After a quick glance through the pages of this blog, readers may be forgiven for thinking that raptor persecution is rife on every single shooting estate in Scotland. Yes, it’s true that illegal raptor persecution in Scotland is widespread, as our ‘Named Estates’ page will testify; currently 57 shooting estates are named, and more are still to be named. However, as we mentioned on the introduction page, it is unfair to tarnish every estate and gamekeeper as wildlife criminals as some are actively involved in raptor conservation initiatives. For example, a joint initiative between Scottish Natural Heritage, Tayside Raptor Study Group, Tayside police, RSPB and eight shooting estates has been underway in Perthshire for several years. The Operation Countrywatch Partnership launched in 2004 (formerly known as Operation Countrywatch that launched in 2000) and provides a framework for supporting healthy populations of three key species in a 70,000 ha area: golden eagle, hen harrier and peregrine. Currently, eight shooting estates are partners in this innovative scheme and we applaud their contribution: Ardtalnaig Estate Atholl Estate Drummond Estate Fordie Estates Glenbeich Estate Glenturret Estate Invergeldie Estate Remony Estate
Raptor Persecution UK 
I would be very careful over giving these places a “clean bill of health”….a similar attempt failed utterly in Grampian after the killings continued and were discovered…
What are the actual figures for hen harrier, perregrine and golden eagle in these places?…Has there been a real improvement since Countrywatch started?…are they being independently monitored?
Certainly there have been alleged incidents on at least one of these estates very recently….