Month: August 2023

Director Amanda Anderson set to leave the Moorland Association

It’s been announced that Moorland Association Director Amanda Anderson will be leaving at the end of this year “to take on a fresh challenge”.

May be she’s seen the writing on the wall and is jumping ship after ten years of propping up this dying industry.

Grouse-shooting butt in North Yorkshire. Photo: Ruth Tingay

Amanda has been a strong influence in her ten years in post, particularly in her role as what I think of as ‘chief contortionist’ in the so-called ‘partnerships’ designed to crack down on the illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors.

‘Partnerships’ that haven’t managed to deliver anything at all of conservation value (e.g. Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative (here and here), Yorkshire Dales Birds of Prey Partnership (here), Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (here)).

Amanda has also given us a few classic quotes over the years:

“These birds [raptors] are there on these moors. I see them from my kitchen window” – from an oral evidence session at Westminster in 2016 prior to the first debate on banning driven grouse shooting;

and

“If we let the hen harrier in, we will soon have nothing else. That is why we need this brood management plan” – from an article in The Times in 2016, reported on Mark Avery’s blog here.

Her successor will have his/her work cut out to defend the indefensible. Let’s hope it’s someone with more credibility than the current Chair of the Moorland Association, Mark Cunliffe-Lister, who recently told BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today listeners,

“Clearly, any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening“.

Perhaps all the upheaval at the Moorland Association explains why the organisation has yet to publish a statement of condemnation about the latest ‘disappearance’ of three more satellite-tagged hen harriers, all gone from driven grouse moors this month (here), or the damning figure of 101 missing/killed hen harriers, mostly on grouse moors, since the start of the brood meddling sham in 2018 (here).

Incidentally, I was sent an interesting note the other day about a comment that Amanda is alleged to have sent to Moorland Association members last week about hen harriers…I’ll blog about that shortly.

UPDATE 12 December 2023: Moorland Association appoints Andrew Gilruth as new CEO (here)

Scottish Government announces plan to ban snares

Press release from Scottish animal welfare charity and REVIVE coalition member, OneKind (22nd Aug 2023)

SCOTTISH ANIMAL WELFARE CHARITY AND PATRON CHRIS PACKHAM WELCOME SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S PLAN TO BAN SNARES

Today, the Scottish Government has announced its intention to ban the use of snares in Scotland, following decades of campaigning from Scottish animal welfare charity, OneKind.  

OneKind strongly welcomes the Government’s proposal, which would put an end to the suffering of the wild, companion and farmed animals frequently trapped in cruel snares.  

Snares are archaic traps used, in Scotland, primarily to protect birds such as grouse and pheasants from foxes, so there is a surplus of these birds for people to shoot for ‘leisure’. However, snares are indiscriminate and often trap, injure and kill a wide range of non-target species including deer, badgers, lambs and even companion animals, such as cats and dogs.  

OneKind Director, Bob Elliot, says: 

“We are delighted that today the Scottish Government has finally announced their intention to consign snares to Scotland’s history books. The regulation of snares has failed to protect animals from the extreme physical and mental suffering caused by these archaic devices. Furthermore, 76% of the Scottish public support a snaring ban on the use and sale of snares. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has listened to the voices of Scotland’s people. 

Nothing short of a full ban will put an end to the suffering inflicted by snares. We urge the Scottish Government to make this ban watertight and not consider any exceptions to it.

OneKind has campaigned for decades for a full ban on snares in Scotland. Indeed, late last year, we marched down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and rallied outside Parliament with hundreds of supporters, like-minded organisations, and MSPs, to call on the Scottish Government to introduce a snaring and real foxhunting ban. Now we have a commitment to ban the use of snares and legislation to end the ‘sport’ of foxhunting in Scotland.” 

Bob added: 

“Scotland’s wild animals are sadly often considered to as ‘pests’ or ‘vermin’ and thus are routinely persecuted. By proposing a snaring ban, the Scottish Government is helping send a message that wild animals deserve protection. Of course, a complete shift in mindset in how we view wild animals – as sentient individuals rather than ‘vermin’ – is desperately needed, but today’s announcement shows we’re heading in the right direction.” 

OneKind’s Patron, Wildlife TV Presenter and Conservationist, Chris Packham, said: 

“What excellent news, and a potential win for wildlife, today. These torture devices ought to have been banned a long time ago and I’m glad that the Scottish Government has finally recognised snares for the unacceptably cruel traps that they are.  

