The third and final episode of the Guardian’s mini podcast series investigating the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors has been released this morning.
For those who missed episode one click here, and episode two click here.
In episode three, journalist Phoebe has a conversation with a cagey-sounding Sgt Mark Earnshaw of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Crime Team, who reveals that the police investigation into the stamping to death of those hen harrier chicks in a nest on a Whernside estate last year did not include interviewing local gamekeepers or the land owner. WTF?!
Phoebe also says she finally tracked down the name of the estate where the crime had taken place and an estate spokesperson told her, ‘At no point had the estate been informed that the nest was located on their land, or that this incident had taken place’.
I find this hard to believe given what we learned from episode two – that Natural England couldn’t/wouldn’t go on to estates without the landowner’s permission, let alone set up a video camera on site to monitor the nest.
It’s all very bizarre and unsatisfactory, and as usual reeks of cover-ups and collusion.
Episode three of the podcast can be heard here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
I was reading an article yesterday that angling author and outstanding fisherman Chris Yates has laid his rod’s to rest for the foreseeable future and taken up his second passion watching hen harriers, Chris has now been made aware of this beautiful birds persecution and I can only hope he can jump onboard and add to the pressure that’s needed to stop this.
He’s a superb bloke! One of the few anglers that really is into nature and conservation. This is really great news, we really need the message to be expanding outside our bubble and I can’t see him keeping quiet about what’s going on. Does he know that the results of Leeds University’s EMBER study on the hydrological effects of muirburn are very bad for fish? That’s been confirmed in private communications with two fisheries scientists – but angling organisations and clubs turn a blind eye preferring to blame seals, otters, mergansers, goosanders, cormorants and even dolphins for poor salmon stocks. Grouse moors are crap for fish as well as hen harriers. Chris is an excellent communicator as well as angler so this is great news, sure he’ll have a lot to say!
I’ve now listened to all 3 and remain unconvinced by any of them. So between 150 and 2500 gamekeepers would lose their jobs and they say they have no other sills to offer employers. Rubbish! Have they forgotten that tens of thousands of miners, steelworkers, ship builders and car plant workers lost their jobs, wiping out whole communities? They had to retrain and adapt. Most people have to change jobs and do new things several times in their lives.
The other point, and it’s made by other contributors here, is that game bird shooting relies on criminal activity to sustain it. I can’t think of any other “industry” which is allowed to do this [but correct me if I’m wrong].
It also causes huge environmental damage
I agree. Beating is not a ‘job’ it’s casual work. It’s seasonal, poorly paid, subject to cancelations and rarely happens more than once a week. You couldn’t rely on it to as a living. Seasonal fruit pickers from Romania earn more than anyone does from beating.
The idea that none of these people could never be employed doing anything else is absurd. Most of them drive and anyone can work in a shop, factory or do odd jobs. I think the point about low wages and tied accommodation is relevant, though, as is the point about it being a ‘lifestyle’. But none of that justifies wildlife crime or all the other detriments of driven game shooting.
£15m economic benefit pa for the whole of the North of England is peanuts! It’s probably less than the annual turnover of Tescos in Skipton. They say that includes hotels, restaurants and shops but those exist anyway and many (if not most) of their customers will be the hikers, cyclists and general tourists mentioned at the beginning of the piece. Nobody who pays thousands of pounds a day for grouse shooting stays in a B&B…! Get real!
Most of the profits from grouse shooting end up with the landowners and I dare say there is a fair amount of offshoring of these through tax havens and other ruses. Various studies have shown that rural economies do better without shooting as all other forms of tourism are year round and attract a far larger demographic.
Something I only found out from people who’ve been grouse beating in Scotland, the industry itself tends to keep quiet on this, is that beaters from outside the district are frequently bussed in (NE England seems to be a popular source for them). How’s that helping local employment exactly?
Yep when I listened to the statement made by the Estate I went straight back to episode 2 at about 15mins onwards and had another listen to NE fieldworker talking about their relationship with landowners. Someone seems to be talking bollocks.
Also it was cringingly funny to hear Mr Policeman start well from a positive front-foot position and deflate rapidly -to the point where I suspect he was considering hiding under the table or excusing himself. I hope the journalist team stick with this subject for the long term.
I and indeed we cannot prove which it is categorically but I think they are both talking bollocks i an arse covering exercise. I don’t trust either as far as I could spit.
A very good series on the problems of trying to stop raptor persecution in our uplands. I feel sad that they were not able to come up with some hope in the near future but that the sorry tale of harriers being killed will continue.
