Last month I wrote about how the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee had put out a public call for views in advance of this committee beginning its Stage 1 scrutiny of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill – see here.
This is the draft Bill that has been introduced by the Scottish Government in response to the recommendations made in the 2019 Werritty Review and is designed to bring in licensing for grouse moor management and put an end to the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors.
The Stage 1 scrutiny of the Bill is due to be completed by 6 October 2023 after the Scottish Parliament recently agreed to a motion to this effect (see here).
The Rural Affairs & Islands Committee’s call for views closed on 5th May 2023 and according to a recent article in The Scotsman (unfortunately behind a paywall), over 4,000 responses were received, which was described as ‘staggering’.
The information gleaned by The Scotsman apparently came from Finlay Carson MSP (Scottish Conservatives, Dumfries & Galloway) who also happens to be the Convenor of the Committee scrutinising the Bill. Mr Carson was reportedly speaking at a GWCT-hosted grouse symposium in Perthshire on 5th May and his words were reported by Scotsman journalist Katherine Hay as follows:
“I checked the replies this morning and there has been more than 4,000 responses; 99 per cent of which have come from individuals. That is a staggering response“.
The Scotsman reports, ‘To put the figure into perspective, Mr Carson spoke about the Hunting with Dogs Bill, which made it an offence to hunt a wild animal with a dog. The Bill was passed in January and Mr Carson said drew about 2,000 replies’.
Mr Carson was then further quoted in the article:
“What we have now is a draft of unproven, and, in my view, unnecessary legislation, which could have the effect of reversing traditional conservation efforts, and to curtail the ability of land managers to effectively protect Scotland’s biodiversity and support rural livelihoods. There is a misunderstanding of the contribution grouse moors make to biodiversity“.
Mr Carson is entitled to hold a view, of course, and it’s really no surprise what his view is. However, I’d question how wise it was for him, in the influential position of the Rural Affairs Committee Convenor, to express such a partial view, no matter who his audience, whilst the serious matter of Parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill is underway.
The Committee will be calling forward various organisations to give evidence before summer recess begins on 1st July 2023 and these sessions should be available to view on Scottish Parliament TV. Given Mr Carson’s early show of hands, his performance as Convenor will be closely observed by many of us.
Other members of this cross-party committee include:
Beatrice Wishart MSP, Deputy Convenor (Scottish Liberal Democrats)
Press release from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), 10th May 2023.
INCONSISTENT LAWS & FUNDING PUTS UK WILDLIFE IN DANGER
Illegal wildlife crime such as fox hunting, badger baiting and hare coursing is going on under the radar in the UK, according to new research.
Wild animals face horrific acts of cruelty by being poisoned, trapped and set upon by dogs. Inconsistent laws, a chronic shortage of resourcing and a lack of awareness of wildlife crime are enabling this problem.
There are also mounting concerns about wildlife crime links to organised crime. Specifically, it found:
81% of the police force respondents said they felt wildlife crime was linked to theft and dishonesty offences;
50% highlighted links to firearms;
38% linked it to drugs, and;
50% believed wildlife crime was connected to violent crimes.
Police, legal experts and NGOs cite wildlife crime’s ‘non-notifiable’ status as a major source of its inequality under the law. This means incidents do not have to be reported by the police to the Home Office that use these to compile national crime statistics.
“Wildlife in the UK is already in crisis—being pushed to the brink through habitat loss, climate change and pollution. But these alarming findings show that criminals are purposefully going out of their way to harm or make profit from them,” Frances Goodrum, Head of Campaigns, IFAW UK said.
“The fact that wildlife crime cannot be reported as a crime in a meaningful way means the government cannot measure or manage the current situation. Countless sinister crimes could be being committed—we simply do not know—it is all very ‘finger in the air’. This must change – our wildlife deserves better”, Goodrum added.
Because wildlife crimes occur under such a veil of secrecy and in remote places, overstretched polices forces have difficulty allocating resources to investigate and prosecute them.
To tackle the problem IFAW is launching a campaign called ‘make wildlife matter’. We are calling on the government to protect our precious wildlife by introducing the following measures:
Making wildlife crimes notifiable
Harmonising all UK wildlife law
Ensuring there is at least one dedicated full-time wildlife crime officer per force
Incorporating wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework
Developing enforcement, prosecution and sentencing guidelines to combat inconsistencies around wildlife crime scenarios and how those should be dealt with.
Calls for wildlife crimes to be made ‘notifiable’ in the UK are not new – many have been asking for this simple measure to be introduced for years, notably the umbrella organisation Wildlife & Countryside LINK (e.g. see here) – there are ongoing discussions between LINK’s Wildlife Crime Group and Ministers but little action has resulted.
