling for greater regulation of shooting, in particular intensive forms of grouse shooting. A Bill to introduce licensing of grouse moors in Scotland to stop raptor persecution is now moving ahead and we need a similar response in England”.
If you notice a dead or injured bird of prey in suspicious circumstances, call the police on 101 and fill in the RSPB’s online reporting form: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wild-bird-crime-report-form/
If you have information about anyone killing birds of prey which you wish to report anonymously, call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.
ENDS
Birdcrime 2022 can be downloaded/read here:
The Birdcrime 2022 appendices can be downloaded/read here:
UPDATE 4pm: Another golden eagle and another hen harrier suspiciously ‘disappeared’ on two Scottish grouse moors this year (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
I always dread opening up the RPUK emails, as it is continual catalogue of slaughter and the flaunting of the laws, hard-fought-for to protect wildlife, in this case our Birds of Prey. It is disgusting to read in certain newspapers actual vilification of those who strive to bring in a reign of successful, humane protection to such birds, and the various forms of wildlife classed as “vermin”. How can such a protection come about, when our Police forces in the UK are lacking in enough trained officers to enforce the legislation required, along with a prosecution service and justiciary that is unbiased and not tainted in those crucial areas, where the reactionary forces of blood sports operate in a medieval dictatorial way? I read in a prestigious journal recently that hare coursing, fox hunting, badger baiting, killing of protected bird and mammal species, are all being “enjoyed” with gusto by a strong and defiant criminal class, who see the countryside as their playground. It is also a lucrative place to make money out of the variety of sadistic pseudo-sports threatening the survival of many species.
I encountered a daft piece of journalism in a tabloid recently, cobbled together from the whining plaints of the various game bird shooting “industry” organisations, which decried the legislation going through the Scottish Parliament on wildlife protection, and proposed licensing of shooting estates, as being punitive due to it being capable of creating massive unemployment. What really lies behind this fake concern for the rural population, is that a large part of our country, which has been under the control of successive waves of reactionary landowners, is under threat of being exposed as to what it really is, to a more enlightened public; a public that contributes to saving rainforests, endangered species, threatened tribal peoples who are getting in the way of resource-hungry companies/governments along with the prevention of cruelty to animals. Many of such donors are asking why their country, the UK/Scotland, has allowed such carnage of its wildlife and the destruction of priceless habitats, when overseas projects are better wardened and have local communities fully involved in conservation works. The truth is that the rural landscape of Scotland requires a massive makeover as to a more economically efficient form of management, and one that applies a modern approach using technology/science to make life easier and financially rewarding. I am sure that there exists, and for some time, those have the answers to set this country free of the yoke of those whose arguments are stale and for the bin, from the affliction of an industry is that is pure hell for most forms of life that lives there. However, stating of this, does not obscure the fact that the UK is being badly policed, and its courts running far behind court prosecution timely enough to make for deterrent sentencing. Our prisons are requiring new-build, and the public lifted from the depressive health and inflation plagues, with the criminal and privileged operating more in the open. The presence of RPUK and all the other humane organisations are essential to maintain that part of our civilisation that is not sordid and spirit destroying.
Bearing in mind how near impossible it is to pin responsibility, and even to find dead birds one imagines you could multiply these figures by 10 for the number of protected birds actually killed illegally. Shooting is making a spectacular case for draconian controls, including banning driven grouse shooting. How about a tax on released pheasants ? I’d suggest £5/ bird in release pens, with imports paying at the border.
It’s absolutely disgusting accountability should be on the owners of the grouse moors not the minions xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx who all lead each other and have no moral value for these poor birds or wildlife ruled by wealthy landowners with no regards for life just profit. 2 convictions, paltry fines I don’t believe for one minute the police or authorities don’t have connections or leads to these vile individuals. The way forward is remove licenses straight away as soon as an animal or bird is harmed league against cruel sports have drones with cameras . I really hope they ban grouse shooting and hunting as soon as possible that’s all we can live for .