Year: 2019

“The shooting industry has failed to show leadership” – SRSG on need for grouse moor licensing

Logan Steele, the Scottish Raptor Study Group‘s Communications Secretary, has written a guest blog for the RSPB on why a licensing scheme is urgently required for the grouse shooting industry.

Logan was one of several to represent the Scottish Raptor Study Group (SRSG) at a number of Parliamentary Committees a couple of years ago, presenting the case for the introduction of a licensing scheme for game-shooting estates (e.g. see here).

Since then, and following the findings of the Golden Eagle Satellite Tag Review which provided overwhelming evidence of continued golden eagle persecution, Environment Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham announced a review of grouse moor management. The review group’s chair, Professor Alan Werritty, is due to report this summer and we’re all keen to read his recommendations and whether the introduction of a licensing scheme is supported.

Logan has written two blogs – the first one (here) sets the scene to the SRSG’s work on this topic and the second one will be published next week, describing what SRSG workers hope to see in the Werritty Review.

Injured goshawk found in Peak District National Park had previously been shot

This has been reported a bit messily but essentially the bottom line is that an x-ray of an injured goshawk found in the Peak District National Park last winter has revealed it had been previously shot.

The bird, initially mistaken as a peregrine, was first reported injured by a Derbyshire Police Wildlife Crime Officer on social media in November 2018:

According to this news report, the x-ray didn’t reveal any problems and the cause of the bird’s wing injury was unknown. Although according to this blog from the Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group, the x-ray showed a small piece of shot, but with no entry or exit wound this was determined to have been the result of an earlier shooting at an unknown time and location.

Last week Derbyshire Police provided a further update on social media, six months on:

As we’ve previously reported (e.g. here), goshawks (and several other raptor species, especially peregrines and hen harriers) have been struggling in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park for several decades due to on-going illegal persecution.

Chris Packham’s ‘penis hate mail’ raises £2,550 for Wild Justice!

For the benefit of those not on Twitter, you’ll be pleased to hear that the ‘penis hate mail‘ sent to Chris Packham has been successfully auctioned on Ebay and has raised a staggering £2,550.00 which will go towards Wild Justice’s next legal challenge.

Bravo, Chris, a masterclass in how to deal with those who seek to bully and threaten.

5 million blog views

The blog has passed another milestone this weekend, reaching 5 million views.

It’s gratifying that our audience keeps growing; we’re attracting approx one million views per year at the moment.

Why do we spend so much time writing it? That’s simple – to raise awareness about the continuing illegal killing of birds of prey and to influence policy that will help bring it to an end.

We post this photograph every time we reach another million views because it’s what motivates us to keep going. This is a golden eagle that was found dead in the Cairngorms National Park in 2006 (photo by RSPB). It had been illegally poisoned. It epitomises everything in its pitiful, poignant, senselessness.

Thank you to everyone who supports and contributes to this blog.

Onwards towards six million views!

Birds of prey celebrated at the Scottish Parliament

Scotland’s birds of prey were celebrated at the Scottish Parliament last night during a reception for the Scottish Raptor Study Group (SRSG), hosted by Andy Wightman MSP (Golden Eagle Species Champion).

[Andy Wightman MSP with Logan Steele, Communications Secretary SRSG. Photo by Ruth Tingay]

In addition to a number of cross-party MSPs, approx 50 guests attended the SRSG’s first ever parliamentary reception, representing a wide number of interests. These included the National Parks, Forestry & Land Scotland, Argaty Red Kites, SNH, Scottish Government, RSPB, South Scotland Golden Eagle Project, Mull Eagle Watch, National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Environment LINK, Wild Scotland, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Ornithologists’ Club and a number of SRSG members.

There were speeches from Andy and Logan and an especially heart-felt talk from Environment Minister Mairi Gougeon who enthused about the opportunities she’d had to see hen harriers (she’s the HH Species Champion) in the company of Scottish Raptor Study Group fieldworkers.