To understand why it’s important that wildlife crimes become notifiable, as well as an explanation about other obstacles getting in the way of effective wildlife crime enforcement in the UK, it’s well worth reading this IFAW-commissioned research report (as mentioned in the press release, above):
Don’t forget to sign the IFAW petition so that a unified voice can be presented to the Rt Hon Chris Philp MP in his capacity as Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire, asking him to help make wildlife crimes notifiable so these crimes are officially recorded in national statistics. Petition is here.
Blog reader Tim Melling has provided the following photographs and words:
“I was out for a walk on the moors (with my wife) at about 2pm on 9 May 2023 on Langsett Moors at SE 184001 when we saw a male Red Grouse stumbling along the track in front of us. I could see that it’s left foot was missing and it’s right foot was just attached by a few tendons. It could not spring to take flight. Apart from the missing legs it didn’t seem weak or ill. We left it where we had found it. It looked to me like the legs had been snapped off, and I assumed it had been caught in a spring trap“.
The injuries, as horrific as they are, don’t appear to be fresh so this red grouse has been able to survive for some time after its traumatic injuries.
I agree with Tim’s assessment, that the injuries look to be consistent with the bird being caught in an uncovered spring trap*. A report published by the REVIVE coalition in 2020 provided the first quantitative estimate of the number of traps deployed on driven grouse moors in Scotland to eradicate predators, and that they often also catch non-target species (see here).
There isn’t an equivalent report for grouse moors in England that I’m aware of but anybody who’s spent time on the English moors will know that traps are also deployed routinely.
If that isn’t bad enough, that this is happening in a so-called National Park to support recreational shooting is beyond acceptable to many of us.
*Update: it’s been suggested on social media that these injuries are also consistent with a red grouse flying into a wire mesh fence at speed and getting stuck.
After more than two years of formal legal proceedings, Chris Packham’s libel trial has finally drawn to a close.
Regular blog readers will know that Chris is taking libel action against three individuals associated with Country Squire Magazine, who are accused of writing defamatory material about him, notably accusations of dishonesty and fraud in relation to the rescue of a number of tigers from a Spanish circus, and allegations that Chris faked a death threat letter to himself. The defendants are Dominic Wightman (Defendant 1), Nigel Bean (Defendant 2) and Paul Read (Defendant 3).
Chris has vigorously denied all the allegations and maintains that the defendants have embarked on a campaign of online hatred and abuse which has caused him anguish, anxiety and distress (see here for a press release from his legal team at the start of this trial two weeks ago and see here for Chris’s witness statement about the devastating impact of it all).
During the second week of the trial at the Royal Courts of Justice, the three defendants from Country Squire Magazine were cross-examined by Jonathan Price, Chris’s barrister.
Defendant 1 was on the stand for all of Tuesday and a small part of Wednesday morning. Defendant 2 and Defendant 3 took up the rest of Wednesday. I’ll write more about what they each said, once the judgement has been received.
For clarity, Defendants 1 & 2 were claiming dual defences of ‘truth’ and ‘public interest’ in relation to the alleged libellous material that was published by CSM. Defendant 3 claims that he wasn’t an author or editor of the alleged libellous material and that his re-tweeting of the articles didn’t amount to serious harm to Chris’s reputation.
During the trial, Defendants 1 & 2 withdrew a number of their defences as it became apparent that they didn’t have the evidence to support their allegations against Chris. The Honourable Mr Justice Saini described events as “a moving feast” and took time to clarify the changeable positions. It was hard to follow but my understanding of what was withdrawn and what remained is as follows:
The allegation that Chris wrote a fake death threat letter to himself was “unequivocally withdrawn”.
The allegation that Chris dishonestly took part in writing a press release relating to the death of a tiger called ‘Simi’ – the ‘truth’ defence was withdrawn but the ‘public interest’ defence remained.
The allegation that Chris was dishonest when fundraising for the Wildheart Trust to support the rescue of five tigers from a Spanish circus – the ‘truth’ defence and the ‘public interest’ defence remained.
The allegation that Chris was dishonest when he re-tweeted an article relating to the burning of peat on two grouse moors during COP26 – the ‘truth’ defence was withdrawn but the ‘public interest’ defence remained.
The allegation that Chris was dishonest when fundraising for the Wildheart Trust during Covid (alleged insurance fraud) – the ‘truth’ defence was withdrawn but the ‘public interest’ defence remained.
