Last week we published a video about the highly suspicious disappearance of Fred, one of our satellite-tagged golden eagles.
The video included a number of interviews that had to be edited due to time contraints in the original video. One of those interviews was Chris Packham talking with Environment Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham about her reaction to the continued illegal killing of golden eagles and other raptors on or near to land managed for driven grouse shooting.
Here is the full interview.
Raptor Persecution UK 
That’s a really good interview and it’s good to see the seriousness that raptor persecution is being taken by the Scottish government. Can we have them South of the border?
“please stop it”
That’s them telt then
Thanks for putting this up.
I for one accept her good intentions.
Not so sure about those of her colleagues who support the farming lobby (Fergus Ewing for instance).
Hmm, really thinks she means well but the request to ‘please stop it’ isn’t going to be enough.
Mo xx
Great interview, as ever, by Chris Packham. There were a few interesting issues raised so thanks RPUK for obtaining the interview and highlighting the importance of raptor persecution with the Environment Minister.
It was good to hear Roseanne Cunningham sounding serious about examining licensing although a ban would be better.
Her statement that the government is going to introduce stiffer sentences is greatly undermined if the police and RSPB can’t secure convictions! Her suggestion that the law is ‘set’ and there are always going to be issues relating to availability and access to evidence was definitely disappointing. It surely is time to review legal issues such as allowing video footage of incidents to be used as evidence, setting targets for police appeals for information, disclosing more information to the public, etc. It was notable that she did not list evidence gathering as an issue which would be explored in the up-coming review.
Let’s hope the proposal to introduce Wildlife Crime Special Constables in the Cairngorms works. I wonder what resources will be put into that and what the focus will be on – ‘education’ or prosecution?
I hope, too, that Ms Cunningham’s continued support for the golden eagle reintroduction programme proves to be the correct decision.
Anyway, good work RPUK and Chris Packham.
In Lancashire, especially Bowland, the emphasis for Wildlife Officers seems to be preventing poaching or catching people who interfere with traps/snares – i.e. stopping anyone harming the landowners “sporting” interests. Then they get given cushy jobs by the shooting industry when they retire – or at least some do. So don’t hold your breath about the Wildlife Crime Special Constables in the Cairngorms. Or maybe things are better up there?
Brilliant work in getting Cunningham to answer questions to all involved, I guess she could not really turn Chris Packham down and took the chance to get some publicity for herself.
Firstly very little has changed since the first time she was in this office in 2009, she had 2 years to get her feet under the desk then, the problems we see today were the problems we had then, In fact the documents she read in 2009 were probably still on the desk were she left them gathering dust because all who followed her have done little to nothing to make a change
Roseanna claims “we are doing as much as we can at the moment” BULLSHIT, why employ special wildlife constables when you have already turned down the expertise of the SSPCA
Why is it going to be over another year to get another set of results to questions you already know the answer too, Paul Wheelhouse said he had the full support of his party to eradicate the problem of Raptor persecution, this is Roseanna’s party, why has nothing happened ?
She is now researching how much financial benefits DG Shooting brings to rural areas, DG shooting relies on criminal activity, Drug barons spend lots of money on fast cars and big houses, lower down the ladders drug mules make good money too, these people are working in impoverished inner cities and towns, should we turn a blind eye and make a special case to this criminal activity too.
Roseanna has or had aspirations of running the SNP, she needs to show what she can do now and stop playing for time, as others have pointed out “Please stop it “ is not going to work
Well said merlin, crime is crime whether it’s in a city or on a moor so just because it’s rich snobs pulling the strings shouldn’t stop the police or the government from acting properly, or maybe we should all start breaking the law, what’s good for the goose etc
not bad. I would like to have heard mention also of the toxins spread when the grouse moors are burnt . these toxins are spread pretty far and wide.