Snares inflict so much suffering on wild animals and so I’m delighted that both the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government have taken a stand against snares. The UK Government must not lag behind.” 

ENDS

The Scottish Government’s announcement can be read here.

There is now a six-week consultation, open now and running until 3rd October 2023 – you can participate by clicking here.

Highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak at pheasant & duck-rearing game farm in Angus

Ministers have confirmed the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza at a game-rearing farm in Angus (here).

The infected premises were declared on 18th August 2023 at Forester’s Croft, Oathlaw, Forfar, DD8 3SA and Ministers have enforced a 3km Protection Zone and a wider 10km Surveillance Zone. This means various measures are now in place in both zones, and the release of gamebirds is prohibited in both zones.

Aerial view of postcode DD8 3SA, which appears to be a game-rearing farm

The wider Surveillance Zone covers part of Glenogil Estate in the Angus Glens, a name that will be familiar to long-term readers of this blog. Glenogil offers red grouse shooting but also pheasant and partridge shoots. If the estate is releasing pheasant/partridge this year, then its shooting plans may be affected if it hadn’t already released its gamebirds prior to 18th August (as they’ll still be classed as livestock/poultry until their release, when they suddenly morph into ‘wildlife’).

Forester’s Croft, the location of the infected premises, is interesting. An undated (although maybe 2017) sales brochure (here) shows its proximity to the grouse moors at the southern end of the Angus Glens, which should be of great concern given the highly contagious nature of avian influenza:

The infected premises are believed to be linked to a company called Angus Game Plus Ltd, whose website suggests it raises 50,000 poults (pheasants, partridge and ducks) a year for the gamebird shooting industry. I would usually provide a link to its website here but it is showing as ‘unsecure’, so I won’t. This company also offers what it calls ‘shooting packages’ in the wider area, including on other estates, especially goose, duck and pigeon shooting.

This isn’t the first time Forester’s Croft has come to the attention of the authorities. In 2019 the owner was found to be in breach of planning laws because he didn’t have permission for his gamebird-rearing facilities (see here and here).

Following the recent news that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been confirmed in red grouse in the Scottish Borders (here), and now confirmed at a game-rearing facility in Angus, the Scottish Government’s decision not to restrict gamebird shoots this year looks to be increasingly risky.

BASC & Countryside Alliance accused of attempting to limit proposed new gun legislation after fatal shootings in Plymouth & Skye

There was an interesting article in The Guardian last week where the ‘UK gun lobby’ (BASC and Countryside Alliance) are accused of attempting to ‘skew’ a Government consultation on the tightening of gun legislation after fatal shootings in Plymouth and on the Isle of Skye.

The article can be read here.

The Westminster Government launched an eight week consultation in late June to ask for the public’s views on a number of recommendations made to the Home Office after licensed shotgun owner Jake Davison went on the rampage in Plymouth and shot and killed five people in 2021, and after licensed shotgun owner Finlay MacDonald, allegedly shot and killed one and attempted to murder others on the Isle of Skye in 2022. His trial begins next year.

The recommendations on which the Home Office is consulting all seem to be fair and proportionate, e.g. that the person applying for a shotgun certificate should provide two referees instead of one, and that at least one of the referees should be of certain standing in the community (e.g. of a professional background).

However, BASC has argued that the recommendations are ‘harmful proposals’ and has urged its members and supporters to respond to the consultation to challenge the proposals.

According to the Guardian article, ‘Peter Squires, a professor of criminology and public policy at the University of Brighton, said: “It is not unlike the way the NRA [National Rifle Association] operates in the USA, with a narrow and single-minded approach to swamping the ballots.

“Virtually every independent-minded expert agrees on what needs to be done and then the Home Office conducts one of these farcical consultations and allows the self-interested single-issue shooting lobby to school its members through the process of rejecting the proposals.

“The farce is complete when the Home Office takes the results of this skewed survey and cites public opposition to the necessary reforms as a reason for inaction.”’

The article continues: Luke Pollard, the MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport, said: “The gun lobby are arguing for no changes to Britain’s broken gun laws, meaning they are deliberately failing to learn the lessons from the Plymouth shooting.

“We need ordinary people who want changes to gun laws to make a stand and send in their views to the Home Office consultation. If we don’t learn the lessons of the tragedy in Keyham, we will be doomed to repeat them.”