Closing arguments were heard on Thursday from the legal representatives of Defendants 1 & 2 (Nicholas O’Brien) and of Defendant 3 (David Price KC), as well as from Jonathan Price. Mr Justice Saini reserved judgement and told the parties that he anticipated handing down judgement in writing before the end of this month.
Once the judgement has been announced, it is expected there will be a further hearing to determine costs.
The second defamation case that Chris is bringing, against Fieldsports Channel Ltd and one of its journalists, Ben O’Rourke, is ongoing. In June 2022, Fieldsports Channel Ltd published an article and an accompanying video, accusing Chris of dishonest and unethical behaviour. They claimed that Chris wrote a fake death threat letter to himself and that he dishonestly claimed that it was sent to his home by an anonymous member of the shooting and farming community (see here).
There should be an update on the status of this case shortly, given the “unequivocal withdrawal” of a similar allegation by Defendants 1 & 2 in the CSM case.
Press statement from Crown Prosecution Service (11th May 2023)
Landowning company fined in ground-breaking case
A landowning company in Yorkshire has been fined for allowing vegetation to be burnt without a licence in an area of Special Scientific Interest.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that areas of land owned by Dunlin Ltd on Midhope Moors in Upper Midhope, Stocksbridge, near Sheffield, were burned illegally in October 2022.
The Midhope Estate is within a Dark Peak Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI), the South Pennie Moors Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the Peak District Moors Site of Protection Area (SPA).
Peatland areas store vast quantities of carbon and, if they are damaged, emit this carbon into the atmosphere. It also damages the habitat for birds, flora and fauna.
Landowners sometimes burn vegetation on peatland as part of land management and they can apply for a licence that allows them to burn limited areas.
Land agents acting for Dunlin, JM Osbourne Rural and Sporting, applied for a licence to the Peatland Protection Policy Team of the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 30 March 2022.
However, it was refused as they hadn’t given enough detail about the amount of land to be burned. Detailed feedback was given to help with any future applications. No further application was made.
On 18 October 2022, a conservation officer from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was visiting the area and noticed plumes of smoke coming from the land.
He took photographs and video footage and sent this and a report to the Peatland Protection Policy Team. Inspectors visited the land a few weeks later and found evidence of the offences.
On 10 March 2023, one of the company directors, Julian Richmond-Watson was interviewed. He said he assumed the activity was allowed and apologised on behalf of his gamekeepers who carried it out. He said he didn’t realise that an application had been made for a licence for his company.
On 10 May 2023, at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court, guilty pleas were entered on behalf of the company to six offences in contravention of the Heather and Grass etc Burning Regulations 2021 and a fine of £1,800 was imposed on Dunlin Ltd. Costs of £125 and a surcharge of £720 were also imposed.
Sentencing, Judge Gould said the offending had a significant environmental impact and there was a reckless failure by the company.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Maqsood Khan, of CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Fraud and Rural Crime Unit said: “This is the first case of its kind to come to come to this unit of the Crown Prosecution Service. The legislation around this offending is relatively new.
“The company was clearly reckless as to the impact of their actions in burning this land.
“Land agents acting for them made an application to legally burn areas of vegetation so they were clearly aware that they needed one. When the licence was refused, they simply went ahead and did it anyway.
“The actions damaged an area of land that is already at risk and undermined the regulatory system in place to protect areas of special scientific interest.
“The company is now paying the price.”
ENDS
This is an excellent result, although the fine was pathetic and can’t possibly be seen as a deterrent. However, the publicity about this successful prosecution has been quite prominent.
I couldn’t help but notice the name of the land agent involved.
ILLEGAL KILLING IS MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH IN HEN HARRIERS
New study published in an important scientific journal shows yearly survival rates of Hen Harriers are ‘unusually low’ with birds typically living just four months after fledging the nest.
Illegal killing is the main cause of death for older birds, accounting for up 75% of yearly deaths in birds between one and two years old and is also a major cause of death in birds under one year.
Mortality due to illegal killing was highest in areas managed for Red Grouse shooting, highlighting the significant role that persecution on some grouse moors plays in limiting Hen Harrier populations in the UK.
Illegal killing is the main cause of death in Hen Harriers over one year of age and a major cause of deaths in birds under one year according to a new paper, published in the journal Biological Conservation, and led by the RSPB. Using data from the largest GPS tracking programme for Hen Harriers globally, the authors discovered that individuals tracked by the project were typically living just 121 days after fledging. The risk of dying as a result of illegal killing increased significantly as Hen Harriers spent more time on areas managed for grouse shooting.
Hen harrier. Photo: Ian Poxton
Hen Harriers are on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK, meaning they are one of the most at-risk species here. Despite all birds of prey being protected by law since the 1950s and more recently under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, illegal persecution is still known to be a serious issue.