This government will carry on expecting us proles to tug our forelocks. I agree with the comment about mining communities being decimated too. As for gamekeepers, another job does beckon. With their knowledge of wildlife they would make great wildlife reserve wardens.
Trust me Steve: You could write many gamekeepers’ “knowledge of wildlife” on a housefly’s left testicle.
It is a little-known fact that the left bollock of a (male) housefly is considerably smaller than the right. Nobody knows why, but it’s true!
That’s funny, so’s mine!
I find absolutely astounding to the point of incredulity that North Yorkshire police have spoken to nobody ( owner, tenant? agent or gamekeeper (s)) of the estate where the offence took place. No wonder the case is closed pending further information. Words fail me. At least the Moorland association showed what they are by not being interviewed, if all was above board what have they to hide?
I wonder if any of the NY police officers involved in the Tim Cowin case (shooting the two S E Owls) were among the team investigating this one? (not that this case was in any meaningful way actually investigated).
It sounds like this policeman’s got a nice little number in the n.Yorkshire dales and doesn’t want to rock the boat,wow!,not even talking to the keeper or under keeper prime suspects,keep on doffing your cap
One of the most popular walking hills in the country. Could one of the thousands of hill walkers trodden on the nest of a ground nesting bird purley by accident?
Seems the author wants to make sure the terrible death of harrier chicks fit their point of view.
Are you completely dense?
Hen Harriers don’t nest in the middle of footpaths.
Did a walker just happen to mess with the camera before this “accident”?
All the chicks suffered multiple injuries. Do you really expect the reader to believe that a walker accidentally trod on the nest, and managed inflict these injuries on the whole brood with one footstep?
Did this “walker” not notice the female, which would undoubtedly be alarming nearby if not directly trying to defend the nest?
Given the size of the site in question, what are the chances of a nest being accidentally trodden on, let alone found (unless someone had searched for it, or noticed the adults present)?
You might wish to avail yourself of a few facts, before making any more stupid comments…
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/police-investigate-after-nest-of-hen-harrier-chicks-are-deliberately-crushed-to-death-in-the-yorkshire-dales-and-camera-tampered-with-3953591
https://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/news/north-yorkshire/news/appeals/2022/12-december/hen-harrier-nest-investigation—police-appeal-for-information/
I think we can say we some degree of certainty that this nest was not on the 3 peaks footpath and the ascent up Whernside. – it would be impossible for any bird to nest on such a well trodden footpath, especially when most of it is constructed from stones to help prevent erosion.
Do you really believe any bird would nest where there is such a footfall of people and their dogs?
Keith, let’s not go back to even entertaining such bollocks. This was done to death and dismissed when the details of crime were first made public. That somebody innocently but comprehensively stamped on a harriers nest with one negligent footstep as you might accidentally do to a meadow pipits nest, is a ridiculous idea. More chance of winning the Euro lottery and the national lottery in the same week.
The police and NE regard it as deliberate persecution, as does everyone else with two honest brain cells to rub together. The question isn’t really even who did it (although NE fieldworker says he has no idea…what – nothing? not a hunch, a suspicion, an inkling? I don’t believe him.) The genuine national scandal – which I think this podcast will have alerted a good few more people to, is why there is no energy or serious effort put in by the Police, by NE and Westminster legislators to detect or even deter these crimes which are boringly normal life in the grouse regions. And the legislators actively resist reasonable changes to the law – be they regulatory, or small but potentially impactful ones such as permitting undisclosed hidden cameras on what is vast open upland, (inaccurately legally termed to be “private land”…to kid to us that the owners are going to have to suffer an intrusion to their own privacy – as if akin to pointing a camera in the back garden – true private land – of an average normal family house).
If anyone is going to successfully defend this crime in the court of public opinion, they will have to prove to all why killing hen harriers (and the rest) is a good idea, and should continue to be tolerated in our country. And if there are no changes made after a small few years of Labour, then we must assume they are happy to tolerate it too.
If anyone thinks there is no ‘collusion’ between landowners, managers, the police and even RSPCA, then they are deluded. When two HH’s were shot at Balmoral, the only two guns out were Harry and his mate. RSPCA did naffall. I agree we need to find other jobs for huntsmen, land workers etc, but as has been said, to say they have no transferrable skills is not only insulting to them, but also the millions that change career every year. Sadly, money equals power, and that results in a corrupt hierarchy.
[Ed: I’m pretty sure the RSPCA wouldn’t have been involved in this investigation. It was police-led, and they did investigate. There was insufficient evidence to pursue a prosecution]
Balmoral?