Given how many wildlife crimes, and especially crimes against birds of prey, are committed by licensed shotgun holders, I think readers of this blog might have a view on whether licensing laws need to be tightened.

The public consultation closes on Wednesday 23 August 2023. If you’d like to contribute to the public consultation you can do that here.

Detailed background reading is available here.

Cornwall Osprey Project needs some help

Kernow Conservation is a relatively new not-for-profit conservation organisation working in partnership with others to restore wildlife and biodiversity across Cornwall.

Amongst many other things, they’re already leading a project to reintroduce the Water Vole to southern Cornwall and now they’ve turned their sights to a potential reintroduction of the Osprey.

Formerly a breeding bird in Cornwall, these days it’s only seen on migration.

Kernow Conservation has been working with landowners to install Osprey breeding platforms in an attempt to draw them in but they’re also now investigating the feasibility of a full-blown reintroduction, similar to the successful projects at Rutland Water and Poole Harbour.

Kernow Conservation has been running a crowd funder to help support the costs of this effort and today is the last day to donate.

If you’d like to support them in their efforts to bring back the Osprey, please click here.

NB: All donations are being double matched, thanks to support from the Aviva Fund & Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund. So for every £1 donated, Kernow Conservation will receive £3.

“Every way you look at this industry…its existence is an absurdity” – Rod Liddle on grouse shooting

Journalist Rod Liddle has taken another swipe at grouse shooting with the following article in The Sunday Times yesterday:

It’s not the first time – last year his criticism of grouse shooting prompted furious responses from the Countryside Alliance and GWCT, although BASC bizarrely used it as an opportunity to hurl abuse at Megan McCubbin (you can read their full-on attack here).

Liddle doesn’t appear to be a fan of the Countryside Alliance in general, writing an article for the Guardian in 2002 about the London march to save fox hunting, which ultimately led to his resignation from the BBC after a backlash accusing him of not being impartial (see here and here).

Hmm, given this trophy scalp perhaps it explains why the nasty brigade keeps urging the BBC to sack Chris Packham. ‘If they got rid of Liddle, why not Packham?’, is what they’ll be telling themselves.

Here’s the text of Liddle’s latest piece published in The Sunday Times yesterday:

RED KITES ARE GLORIOUS. MURDERING THEM IN AID OF A SHOOT-‘EM-UP FOR SPIVS IS GROTESQUE

Rod Liddle

A red kite was found hanging from a tree a couple of hundred yards from where I live in the north Pennine. Its death was at first a mystery and I wondered if, hideously depressed by the government’s failure to lower taxes or get a grip of the migrant issue, it had killed itself. Kites are notoriously right wing. But the bird’s carcass was sent off to a lab and all became very clear. The creature had been poisoned with carbofuran and bendiocarb – two illegal pesticides still used, surreptitiously, by gamekeepers. It had also been shot. So they had tried to kill this rather lovely bird at least twice – to protect those flapping, panicking idiots the red grouse.

That it was gamekeepers to blame is beyond reasonable doubt. I live in an area notorious for their swift dispatch of pretty much all living creatures. The 2021 edition of the RSPB’s Birdcrime report revealed that 71 per cent of all raptor persecution incidents related to land managed for the shooting of game birds, and every one of those prosecuted were gamekeepers. Kites – and buzzards – have been found dead here before this, with the same toxic substances inside them.

It was the so-called Glorious Twelfth last weekend, and the guns were blazing. Grouse moors make up 7 per cent of our land and provide a magnificent total of 1,500 full-time jobs. The claim that local communities benefit indirectly is a myth: the City boys arrive, they are lodged on the estates, they get driven out to the ranges, they fire away and they go home. In Scotland is is estimated that the gamekeepers kill 250,000 animals to allow people to kill 300,000 grouse.

Every way you look at this industry – from the point of view of economics, morality, the environment, biodiversity, land use – its existence is an absurdity. I asked one gamekeeper up here what proportion of supposed “vermin” he intended to kill. He replied: “The aim is for 100 per cent, but some slip through the net”.