In 2011 the UK Government published the authoritative Conservation Framework for Hen Harriers which identified illegal killing of this species as the primary cause stopping population recovery. A 2019 UK Government study using tracking data from Hen Harriers in northern England and southern Scotland also found illegal killing to be the main factor limiting the recovery of the UK Hen Harrier population.
Scotland is the species’ UK stronghold with about 70-80% of the UK breeding population of Hen Harriers here, mostly found in Orkney and the Hebrides. However, the estimated 460 breeding pairs by the 2016 national survey is just a third of the estimated population size of 1500 breeding pairs that habitat in Scotland could support, according to the 2011 UK Government report.
For the new study researchers used satellite tracking devices to look into the survival and movements of Hen Harriers. Whilst these tags provide critical insights into the ecology of the species and aid in conservation, they can also be used to recover dead Hen Harriers, thus allowing the cause of death to be identified.
Between 2014 and 2020, the RSPB and partners fitted satellite transmitters to juvenile Hen Harriers at nests across Scotland, England, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Tags were deployed on 148 individuals, of which 86 were in Scotland, funded by the Hen Harrier LIFE project. The scientists analysed the data and looked at survival rates, causes of death whether natural or through illegal killing, and associations between mortality and land managed for grouse shooting.
Annual survival was low, especially among birds under one year (males: 14%; females: 30%), with illegal killing accounting for the deaths of 27-41% of birds under one year, and 75% of mortality in birds aged between one and two years. Not enough birds survived over two years to estimate mortality due to illegal killing of adults.
The authors found multiple strands of compelling evidence that illegal killing is associated with land management for grouse shooting. A 10% increase in grouse moor use by the birds was associated with a 43% increase in the rate of mortality. There was also a strong overlap between the extent of mortality in 20km squares and the area of grouse moor, with hotspots of illegal killing identified in the central and eastern highlands of Scotland and northern England. In contrast, there were no clear associations between use of grouse moors and death due to natural causes.
Hen harrier. Photo: Ruth Tingay
Steven Ewing, RSPB Senior Conservation Scientist and lead author of the study said: “Hen Harriers have been legally protected for almost 70 years, but this study adds to the already overwhelming evidence base that illegal killing on grouse moors remains a key cause of this species’ low population size and its ongoing absence from large areas of the uplands, particularly grouse moors.”
Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management. RSPB Scotland, said: “This study reinforces the devastating impact that illegal killing is having on our Hen Harrier population, how strongly it is associated with grouse moors, and why urgent changes are needed to bring this to an end. There should be three times as many breeding pairs of Hen Harriers in Scotland than we currently have.”
“Thankfully the Scottish Government has undertaken an independent review of the evidence and is now taking action. It is proposing to licence grouse shooting with sanctions including the removal of the right to shoot grouse where wildlife crimes are confirmed, and to provide a meaningful deterrent to wildlife crime. We hope to give evidence to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee of the Scottish Parliament when it considers the draft Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill shortly and to present the details of this study. The illegal killing of Hen Harriers, and other birds of prey, has no place in the nature and climate emergency and must end.
“One example of many incidents recorded as part of this study is Rannoch, a young female Hen Harrier, who fledged from a Perthshire nest in July 2017. Her remains were recovered in May 2019 on a Perthshire grouse moor – she had been caught in an illegally set spring trap, and died an agonising death. We cannot have more of our precious Hen Harriers being killed in such a way. This study is a crucial piece of evidence in helping to secure them a better future”.
ENDS
Channel 4 ran a piece on this last night – watch the 4 minute video here.
Since 2018, at least 92 hen harriers have been confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK, mostly on or next to driven grouse moors (see here).
The new scientific paper can be read/downloaded here:
Chris Packham will return to the High Court today as his libel trial continues into its second week.
Chris is taking libel action against three individuals associated with Country Squire Magazine, who are accused of writing defamatory material about him, notably accusations of dishonesty and fraud in relation to the rescue of a number of tigers from a Spanish circus. The defendants are Dominic Wightman (defendant 1), Nigel Bean (defendant 2) and Paul Read (defendant 3).
Chris has vigorously denied all the allegations and maintains that the defendants have embarked on a campaign of online hatred and abuse which has caused him anguish, anxiety and distress (see here for last week’s press release from his legal team).
Royal Courts of Justice. Photo: Ruth Tingay
The first week of the trial included opening remarks from Chris’s barrister, Jonathan Price (see here), followed by cross-examinations by Nicholas O’Brien (the barrister for defendants 1 & 2) of Chris, his partner Charlotte Corney, and two expert witnesses who gave evidence on the process of the tiger rescue and the welfare issues for tigers in circuses.
