Today marks one year since we started this blog. Thank you to everyone who has helped to make it such a big hit – our readers, subscribers, contributors, funders and supporters. Thanks also to those who have tried to silence us – you have made us all the more determined to continue. Here’s to year two!
Raptor Persecution UK 
Congrats on the annivesary of this brilliant blog. A year ago i didn’t know much about this issue but now I feel much more informed. Would be interested to find out who has tried to close you down althouhg I can probably have a few guesses. They’ll only want to silence you if they have something to hide. I’m a huge fan of your work so please keep going.
Happy birthday RPS! I add my congratulations and support. I read these pages with great interest and I’m doing my bit by spreading the word to my clients. Keep up your excellent work.
-Pete
Well done. For anyone out there who criticises this site…or thinks our Justice System is working just fine…consider how few of the cases highlighted here would have even seen the light of day without this site.
For justice to be done…it must be seen to be done.
“All that is required for evil to flourish in the world is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke.
Many Happy Returns Raptor Persecution Scotland!
This has without doubt become the primary place for the dissemination of information about raptor persecution in Scotland and I really believe this blog is raising awareness of these disgraceful activities
Keep up the good work and lets all hope that this next year will see some big changes in the detection of these crimes and the way in which they are dealt.
Happy Birthday,
Jock
Happy 1st birthday,
Congratulations and more strength to your blog. If certain people have tried to silence you then, they have something to hide, you must be annoying them. I too am a big fan of what you are doing, so keep going. The Raptors need you. Thank you for all your hard work.
No Ruth not astonishing…appalling, yes. As early as the 1960s people like George Waterson and Mike Everett were tring to stop scottish keepers from routinely killing golden eagles, using a mixture of threat [with little power behind them], encouragement [the self awareness/conservation message is still just a glimmer on shooting estates] and bribery [paying keepers to produce eagle chicks – Mike learned later that some of them went back and killed them anyway].
That was 50 years ago…the world of conservation may have have changed…the keeper’s world hasnt. Except they now have quads, cammo gear, silencers on rifles and a whole new exciting range of poisons making the killing even easier.
I have to say that the stupidity and naivity of many, who should have known better, in talking about “a few rotten apples” and in making “partnerships” with criminals [the big favourite since the late 90s] – has actually reinforced the criminals position.Now they have to be negotiated with.Even the Press and Media have almost been silenced.
We had more than enough evidence of the widespread and routine nature of raptor killing [see Donald Watson’s Harrier book and Colin Tubbs book on buzzards for good examples].
This blog is needed because the Justice System is corruptly favouring the “policies” of shooting estates and letting those responsible get away with the routine and repeated devastation of any raptor which moves above the very rare level. Simples.
Too true Dave Dick, if anything Raptor persecution is worse now than it was 20 years ago, there seemed to be some improvement for a while but it didn’t last long, (or maybe it was just wishfull thinking). When I was a lad my father used to say never trust a keeper any further than you can see him, and although that was a good long while ago, it still holds true today. How many good apples can you get out of a barrel of rotten ones ???
Congratulations on the aniversary of this site for highlighting the very serious persecution our Raptors have to endure from the shooting fraternity. Whether they are land owners, estate managers, factors, agents, gamekeepers or shooters, they all bear the responsiblity for the criminal acts that are perpetrated in their bigoted belief that they have the right to do what they want to OUR legally protected wildlife to further their own ends. The trouble is they do do what they want and the police and our legal system turn a blind eye and they walk away scot free.. IT’S TIME IT WAS STOPPED !!!
nirofo.
Our Police/courts need to start doing what they are paid for. Until they do and make an example of “preferably” an owner of an estate by jailing him/her, not a fine but jail. Then the Keepers, Shooters, Managers,and all who illegally kill Raptors, will continue the killing, they will not stop until they are forced to. Nothing short of somebody getting jailed will make then stop. It’s that simple.