This poem was delivered at the Hen Harrier Day event at the RSPB’s superb Rainham Marshes reserve yesterday and a number of people have suggested it should be posted on this blog.
[Photo by Alan Shearman from his blog about Rainham Hen Harrier Day 2018]
HEN HARRIER DAY
by Ruth Tingay
2014 is when it all began
Amidst Hurricane Bertha at the Derwent Dam
There was a bloke called Avery and a bloke called Packham
And the Sodden 570, united in passion.
We arrived as strangers but left as friends
Determined to bring the killing to end
To protect our skydancer from the guns and the traps
And the murderous intent of the men in tweed caps
There were only four nests in England that year
The grouse shooters toasting success with a sneer
But to underestimate us was their biggest mistake
We are defiant and strong and we’ll do what it takes
These rallies and banners are just the beginning
There’s a long way to go but we know about winning
They can hurl their abuse and call us all liars
We don’t give a damn ‘cos our bellies have fire
We’ve come a long way since that very first rally
Westminster, the papers, all over the telly
We’ve changed the narrative and people are listening
Grouse shooting no longer all shiny and glistening
We’re exposing their fiction, their greed and their crimes
Their friends in high places all wilfully blind
Nine nests this year and we’re supposed to be pleased
Our hen harrier population, brought to its knees
You can keep your fake partnerships and your grouse-shooting peers
Your Gilruths, Amandas and your crocodile tears
Stuff your brood meddling right up your arse
We know what you’re up to and we know it’s a farce
There’s progress in Scotland and the grousers are fearful
That’s reason enough for us to be cheerful
So raise up your banners, keep singing our song
By standing together we won’t go wrong
END
The event was superbly organised by Lisa Mobley and her team of volunteers. Other speakers included Mark Avery, Natalie Bennett, Martin Harper, Chris Packham and Barry Gardiner MP. The presentations were filmed by PJS Films and can be viewed HERE.
Other Hen Harrier Day events took place on Saturday and there are more being held today, the Inglorious 12th. Find the one closest to you HERE.
[Photo from Hen Harrier Day 2018 at RSPB Rainham Marshes by @RSPBUrban]
Raptor Persecution UK 
Will be thinking of you all , events all just too far :( need one south please
Brilliant!
On the Inglorious 12th we should pause to remember the poor grouse who are also victims here. They are being over bred and poisoned so the rich and pivileged can indulge in their yearly muderous hunting binge. It is indeed a sad day. I thought the poem was spot on.
This year the grouse shooting season will open on Monday, 13 August rather than the12th because it is illegal to shoot on a Sunday.
http://www.countryside-alliance.org/game-seasons/
So we can be thankful for the very small mercy that the Goriest 12th will actually be glorious for the birds given a short reprieve. Monday the 13th unfortunately will be very unlucky for some.
The poem is fantastic!
It is illegal to kill a bird on Sundays in any area of England and Wales and in Scotland on Sundays or on Christmas Day.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/69/section/2
That’s a good point, Aurora. I foolishly used to wish the grouse to disappear but they, too, are one of the many victims in this sorry affair.
Ruth Tingay, you are a marvel. You and your team work with tenacity and unsung effort. The poem sums it up. It was an excellent Hen Harrier Day, with impassioned speeches as always. Raptor persecution is just one aspect of unsustainable and unacceptably poor management of the countryside. The public a realising more and more.
Well said, Hilary. HH Day Highlands was excellent too. More squirming from the CNPA again – always a joy to behold – if only it would translate into something positive for the hen harriers there!
Love the poem. Spot on.
Well done everyone who took part in that protest. I wish I had been there.
It’s a beautiful poem, Ruth Tingay. The times they are a-changing and licensed killing of our wonderful Hen Harriers will be consigned to the scrap heap of history.
‘Stuff your brood meddling right up your arse.’ Well said – great poem and a wonderful effort generally as always. Many thanks!
Can we get a band to set it to music?
The Canary reports on Captain Ska who made a song about our beloved leader which then got banned by the BBC. This isn’t such a stretch. The Canary often reports on raptor persecution stories. We need all the publicity we can get.