Chris’s witness statement detailing the effects of the defendants’ alleged behaviour is a shocking and sobering read (see here).
At the end of the cross-examinations in week one, the judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Saini, asked Mr O’Brien (acting for defendants 1 & 2) for clarity on a number of their allegations about Chris (defendant 3 is represented separately and is not relying on the same defences). Mr O’Brien told the court that his clients were “unequivocally withdrawing” one of their allegations (as they had no evidence to support it) and were withdrawing the ‘truth’ defence for two further allegations and were instead relying solely on the ‘public interest’ defence. More on that soon.
This week the three defendants will have their opportunity to provide evidence in court and they will be cross-examined by Jonathan Price.
Mr Justice Saini, acutely aware of the heat generated by these proceedings, advised both the claimant and the defendants that it would be “unwise” and “unhelpful” for them to comment about the trial on social media whilst the case is still in progress. However, reporting restrictions were not imposed.
The crowd funder set up to support Chris with his legal fees for this and one other libel case he’s pursuing (against Fieldsports Channel Ltd) is still open for those who’d like to help. Defamation proceedings are expensive and there is no guarantee that costs and damages will be fully recovered. Donations (and messages of support) can be made here.
Please note: making defamatory or even derogatory remarks about the defendants in these libel actions is unhelpful and actually counter-productive. Comments on this blog will be closely moderated (more so than usual!). Far better to show your support for Chris by participating with the crowd funder!
Several months ago I blogged about Natural England’s senior management team having a lovely day out on the notorious Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire on 14th February 2023, as indicated by Tweets from Natural England’s Chief Exec Marian Spain and Chair, Tony Juniper (see here).
When I say Swinton Estate is ‘notorious’, I’m referring to the numerous police investigations into alleged raptor persecution on this grouse-shooting estate (e.g. here, here, here, here) as well as the most recent discovery of a poisoned red kite in 2021 which, inexplicably and outrageously, did not result in a police investigation (see here).
Since the start of DEFRA’s insane hen harrier brood meddling trial in 2018, Swinton Estate, owned by Mark, Cunliffe-Lister, the current Chair of the Moorland Association, has become somewhat of a poster-child for the brood meddling trial due to the estate’s enthusiastic participation in hosting breeding hen harriers which have been subsequently ‘meddled’ (i.e. chicks removed, reared in captivity and released elsewhere).
Swinton Estate grouse moor. Photo: Ruth Tingay
I was curious about what Natural England’s senior staff might have been doing at Swinton Estate in February so I submitted an FoI to Natural England asking for the following:
An itinerary of the visit, including date and time of arrival/departure, and activities undertaken during the visit.
Details of any/all hospitality provided to any member of NE’s senior management team, to other NE staff who were present, and to any NE Board members who were present. This should include information about transport, food and accommodation.
Copies of all correspondence between NE and Swinton Estate and the Moorland Association relating to this visit.
Regular blog readers won’t be surprised to learn that it took Natural England two months to provide the information requested, doing its usual predictable trick of claiming my request was so ‘complex’ it needed 40 working days to respond instead of the standard 20. Being obstructive and lacking transparency has become this statutory agency’s trademark.
Natural England’s response to my ‘complex’ (hardly!) request finally arrived in mid-April. I’m going to split the information into several blogs because there’s a lot to discuss.
First up, in this blog, I’ll just set the scene:
As part of the visit, the Natural England Board was provided with a series of briefing notes (from NE staff) in preparation for the site visit to Swinton Estate and also in preparation for any “tricky issues” that might arise in conversation at the evening dinner with grouse-shooting industry reps. Those briefing documents are fascinating, and very useful, but I’ll come back to those in a separate blog.
Here are the non-controversial bits first:
Natural England also provided me with a redacted list of the dinner guests, although bizarrely the dinner guests’ names were redacted but not their accompanying biographies (!) so I’ve added in the names in the left-hand column:
Part two of this blog will appear later this week…(this isn’t being done for effect, I’ve just got too much else on right now).
UPDATE 16 August 2024 (sorry, took longer than I’d anticipated!): Has the hen harrier brood meddling sham finally collapsed? (here)
As many of you will know, DEFRA’s highly controversial (I would argue insane) hen harrier brood meddling scheme was initially approved to run for five years between 2018-2022, facilitated by Natural England.
For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling is a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involves the removal of hen harrier chicks and eggs from grouse moors, rear them in captivity, then release them back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where they’ll be illegally killed. It’s plainly bonkers. For more background see here.