These vermin include all our magnificent birds of prey (including kites, which feed mainly on carrion), mountain hares (which carry a tick dangerous to the bloody grouse), foxes, badgers, stoats, weasels and pine martens (in Scotland – they’ve already made them extinct in England). You walk up onto the moor tops – potentially our most beautiful scenery – and find yourself in a depopulated and scorched, treeless moonscape, the very antithesis of nature. All we have is million upon million of rabbits, hopping about in the blackened heather as if they were in a post-nuclear-holocaust Teletubbies set.

The game lobby will insist that they are protecting wildlife and point to the curlew, a hooting wraith from the wetlands, as a case in point. They cling to the curlew as a spider clings to the side of a bath as the water rises beneath it. Sure, there are curlew on the moor tops, for part of the year, and the occasional golden plover, lapwing and meadow pipit. But precious little else, in this vast and – when the heather’s not on fire – majestic scenery.

They will also tell you that they are protecting a historic way of life and topography. Well, not that historic: we’ve had intensively driven grouse moors for about 150 years, so it’s as traditionally British as football hooliganism. It is true that, as the lobby claims, the scenery is unique to Britain – no other country would put up with it. The burning of the heather – which enables new shoots to grow for the delectation of the grouse – is awful for the environment and climate change.

All this happens because a handful of people want to shoot birds that fly as if they’ve just eaten a full English breakfast after a heavy night on the piss. Talk about hitting a barn door with a banjo.

I have no objection to people shooting game birds for food. In many ways it is vastly preferable to the rest of the meat industry. Nor do I have much animus against the rich folks who own the land, whether they be the Arab rich folks who own the moors to my north or the rich hedge fund monkeys who own the moors to my west. I don’t even have a vast loathing for the City boys who provide the income. My complaint isn’t motivate by class hatred or envy.

Indeed, I would argue that we should increase subsidies to the landowners, provided that they rewild their estates. Wildlife tourism is far, far more popular – and remunerative – than grouse shooting: last year five times as many people visited one single RSPB reserve (Slimbridge in Gloucestershire) as took part in all the country’s grouse shoots. That’s just one, smallish reserve.

Imagine the benefit to the villages and towns if our upland areas had a true diversity of wildlife, rather than being managed deliberately to exclude the very creatures people want to see. But the wealth and political heft of the landowners, as well as their own lack of imagination, means we are left with the barren, charred expanse of grouseland.

ENDS

Durham Police appeal for information after sparrowhawk shot dead in public woodland

A sparrowhawk has been found shot and killed in a public woodland in Darlington, prompting a police appeal for information.

Members of the Friends of Geneva Wood first spotted dead pigeons a few weeks ago and further incidents have seen several more pigeons shot and now a sparrowhawk.

Sparrowhawk. Photo: Ben Hall, RSPB Images.

Durham Police and civic enforcement officers from Darlington Borough Council’s community safety team have issued a joint appeal urging anyone who uses the wood to be alert and to get in touch if they have any information that can identify those responsible.

Sergeant James Woodcock, of Darlington Neighbourhood Policing team, said: “There is legislation in place that protects various wild bird species. We will be working with the council and other relevant agencies, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and local wildlife conservation organisations to ensure legal action is taken where necessary.

We would ask anyone in the Geneva Wood area to be alert and to report any incidents to us or the council’s civic enforcement officers.”

Councillor Amanda Riley added: “Our civic enforcement officers are working closely with local police and will be carrying out extra patrols in the area, but we will also need the support of local residents if we’re to identify those responsible.

Shooting and killing wild birds in a public woodland such as this is not only illegal, but also poses a danger to others who may be in the area and anti-social behaviour of this kind will not be tolerated.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Durham Police on 101 or the community safety team on 01325 406999.

EXCLUSIVE: Scottish Water confirms no new grouse shooting leases allowed on its land

Press release from REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform

19th August 2023

EXCLUSIVE: Scottish Water confirms no new grouse shooting leases allowed on its land

Scotland’s publicly owned water corporation has confirmed that ‘there will be no new grouse shooting leases created’ across its land. This follows the recent news that the United Utilities water company will not renew grouse shooting leases in England.

In a written statement sent to REVIVE, the publicly owned company said:

“We depend on a thriving environment and are committed to enhancing biodiversity across our land holdings and asset base.

Scottish Water has only one area on which there is an operational grouse shooting lease in place. This lease is set to expire in 2027 and we will review our future options on land use priorities at that point. We will do that with particular regard to biodiversity and sustainability, taking into account our position on muirburn and herbivore management requirements. This will be subject to a formal decision-making process to be undertaken in due course; however, it is likely these considerations will lead to changes in the terms of any lease offered in future.

