In August Police Scotland published a photograph of a young golden eagle that had been seen flying in the Cairngorms National Park with an illegally-set trap clamped to one of its legs.
This photograph, along with the Police’s appeal for information, went viral and was reported on news channels around the world (e.g. here), highlighting Scotland’s shameful record of illegal raptor persecution.
There’s been no further update on the fate of this eagle. Undoubtedly it’ll be dead and if it had been found by anyone associated with the criminal element of the game-shooting industry the corpse and trap will be long gone….nothing to see, deny, deny, deny, it was all a set up, fake news, it never happened, etc etc.
Meanwhile, those who aren’t fooled by the propaganda and know exactly what goes on on game shooting estates have been asking pertinent questions.
Step up Colin Beattie MSP (SNP: Midlothian North & Musselburgh) who lodged the following written question on 2 September 2019:
Question S5W-25069 –
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports of a golden eagle found with an illegal trap on its legs, what action it is taking to protect wild birds as a matter of urgency ahead of the publication of the findings of the Grouse Moor Management Group (the Werritty report).
A brilliant question. Forget ‘waiting for Werritty‘ which has been the Scottish Government’s default response to every single raptor persecution crime since May 2017, Colin wants to know what action is being taken NOW.
The Government’s response came from Environment Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham on 12 Sept, as follows:
The Scottish Government is strongly committed to safeguarding the welfare of all animals, including wild birds such as raptors.
The illegal persecution of our birds of prey is an extremely serious issue and, as we announced in our Programme for Government for 2019-2020, we will bring forward a Bill increasing the maximum penalties for certain wildlife offences, including those associated with illegal killing or injuring of wild birds. This will deliver a commitment to implement the recommendation to increase wildlife crime penalties in the review undertaken by Professor Poustie.
We also committed in the Programme for Government that we will respond to the independent review on grouse moor management. The review is examining how we can ensure that grouse moor management is sustainable and complies with the law and it would not be appropriate to make decisions in advance of its report. We will carefully consider the recommendations in the report and other relevant evidence when deciding our response.
The measures on wildlife crime penalties build upon a range of other work we have undertaken to tackle this issue, including: supporting the use of satellite tags to monitor birds of prey; introducing new offences for harassing birds of prey or damaging their nesting places; setting up a poisons disposal scheme to remove poisons used to kill wild birds; strengthening Police Scotland wildlife crime resources, including in the Cairngorms; and introducing vicarious liability so that landowners can be held responsible for crimes against wild birds committed by their employees.
Roseanna’s response carefully avoids answering Colin’s question directly. Colin asked what Scot Gov was doing ‘as a matter of urgency ahead of the publication of the Werritty report’. Roseanna’s response confirms, in effect, that Scot Gov is doing absolutely nothing at all in advance of the Werritty report.
Splendid.
And guess what? We’re still waiting for Werritty, despite being told by Scot Gov at the end of July that the report was due ‘in the next few weeks’. What an embarrassing fiasco it has become.
Whoever wrote Roseanna’s response was surely having a laugh, judging by the last paragraph. Yes, Scot Gov has introduced new offences for harassing birds of prey or damaging their nesting places but as far as we’re aware, there have been no prosecutions for these offences even though there have been a number of reports of raptor nests being deliberately burned out on grouse moors.
And yes, Scot Gov set up a poisons disposal scheme (two, in fact) to remove poisons used to kill wild birds and yet still we’re seeing raptors being illegally poisoned and still gamekeepers are being found guilty of possessing these illegal poisons.
And yes, Scot Gov did support a pilot scheme for a number of police special constables (essentially volunteers working in their own time) in the Cairngorms National Park but there has been no (public) assessment of the scheme’s impact and raptor persecution crimes were still reported in the National Park during the scheme’s duration.
And yes, Scot Gov did introduce vicarious liability so that landowners could be held responsible for crimes against wild birds committed by their employees but so far this has only resulted in two successful convictions in 7.5 years and only last month yet another landowner avoided any charges of alleged vicarious liability and the Crown Office chose not to explain this decision to the public.