An un-meddled hen harrier being reared in the wild. Photo: Laurie Campbell
The brood meddling sham has been hailed by those involved (e.g. Natural England and the Moorland Association) as delivering ‘real’ and ‘great’ progress because the number of breeding hen harriers has risen since the trial began.
However, the number of breeding hen harriers isn’t really the issue – its the ongoing illegal killing of hen harriers that’s the issue. It’s pointless pumping out more hen harrier chicks if they’re just going to get shot/trapped/have their wings ripped off/have their heads twisted and torn off by criminals within the grouse shooting industry once the young birds have been released.
The participants in the trial have been congratulating each other on the trial’s so-called ‘success’, whilst conveniently ignoring the fact that illegal persecution remains rampant – e.g. we know that at least 92 hen harriers are likely to have been killed since this ridiculous pantomime began in 2018 (see here).
One of the grouse-shooting estates involved in the brood meddling trial was even under police investigation for suspected raptor persecution during the trial (see here) and another grouse-shooting estate should have been under police investigation during the brood meddling trial following the discovery of a poisoned red kite on the estate but, shockingly, North Yorkshire Police refused to investigate (see here).
But instead of bringing this sham to an end last year, at the end of the initial five-year trial period, Natural England has announced that a new brood meddling licence has just been issued to extend the sham for at least a further two years (2023 and 2024 breeding seasons).
The announcement was made by Natural England here on 4th May 2023 and I’ve reproduced it below in case it disappears from the Govt website:
I find this decision to extend the brood meddling trial utterly beyond comprehension and earlier this year, when I knew an extension to the licence was being considered, I submitted an FoI to Natural England to try and understand the logic/rationale for continuing with an expensive trial that simply hasn’t delivered in terms of getting the grouse shooting industry to stop illegally killing hen harriers.
I asked three simple things:
For a copy of the most recent assessment report on the hen harrier brood meddling trial from Natural England’s Scientific Advisory Committee (NESAC);
For confirmation of the end date of the brood meddling trial;
For confirmation of when a final assessment report about the trial would be submitted to the NE Board.
Here’s the response from Natural England on 16th March 2023:
In relation to Q1, I was somewhat surprised to learn that NE ‘does not hold the NESAC report on the hen harrier brood management trial‘.
Eh? Does that mean the NESAC hasn’t produced an assessment/evaluation report? If it hasn’t, who has? I’ve since submitted a further FoI request to determine if anybody at NE has produced a report, and if so, where is it? Surely someone has produced an assessment report, otherwise how on earth has NE assessed the application to extend the trial?!
In lieu of not having an NESAC assessment report, NE did provide ‘a summary of the Natural England Scientific Advisory Committee decision on the brood management trial of hen harriers‘. That summary document, dated 18th January 2023, is provided here:
According to this document, the NESAC has advised the Natural England Board that a five-year extension to the hen harrier brood meddling trial ‘would be appropriate‘. Notably, the ‘full note’ mentioned at the beginning of the document (called Annex 1) was not released as part of NE’s response to my FoI.
In addition to asking NE for a copy of any assessment report on the hen harrier brood meddling trial, I have also submitted FoIs requesting a copy of the licence application for the 2023/24 licence extension and a copy of the actual licence.
Further information about the brood meddling trial has emerged through a separate FoI request I made about NE’s senior management team’s day trip to Swinton Estate (one of the brood meddling estates) in February this year (see here). I’ll be writing about those revelations shortly.
Further to the news on Friday that a previously unreported 20 hen harriers had ‘disappeared’ on English grouse moors between April 2022 and April 2023, in addition to another one whose mutilated corpse was found on a grouse moor (see here and here), I’ve now had the time to go through the latest list of reported victims and work out which ones had not previously been included on my running tally of dead/missing hen harriers since 2018.
You may recall (although admittedly, it is hard to keep up), just two weeks ago I reported that the running tally was 82 dead/missing hen harriers since 2018. I can now report the current total is 92.
Here’s the blog I always write after every reported killing or suspicious disappearance…
For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of hen harriers on grouse moors across the UK, here’s the latest catalogue of crime that suggests otherwise.
This male hen harrier died in 2019 after his leg was almost severed in an illegally set trap that had been placed next to his nest on a Scottish grouse moor (see here). Photo by Ruth Tingay
“They disappear in the same way political dissidents in authoritarian dictatorships have disappeared” (Stephen Barlow, 22 January 2021).
Today the list has been updated to include the most recently reported victims, 10 young hen harriers (0f 20) that ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances between April 2022 – April 2023, almost all of them on or close to grouse moors in northern England (see here).