In the meantime, there will be no new grouse shooting leases created elsewhere across our catchment estate.”

Scottish Water has previously confirmed that no new agreements for muirburn will be granted to shooting tenants in a move to increase environmental protection of peatlands. Driven grouse shooting often depends on muirburn to sustain high numbers of grouse for ‘sport shooting’ so this new development casts the future of its grouse moor in doubt.

In response Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager for REVIVE said:

“Driven grouse shooting is surrounded by a circle of destruction including moorland burning. Whether it’s the environmental destruction or the killing of hundreds of thousands of animals, like foxes, stoats, weasels, crows and so-called ‘non target species’ like hedgehogs, it’s a land use that is incompatible with our aspirations for a green and prosperous Scotland.

It’s a very welcome development to see Scotland’s public water company taking this issue seriously and confirming that no new grouse shooting leases will be allowed across the rest of its land. We hope that Scottish Water will continue this trend of good news and decide to end, and not renew, their sport shooting leases when the time comes.”

Scotland’s grouse shooting season began on the 12th of August and ends on the 10th of December. Meanwhile, the ongoing Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill is set to reform grouse moor practices at a national level before the next shooting season begins.

ENDS

Moorland Association Chair claims: “Clearly any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening”

Just how stupid/arrogant do you have to be to go on record saying, “Clearly, any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening“, when it so demonstrably is?!

This is what Mark Cunliffe-Lister, Chair of the grouse moor owners’ lobby group, the Moorland Association, told BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today programme this morning.

It’s an astonishing claim to make when the evidence to refute such a claim is so readily available, and even more so on the day when we learned that at least 101 hen harriers have now gone ‘missing’ / been illegally killed since 2018 (see here).

Although Cunliffe-Lister does have a history of ‘forgetting’ to mention things when it comes to hen harrier persecution (see here). Oh, and he also forgot to mention this morning the poisoned red kite that was discovered on his estate (Swinton) in 2021 – the one that North Yorkshire Police refused to investigate (see here).

When Cunliffe-Lister was called out on his claim by the interviewer Caz Graham, he had the brass neck to argue that there “do seem to be isolated incidents“. Does he think that 101 missing/killed hen harriers are ‘isolated incidents’?? Oh, and some of those 101 include brood meddled hen harriers.

Also interviewed on this morning’s programme was John Holmes, Director of Strategy at Natural England and who oversees the hen harrier brood meddling sham. Holmes was questioned at length about Wild Justice’s criticisms of the hen harrier brood meddling sham, including the unimpressive scientific approach to the trial. Holmes argued that Natural England was being advised by an independent panel of ornithologists and statisticians. What he didn’t say, as Mark Avery pointed out on Twitter, is that the identities of those ornithologists and statisticians is being kept a secret, as is their scientific advice.

Holmes also argued that Natural England has ‘expert social scientists’ to examine whether brood meddling has changed the opinion of grouse moor owners and managers towards hen harriers. NE don’t need ‘expert social scientists’ to find an answer, the illegal persecution statistics tell us all we need to know.

The interview is available on BBC iPlayer for the next 29 days (here, starts at 4.59 mins) but I’ve produced a transcript for posterity:

Presenter Caz Graham: Hen harriers are beautiful birds that live in the uplands across the UK but their numbers are precariously low, particularly in England.

These low numbers are blamed on predation and on persecution by gamekeepers who illegally target birds of prey because they feed on grouse eggs and chicks. Most hen harrier nests in England are on land managed as grouse moor.

To try and rebuild the population a Government-led Hen Harrier Recovery Plan began in 2016. One element of it is a trial of what’s called ‘brood management’, where eggs and chicks are taken from hen harrier nests, raised in captivity and re-released later back in to the wild so their parents take fewer grouse chicks to feed them.

The Moorland Association, one of several partners in the brood management trial say that this year has been a real success with 24 chicks released. The population of hen harriers in England is now at the highest it’s been for 100 years, they say.

The wildlife campaign group Wild Justice welcomes the increase in hen harrier numbers but is critical of brood management. I put some of their points to Mark Cunliffe-Lister, the Chair of the Moorland Association who first gave me his response to these latest figures.