[Environment Minister Mairi Gougeon. Photo by Ruth Tingay]

Mairi spoke of her appreciation of the work of the SRSG and its hugely important contribution to the wider scientific literature, as well as the ground-breaking research involving satellite tagging and the subsequent report on the fate of satellite-tagged golden eagles, which revealed the extent of on-going illegal persecution in some grouse moor areas of Scotland. She was well aware of the on-going persecution issue, and referenced yesterday’s news of hen harrier Skylar’s disappearance next to a grouse moor near Leadhills. Tackling persecution was certainly on her agenda and she said she was looking forward to reading the recommendations of the forthcoming Werritty Review (due out this summer).

The reception was wrapped up with a stunning presentation from highly acclaimed wildlife photographer Laurie Campbell, who shared some of his images and told tales about the extraordinary lengths he’d had to go to to get them.

Many thanks to Andy Wightman for hosting this event and well done Logan and his team for putting in the work to organise such an enjoyable celebration.

Many of the attending MSPs, including the Environment Minister, already had a good understanding and appreciation of these species, having taken the time to attend SRSG conferences, Hen Harrier Day events and field visits.

Could we say the same of Westminster parliamentarians? Could anyone imagine Therese Coffey standing up to deliver a speech about her appreciation of birds of prey and her determination to tackle the ongoing persecution of these birds?

Hen harrier ‘Skylar’ disappears next to grouse moor in south Scotland

RSPB press release (7 May 2019)

ANOTHER HEN HARRIER DISAPPEARS IN SOUTH LANARKSHIRE “BLACK HOLE”

Skylar last recorded next to a grouse moor

RSPB Scotland is appealing for information from the public after a young hen harrier, fitted with a satellite transmitter, disappeared suddenly on a moor near Elvanfoot.

The female harrier, named Skylar, was being monitored by the RSPB as part of their EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project. She had been roosting overnight in an area of rushes and rough grassland fringing a grouse moor a few miles south of the village for several days before her tag abruptly stopped working on 7th February 2019.

[Hen harrier Skylar as a nestling in 2017, photo by RSPB]

The area where she disappeared has a history of similar cases and illegal bird of prey killings. A hen harrier and short-eared owl were shot and killed on a grouse moor in 2017, a few miles away from Skylar’s last known location. Another tagged hen harrier, Annie, was found shot nearby in April 2015 and two other tagged hen harriers vanished in the area, one in June 2014 and another, named Chance, in May 2016, after she had spent two winters in France.

Dr Cathleen Thomas, RSPB’s Hen Harrier LIFE Project manager said: “Skylar has been a fascinating bird to follow; we were amazed to see her make a brief, week-long sojourn to Ireland in autumn 2017 before she returned to winter in South Lanarkshire in 2017/18. She spent much of summer 2018 in Highland Perthshire, before returning to South Lanarkshire for the winter 2018/19 where she remained until she disappeared.

Her disappearance follows a depressingly familiar pattern. Her tag was working as expected, then suddenly stopped. There have been no further transmissions, and the bird’s body has not been located. Had she died of natural causes, we would have expected the transmitter to continue working allowing us to recover her body. Sadly, we’ll probably never know exactly what has happened to Skylar.”

Skylar was fitted with a satellite-tag in July 2017 just before she fledged from her nest in Argyll. Her mother, DeeCee, had previously been tagged as part of the LIFE project, allowing the project to easily locate the nest. Skylar’s brother Sirius was also tagged but died of natural causes in October 2017.

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations said: “Yet again, a young harrier has disappeared close to a driven grouse moor, never to be seen or heard of again. This area of South Lanarkshire has been notorious for some years as a black hole into which protected birds of prey simply disappear.”

Skylar’s disappearance comes at a time when the Scottish Government has commissioned an independent enquiry into grouse shooting, including looking at options for greater regulation. A step change is now urgently required, as current laws and enforcement measures are proving inadequate to deal with such systematic criminality, and the negative cultural attitudes towards birds of prey that remains in many grouse moor areas. The most intensively managed “driven” grouse moors should be licenced, with sanctions to remove licences to operate, where the public authorities are satisfied that wildlife protection laws are being routinely flouted.”