Raptor Persecution UK 
..”setting up a poisons disposal scheme to remove poisons used to kill wild birds;..”..Still trying that one on – I was always opposed to these because…. a.people dont use these to poison birds because they are lying about uncollected, they use them for poisoning because thats why they obtained them in the first place!..b.this legitimises the possession of these poisons; many of us fought hard to get laws to outlaw possession in the first place…and c. it doesnt work – as the above blog acknowledges.
What’s really concerning is the statement “The review is examining how we can ensure that grouse moor management is sustainable and complies with the law” as this shows a predisposition to allow managed grouse moors rather than looking at whether it should be allowed at all, sustainably or not.
Yes, sustainable in what way ? – for grouse? – for the commercial interests ? – or for the environment ? It just can’t be sustainable for all three.
My thought exactly!
So well put, i don’t think i can add anything except my anger at such an open admission of bias before the report is even released and their refusal to admit that time changes and with that more and more crimes occur.
Exactly! The motivation for the Werrity report was actually framed by saying it was to see how grouse shooting could continue to make a valuable economic contribution to the countryside while being sustainable etc. Considering how it is almost certainly driving away jobs and businesses this was disgraceful – public money and political support given on no more basis than the people who receive it saying they deserve it. Show that as well as being highly contentious and having a big stink attached to it driven grouse shooting is also a jobs and community killer then it loses its only basis for politicians to publicly justify supporting it and then it’s well and truly f******. So of course that won’t happen, Werrity will be a wash out I fear. It’s becoming clearer by the day that our political ‘establishment’ goes out of its way to favour a rural clique, it’s not even a majority of real country people that benefit, most are disadvantaged by it. I think another demo at the Scottish parliament is on the cards.
We are living in a very troubled world, I worry greatly for the future, I feel so sorry for many creatures, many illegal activities are going on, extinction beckons now for many, sad sad situation.
I know let’s try this for effect let’s ban driven grouse shooting , now that would be a real deterrent, no need for them to kill birds of prey then, and don’t give me that shit about jobs and the economy nobody give a flying **** about the miners when they took their jobs, just a thought
Barney, Brilliant comment my dad was one of the miners, together with thousands of other’s, what did the politicians do then, I remember they destroyed the railway’s, then the fishing industry, and on and on and on, parasitic pond life the lot of them.
Absolute crap as usual. Just remember an election is on it’s way, all the incapable and incompetent politicians, it’s time for you lot to disappear, good buy and good look, I would love to see you all on the dole.
@ the end of the day DGS’ will continue unabated..Wildlife persecution will unfortunately continue & we all with a vested interest in conservation are aware that those in in Governments are responsible particularly those in the Lords whom have vested interests with landowners ie xxxxx xxxxx a woman with no empathy or compassion! Corrupt greedy ministers feathering their own nests as is the case with the xxxxx legal teams protecting landowners interests..Hippocrites the lot! Makes my blood boil! Rest my case!
I’ve never voted labour in my life but thier promise to stop ,completely and totally hunting and shooting is a very strong incentive to change ones mind🤔
I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is writing a book titled ‘Waiting for Verritty,’ as this feeble excuse for prevarication goes down in history. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the report turned out to tell it like it is, and actually have a positive impact? Somehow I suspect this may not be the case, as the debate rumbles on and the ‘respectable’ upper class advocates, with their posh voices and overwhelming self-assuredness, convince the politicians that the murder of wild animals as playthings is a traditional pastime for their class of privileged elite. The retort, “many of our members are ordinary working class folks, some don’t even have a title” might be true, but among themselves they consider their associates as an elite who deserve the right to exploit wildlife as shooting targets on a fun day out. In my experience their arrogance knows no bounds. Opposition to their vile activities, whether slaughtering hundreds of red grouse or wiping out hen harriers and golden eagles, has progressed significantly since the arrival of RPUK and now Wild Justice. Hopefully radical change will prevail in the not too distant future, and the magnificent harriers will return to our wild moorlands (not arable fields!).
Perhaps the Report does tell it ‘as it is’ – and that is why they are apparently sitting on it!
I am still awaiting a reply (after 12 days) from the Scottish Government stating what measures to protect mountain hares and end persecution on and around grouse moors and to end the favourable regime for disposing of fallen stock. Nothing yet! I have plenty of ideas why Werritty has been delayed and why specific measures are not, as far as I can discover, in the 2019-20 SNP legislative programme, but I suspect a conspiracy!