Chair of Moorland Association Mark Cunliffe-Lister: It’s been a fantastic success, we’ve shown that as a dedicated team we can take the chicks from the nest, we can breed them in captivity, we can re-release them on another site and they can live a perfectly good wild life going forwards.

Caz Graham: How have the birds that have been reared this way in previous years fared? Presumably they’re all tagged, they’re all tracked, you know how they’re doing?

Mark Cunliffe-Lister: Yep, no, absolutely. So, I mean like everything in the wild, they look around for different territories, they move about. I think one of the interesting things has been when we release them is they’re not necessarily, quite a lot of hen harriers will come back to exactly where they were born and bred, these ones will look around for other territories so that’s been very successful as they’ve taken on different territories and gone to different areas.

Caz Graham: Have they bred themselves?

Mark Cunliffe-Lister: Yes, they’ve bred themselves as well so they’ve shown breeding technique,sadly some of them have died but that’s the same in the wild, you have mortality going on in the wild.

Caz Graham: Wild Justice is very critical of brood management, in fact they call it brood meddling rather than management and they published a report last week saying it is a waste of money. They argue that that money could be spent in other conservation areas and that there isn’t really robust scientific evidence to prove that it’s doing any good.

Mark Cunliffe Lister: The figures speak for themselves in terms of how successful it’s been, so going from hardly any hen harriers now to having hundreds of hen harrier chicks that have been bred through the scheme and through the wild, so in terms of Wild Justice, clearly they’re anti-grouse shooting and that’s their agenda and that’s fine, but as a conservation programme I’d say it’s been an incredible success and very happy to sit down and go through the numbers and compare that with other schemes and we can see, can compare that.

Caz Graham: How would you respond to their claim that really this is just a delaying tactic to put off more stringent and effective measures against those gamekeepers who break the law by either shooting or poisoning birds of prey?

Mark Cunliffe-Lister: Yeah, well it’s clearly not about that and clearly it’s dealing with any conflict there so we’re seeing birds every day flying around grouse moors, with keepers, we’re seeing them on, by tag data, we’re seeing them in the air so clearly any illegal killing is not happening. They would like to say it is but you can see that for your own eyes that it isn’t happening.

Caz Graham: Oh well there is evidence that illegal killing happens, we do report on cases where gamekeepers have been convicted, even, for shooting or for poisoning birds of prey.

Mark Cunliffe-Lister: Yeah, there, sadly do seem to be isolated incidents.

Caz Graham: And where do you see brood management going in the future because some would say it’s not a very sustainable kind of way forward is it?

Mark Cunliffe-Lister: Oh I’d say it’s very sustainable. As I say, we’re clear that there is a conflict between hen harriers and grouse, we’re not hiding away from that and this allows it to be managed, so it’s a job that people came together, decided what the best way forward was, brood management was the way they thought would work best, we put that in to practice, we’ve shown it does work and yeah, I’d say it’s very sustainable moving forwards.

Caz Graham: Mark Cunliffe-Lister from the Moorland Association. We asked Wild Justice to come on this morning’s programme but without seeing more extensive data from Natural England, they declined. Well, Natural England, the Government’s advisor on nature is also a partner in the brood management trial project. John Holmes, a strategy director for Natural England oversees it.

Natural England Strategy Director John Holmes: The purpose of the brood management trial is to test the significance of the availability of brood management to moorland managers in achieving that increase.

Caz Graham: And Natural England lead the monitoring for this project. The Moorland Association tell us that they have reared and released 24 chicks this year, does that figure tally with what you have?

John Holmes: That’s absolutely right, we work alongside them in that work and that’s spot on.

Caz Graham: Can you explain to us who funds this project and how much it’s cost so far?

John Holmes: Part of it is funded by the industry itself through the Moorland Association so actually all the practical work to do brood management is funded by them, release aviaries, buying tags for monitoring and things. Natural England we estimate has spent around £800,000 since the trial started but that will be on things like staff to undertake sound assessment of the science that underlines the licences to allow it to happen and alongside that some work on persecution and investigations.

Caz Graham: £800,000, that sounds like an awful lot really.

John Holmes: Well I would say that sounds good value for recovering of a species that’s been completely extinct. Years and years of way more money than that being spent on investigation but no successful prosecutions whatsoever. We know that illegal persecution goes on and we’re continuing to investigate it. We certainly know that it would cost hundred of thousands for protection of a single nest by the police year round so actually in terms of the increase we’ve got that’s really good value for money.