Information about Skylar, or any illegal killing of birds of prey, can be reported to Police Scotland on 101 or the RSPB’s Raptor Crime hotline on 0300 999 0101.

ENDS

The last known location of this satellite-tagged hen harrier has been given as an area of rough grassland fringing a grouse moor a few miles south of the village of Elvanfoot. There are a number of grouse moors in this area, the nearest being the Leadhills Estate in South Lanarkshire.

[RPUK map showing the boundary of the Leadhills Estate and its proximity to Elvanfoot. Map data from Andy Wightman’s Who Owns Scotland website]

Skylar’s suspicious disappearance follows the well rehearsed pattern of young satellite-tagged hen harriers in the UK as laid bare in this recent scientific publication (here).

The investigation in to her disappearance will follow a similar, well-rehearsed pattern. There will be insufficient evidence to charge any individual with killing this bird (no body, no tag) so the police have nowhere else to go with it.

Just like the hen harrier and short-eared owl that were seen shot and killed on grouse moors in this area in 2017, the buzzard that was found shot and killed in the area in 2018, the hen harrier that was found shot and killed on a grouse moor in this area in 2015. In fact there have been over 50 confirmed wildlife crimes in this area since 2003 and only two of those have resulted in a successful criminal prosecution (gamekeeper convicted in 2004 for shooting a short-eared owl; gamekeeper convicted in 2009 for laying out a poisoned bait).

2003 April: hen harrier shot [prosecution failed – inadmissible evidence]

2003 April: hen harrier eggs destroyed [prosecution failed – inadmissible evidence]

2004 May: buzzard shot [no prosecution]

2004 May: short-eared owl shot [gamekeeper convicted]

2004 June: buzzard poisoned (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2004 June: 4 x poisoned rabbit baits (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2004 June: crow poisoned (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2004 July: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2004 July: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2005 February: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2005 April: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2005 June: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2005 June: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 February: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 March: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 March: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 April: dead buzzard (persecution method unknown) [no prosecution]

2006 May: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 May: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 May: poisoned egg baits (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 June: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 June: poisoned raven (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 June: 6 x poisoned rabbit baits (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 June: poisoned egg bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 September: 5 x poisoned buzzards (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 September: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2006 September: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2007 March: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2007 April: poisoned red kite (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2007 May: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2008 October: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [listed as ‘Nr Leadhills’] [no prosecution]

2008 October: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [listed as ‘Nr Leadhills’] [no prosecution]

2008 November: 3 x poisoned ravens (Carbofuran) [listed as ‘Nr Leadhills’] [no prosecution]

2009 March: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2009 March: poisoned raven (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2009 April: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [gamekeeper convicted]

2009 April: poisoned magpie (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2009 April: poisoned raven (Carbofuran) [no prosecution]

2010 October: short-eared owl shot [no prosecution]

2011 March: illegally-set clam trap [no prosecution]

2011 December: buzzard shot [no prosecution]

2012 October: golden eagle found shot (just over boundary with Buccleuch Estate) [no prosecution]

2013 May: shot otter found on estate [no prosecution]

2013 June: significant cache of pre-prepared poisoned baits found on estate [no prosecution]

2013 August: red kite found shot and critically-injured in Leadhills village [no prosecution]

2014 February: poisoned peregrine (Carbofuran) [‘Nr Leadhills’] [no prosecution]

2015 April: hen harrier ‘Annie’ found shot [Leadhills/Buccluech] [no prosecution]

2016 May: hen harrier ‘Chance’ ‘disappeared’ [Leadhills/Buccleuch] [no prosecution]

2017 May: walkers witness the shooting of a hen harrier [no prosecution]

2017 May: walkers witness the shooting of a short-eared owl [no prosecution]

2018 [pre-April]: buzzard found shot dead in Leadhills village [no prosecution]

Without evidence, it’s impossible to implicate any individual or estate that may have been involved in Skylar’s suspicious disappearance, but it’s crystal clear that raptor persecution has been taking place in the wider area for decades.

The Scottish Government is well aware of the history of illegal raptor persecution in this area. How much more evidence does it need? Why is this allowed to continue, without sanction?