I’ve been compiling this list only since 2018 because that is the year that the grouse shooting industry ‘leaders’ would have us believe that the criminal persecution of hen harriers had stopped and that these birds were being welcomed back on to the UK’s grouse moors (see here).
This assertion was made shortly before the publication of a devastating new scientific paper that demonstrated that 72% of satellite-tagged hen harriers were confirmed or considered likely to have been illegally killed, and this was ten times more likely to occur over areas of land managed for grouse shooting relative to other land uses (see here).
2018 was also the year that Natural England issued a licence to begin a hen harrier brood meddling trial on grouse moors in northern England. For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling is a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England (NE), in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. For more background see here.
Brood meddling has been described as a sort of ‘gentleman’s agreement’ by commentator Stephen Welch:
“I don’t get it, I thought the idea of that scheme was some kind of trade off – a gentleman’s agreement that the birds would be left in peace if they were moved from grouse moors at a certain density. It seems that one party is not keeping their side of the bargain“.
With at least 92 hen harriers gone since 2018, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry is simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretends that ‘partnership working’ is the way to go and DEFRA Ministers remain silent.
‘Partnership working’ according to Natural England appears to include authorising the removal of hen harrier chicks from a grouse moor already under investigation by the police for suspected raptor persecution (here) and accepting a £75k ‘donation’ from representatives of the grouse shooting industry that prevents Natural England from criticising them or the sham brood meddling trial (see here). This is in addition to a £10k ‘donation’ that Natural England accepted, under the same terms, in 2021 (here).
Cartoon by Gerard Hobley
So here’s the latest gruesome list. Note that the majority of these birds (but not all) were fitted with satellite tags. How many more [untagged] harriers have been killed?
February 2018: Hen harrier Saorsa ‘disappeared’ in the Angus Glens in Scotland (here). The Scottish Gamekeepers Association later published wholly inaccurate information claiming the bird had been re-sighted. The RSPB dismissed this as “completely false” (here).
5 February 2018: Hen harrier Marc ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Durham (here).
9 February 2018: Hen harrier Aalin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).
March 2018: Hen harrier Blue ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park (here).
March 2018: Hen harrier Finn ‘disappeared’ near Moffat in Scotland (here).
18 April 2018: Hen harrier Lia ‘disappeared’ in Wales and her corpse was retrieved in a field in May 2018. Cause of death was unconfirmed but police treating death as suspicious (here).
8 August 2018: Hen harrier Hilma ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Northumberland (here).
16 August 2018: Hen harrier Athena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
26 August 2018: Hen Harrier Octavia ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
29 August 2018: Hen harrier Margot ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Heulwen ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).
3 September 2018: Hen harrier Stelmaria ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
24 September 2018: Hen harrier Heather ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
2 October 2018: Hen harrier Mabel ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
3 October 2018: Hen Harrier Thor ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Bowland, Lanacashire (here).
23 October 2018: Hen harrier Tom ‘disappeared’ in South Wales (here).
26 October 2018: Hen harrier Arthur ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here).
1 November 2018: Hen harrier Barney ‘disappeared’ on Bodmin Moor (here).
10 November 2018: Hen harrier Rannoch ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Her corpse was found nearby in May 2019 – she’d been killed in an illegally-set spring trap (here).
14 November 2018: Hen harrier River ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Nidderdale AONB (here). Her corpse was found nearby in April 2019 – she’d been illegally shot (here).
16 January 2019: Hen harrier Vulcan ‘disappeared’ in Wiltshire close to Natural England’s proposed reintroduction site (here).
7 February 2019: Hen harrier Skylar ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire (here).
22 April 2019: Hen harrier Marci ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
26 April 2019: Hen harrier Rain ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire (here).
11 May 2019: An untagged male hen harrier was caught in an illegally-set trap next to his nest on a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire. He didn’t survive (here).
7 June 2019: An untagged hen harrier was found dead on a grouse moor in Scotland. A post mortem stated the bird had died as a result of ‘penetrating trauma’ injuries and that this bird had previously been shot (here).
5 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 1 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor nr Dalnaspidal on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park (here).
11 September 2019: Hen harrier Romario ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
14 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183704) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here).
23 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #55149) ‘disappeared’ in North Pennines (here).
24 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 2 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Invercauld in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
24 September 2019: Hen harrier Bronwyn ‘disappeared’ near a grouse moor in North Wales (here).
10 October 2019: Hen harrier Ada ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North Pennines AONB (here).
12 October 2019: Hen harrier Thistle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Sutherland (here).
18 October 2019: Member of the public reports the witnessed shooting of an untagged male hen harrier on White Syke Hill in North Yorkshire (here).