Caz Graham: Isn’t just cracking down on the criminal element who persecute raptors, birds of prey, isn’t that really where the focus should be?

John Holmes: The simple answer is it hasn’t worked, you know, enforcement was tried and it still goes on, you know, we absolutely back enforcement and work with the police to try and find those criminals but it simply didn’t work. The other thing is to say cracking down on criminals assumes that everybody who manages a moor, or owns a moor, is a criminal and the simple fact is that if landowners and gamekeepers come to us and say, ‘Look, we want to have hen harriers, we want to look after hen harriers’, we’re gonna work with them because the results are clear.

Caz Graham: A point that Wild Justice might well make though is that you’re dealing with a criminal act by perhaps just removing the temptation rather than arresting the perpetrators, you know it’s a bit like ignoring car thieves in an area but paying for a few cars to be stuck in a garage.

John Holmes: I think a better analogy would be to assume that if you’re having your car stolen you’re assuming everyone you meet near your car is gonna steal it and that’s simply not the case.

Caz Graham: I want to put to you another questions as well about Wild Justice’s claims. They say they’re really unimpressed by the standard of scientific enquiry that’s evident in Natural England’s brood management study. How would you respond to that?

John Holmes: Well we’ve got an independent panel that advises us on that science, made up of ornithological and statistical experts, it is a trial, things aren’t always perfect in both the planning and execution, you have to react to real situations on the ground. One of the things we’re trying to measure is how the availability of brood management has influenced people’s opinions of hen harriers and may have resulted in less persecution. That’s really hard to do, it’s not easy to figure out what questions you ask but we’ve got expert social scientists who know how to ask those sorts of questions and we’re still part way through the trial.

Caz Graham: I mean the trial’s been going on for five years, it’s had an extra two years added to it, I mean, gosh, is it still a trial, can you still call it a trial at that length?

John Holmes: It’s still a trial because we don’t actually know the answer to the significance of brood management in achieving the outcome that we’ve got so far.

Caz Graham: So how many years can the trial go on? When will you be able to say whether it does work?

John Holmes: Well it’ll go on until we get a scientifically robust answer. We’re hoping that these next two years will significantly increase our information and lead to some better answers and where we might take hen harrier management in the future.

ENDS

101 hen harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors

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]

This is the blog I now publish after every reported killing or suspicious disappearance.

“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 three most recently reported victims, all going missing on grouse moors (see here): hen harrier Martha who ‘vanished’ on Westburnhope Moor nr Hexham in the North Pennines on 9th August 2023; hen harrier Selena who ‘vanished’ on Mossdale Moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on 11th August 2023; hen harrier Hepit who ‘vanished’ on Birkdale Common nr Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on 15th August 2023.

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). Incidentally, a further scientific paper published in 2023 by scientists at the RSPB, utilising even more recent data, echoed these results – 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 and for a critical evaluation of the trial after 5 years see this report by Wild Justice.

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 101 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).

Wild Justice designed this poster in preparation for marking the 100th hen harrier to go ‘missing’/be killed since 2018. But the grouse shooting industry is killing harriers faster than we can make graphics….we’re now up to 101 hen harriers (actually we’re well past that figure but the other cases are yet to be publicised).

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).

28 January 2019: Hen harrier DeeCee ‘disappeared’ in Glen Esk, a grouse moor area of the Angus Glens (see 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).

November 2019: Hen harrier Artemis ‘disappeared’ near Long Formacus in south Scotland (RSPB pers comm).

14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here).

December 2019: Hen harrier Ingmar ‘disappeared’ in the Strathbraan grouse moor area of Perthshire (RSPB pers comm).

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).

December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in Cumbria (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).

30 March 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-F3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.

1 April 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.

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 (here).

4/5 May 2023: Satellite-tagged male hen harrier called ‘Rush’ ‘disappeared’ from a grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here).

17 May 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Wayland’ ‘disappeared’ in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB (here).

9 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Martha’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Westburnhope Moor) near Hexham in the North Pennines (here).

11 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Selena’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Mossdale Moor) in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

15 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Hepit’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Birkdale Common) near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

To be continued…….

Not one of these 101 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 ONE HUNDRED AND ONE 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.

UPDATE 18.30hrs: Moorland Association Chair claims: “Clearly any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (here).