SNH rejects 2019 licence application for Strathbraan raven cull

Good news! Ravens venturing on to the grouse moors of Strathbraan in Highland Perthshire this year will NOT be the victims of an SNH-sanctioned kill-fest ‘just to see what happens’, as they were in 2018.

The so-called Strathbraan Community Collaboration for Waders (SCCW), also known as gamekeepers, submitted a revised licence application to SNH on 18 March 2019. We haven’t yet seen this licence application so we don’t know how many ravens they wanted to kill this year.

However, in an FoI response we received last night, SNH confirmed that the licence application did not meet the recommendations of SNH’s Scientific Advisory Committee and so SNH has rejected the application.

Full details about this year’s licence application, as well as the details of the Scientific Advisory Committee’s recommendations are due to be released to us by SNH on 10th May. It’ll be an interesting read and we’ll share relevant information on this blog.

Very obviously, we’re delighted that ravens will not be killed gratuitously (albeit under licence) on the grouse moors of Strathbraan this year and we’re also delighted to see SNH take its licensing responsibilities seriously, in stark contrast to last year.

However, just like last year, SNH has not been keen to communicate openly and transparently. It’s taken a bit of work to drag the news from SNH about its decision to reject this year’s licence application. Earlier this week we blogged about a series of FoI emails where we argued that SNH was withholding information unreasonably (see here).

There has been further correspondence since then, as follows:

From SNH, 30th April 2019:

To SNH, 1 May 2019:

From SNH, 2 May 2019:

Many thanks to our legal team Sindi Mules (Balfour & Manson) and Aidan O’Neill QC (Matrix Chambers) for their continued support of this case.

Thanks also to all those who supported the #Justice4Ravens crowdfunder last year – there is still money in the pot and it’s being used to pay for on-going legal advice.

 

Chris Packham’s ‘penis hate mail’ auction reinstated on Ebay

A couple of days ago Chris Packham’s ‘penis hate mail’ was put up for auction on Ebay (see here).

After just a day the bids had already reached £2,550 but then yesterday Ebay accidentally removed the item.

Today, after apologising, Ebay has re-listed the item and so bidding is once again open. BID HERE

Please bid generously – all proceeds to Wild Justice. Auctions ends 8 May 18.03hrs.

UPDATE 13 May 2019: Chris Packham’s ‘penis hate mail’ raises £2,550.00 for Wild Justice! (here)

Death threat letter to Chris Packham is menacing and disturbing

This is the death threat letter that was sent to Chris Packham on Monday:

There’s no ambiguity here. The menacing and disturbing content reveals a clear intent.

If you recognise the handwriting or know the identity of the person/people who sent it, please contact Hampshire Police immediately.

There’s an article about Chris’s reaction to these violent threats in today’s Mirror (here).

 

Chris Packham receives chilling death threats

The manufactured hate campaign against Chris Packham, long generated and encouraged by certain organisations in the shooting lobby and their friends in the Government and media, has recently escalated following Wild Justice’s successful legal challenge last week and has now resulted in chilling death threats towards Chris.

The dead crows hanging off his gate didn’t phase him, and his reaction to a penis drawn on a block of wood that was sent to him was genius – auctioning it on Ebay to raise funds for Wild Justice’s next legal challenge (this has currently raised £2,350.00 with six days left to bid)

However, in an exclusive interview in today’s Mirror, Chris talks about his fears for his family after receiving a number of ‘suspicious packages’, later opened by the Police and found to contain human excrement (see here for interview).

Then this morning, during an interview on Good Morning Britain where Chris was explaining the rationale behind Wild Justice’s legal challenge and calling out the fake news on it, he revealed that he’d received death threats last night. (Interview available on ITV catchup here for next seven days: starts at 53.07 mins).

The police are investigating.

Having seen the death threats, they are credible, disturbing and chilling.

Whatever your view on Chris, his campaigning, his ethics, his TV presenting, this level of abuse and threat is intolerable. The shooting organisations (and one in particular) busily whipping up the hate frenzy against Chris should be demonstrating some leadership and taking immediate steps to calm down their members and behave with civil discourse.