November 2019: Hen harrier Mary found illegally poisoned on a pheasant shoot in Ireland (here).
14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here).
January 2020: Members of the public report the witnessed shooting of a male hen harrier on Threshfield Moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
23 March 2020: Hen harrier Rosie ‘disappeared’ at an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).
1 April 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183703) ‘disappeared’ in unnamed location, tag intermittent (here).
5 April 2020: Hen harrier Hoolie ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here)
8 April 2020: Hen harrier Marlin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
19 May 2020: Hen harrier Fingal ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Lowther Hills, Scotland (here).
21 May 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183701) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria shortly after returning from wintering in France (here).
27 May 2020: Hen harrier Silver ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on Leadhills Estate, Scotland (here).
2020: day/month unknown: Unnamed male hen harrier breeding on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria ‘disappeared’ while away hunting (here).
9 July 2020: Unnamed female hen harrier (#201118) ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed site in Northumberland (here).
25 July 2020: Hen harrier Harriet ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
14 August 2020: Hen harrier Solo ‘disappeared’ in confidential nest area in Lancashire (here).
7 September 2020: Hen harrier Dryad ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
16 September 2020: Hen harrier Fortune ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).
19 September 2020: Hen harrier Harold ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 September 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2020, #55152) ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here).
24 February 2021: Hen harrier Tarras ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Northumberland (here)
12th April 2021: Hen harrier Yarrow ‘disappeared’ near Stockton, County Durham (here).
18 May 2021: Adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
18 May 2021: Another adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
24 July 2021: Hen harrier Asta ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (here). We learned 18 months later that her wings had been ripped off so her tag could be fitted to a crow in an attempt to cover up her death (here).
14th August 2021: Hen harrier Josephine ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Northumberland (here).
17 September 2021: Hen harrier Reiver ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated region of Northumberland (here)
24 September 2021: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2021, R2-F-1-21) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).
15 November 2021: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F1-20) ‘disappeared’ at the edge of a grouse moor on Arkengarthdale Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
19 November 2021: Hen harrier Val ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria (here).
19 November 2021: Hen harrier Percy ‘disappeared’ in Lothian, Scotland (here).
12 December 2021: Hen harrier Jasmine ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (High Rigg Moor on the Middlesmoor Estate) in the Nidderdale AONB in North Yorkshire (here).
9 January 2022: Hen harrier Ethel ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).
26 January 2022: Hen harrier Amelia ‘disappeared’ in Bowland (here).
10 February 2022: An unnamed satellite-tagged hen harrier ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated area of the Peak District National Park (here). One year later it was revealed that the satellite tag/harness of this young male called ‘Anu’ had been deliberately cut off (see here).
12 April 2022: Hen harrier ‘Free’ (Tag ID 201121) ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Cumbria (here). It later emerged he hadn’t disappeared, but his mutilated corpse was found on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. A post mortem revealed the cause of death was having his head twisted and pulled off. One leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here).
April 2022: Hen harrier ‘Pegasus’ (tagged by the RSPB) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
May 2022: A male breeding hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
May 2022: Another breeding male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
14 May 2022: Hen harrier ‘Harvey’ (Tag ID 213844) ‘disappeared’ from a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #1 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #2 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #3 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #4 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
17 August 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
September 2022: Hen harrier ‘Sullis’ (tagged by the RSPB) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria (here).
5 October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-M2-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
10 October 2022: Hen harrier ‘Sia’ ‘disappeared’ near Hamsterley Forest in the North Pennines (here).
October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-F1-21) ‘disappeared’ in the North Sea off the North York Moors National Park (here).
1 December 2022: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
14 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here).
15 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
March 2023: Unnamed male hen harrier (tagged by Natural England – details not yet released) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Unnamed female hen harrier (tagged by Natural England – details not yet released) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Lagertha’ (tagged by RSPB) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Nicola’ (Tag ID 234078) ”disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Another untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest in Durham (see here).
To be continued……..
Not one of these 92 incidents has resulted in an arrest, let alone a prosecution. I had thought that when we reached 30 dead/missing hen harriers then the authorities might pretend to be interested and at least say a few words about this national scandal. We’ve now reached NINETY TWO hen harriers, and still Govt ministers remain silent. They appear not to give a monkey’s. And yes, there are other things going on in the world, as always. That is not reason enough to ignore this blatant, brazen and systematic destruction of a supposedly protected species, being undertaken to satisfy the greed and bloodlust of a minority of society
Raptor Persecution UK 