Gamekeepers in Scotland are using night vision goggles to shoot roosting golden eagles & hen harriers, according to Ian Thomson, Head of Investigations at RSPB Scotland, who has been quoted in an article published by the Mail on Sunday on 10th September.
Conservationists have long suspected this to be the case on certain estates, where the eagles’ satellite tag data have shown their sudden ‘disappearance’ from known roost trees at odd times of the night, never to be seen or heard from again. We know that gamekeepers routinely use night vision equipment for fox-shooting – the equipment is often advertised in the shooting press – so it’s not a stretch to think that some of them are also using this equipment for targeting and killing sleeping birds of prey.
Note also that Ian mentions a number of current police investigations into satellite-tagged raptors that have ‘disappeared’….news on those soon…there are a lot.
Here’s the article:
Raptor Persecution UK 
No wonder Scottish Land and Estates are resistant to licensing!
These have been used by the rich estates for years, from the nineties at least when this technology was quite primitive and very expensive. Now the technology for both thermal vision and night vision is very advanced and not a huge amount of money these days. I would be surprised if there were any keepers who are without this stuff and not using it regularly. And it is perfect for the task described in the article. The moral compass of the estate and the keeper being the only inhibition as to what use it is put to at 2 in the morning, miles from anywhere along a private road. I know while out lamping foxes keepers used to routinely flash the lamp into disused quarries to see if a peregrine was roosting on the rock ledges, now there’s not even the flash of the lamp to potentially give them away.
I had always assumed this was happening, after all its foolish to believe otherwise, put equipment in the hands of the criminal and they will use it to their criminal advantage, simple logic.
Find and prosecute them with imprisonment and or a huge fine . A fine that will hit them hard and donate the fine money to wildlife protection services . There is no lawful excuse to simply kill wildlife to suit the agenda of an estate owner or anywhere . Fox hunting aswell hit the people killing them hard with huge fines and imprisonment as financial loss is all these people understand .
“Find and prosecute them with imprisonment and or a huge fine”
How?
I have been looking into this today, interestingly the police found the same poison in a game keepers shed, which only had the key to, apparently that still wasn’t enough… so it seems to be more of a law issue of when you can prosecute someone.
“interestingly the police found the same poison in a game keepers shed”
Uh? Same poison as what?
“which only had the key to, apparently that still wasn’t enough… so it seems to be more of a law issue of when you can prosecute someone.
Does possession of a substance prove that you have illegally administered it, then, beyond all reasonable doubt?
An interesting point arising out of the RSPB publicising the shooting of Golden Eagles on Highland Estates is, in addition to its omission to identify the estates concerned, [Ed: rest of comment deleted. The estates are the subject of police investigations – naming them at this stage would interfere with that].
I think we now have reached the tipping point in the depravity of those sanctioning the slaughter of priceless and defenceless creatures, the Eagles, Harriers and Peregrines, along
whatever else is regarded as vermin. A modern-day gamekeeper armed with modern technology, powerful poisons and a lackadaisical prosecution service, is now a super being of great lethal efficiency in exterminating what they class as vermin. The conservationist has now to enter a new dimension, where such atrocious practices are matched by a new determination to demand action from the legal services, which will be difficult, when the Police and others have funding problems in running an effective response, along with a prison alproblem of overcrowding, which could determine sentencing for those committing wildlife crimes. Would the public give the terrific support needed to overcome such powerful influence exercised by shooting estates, when social conditions are so dire for many? Where would the protection of the environment and wildlife causes be on a list of priorities? A careful plan could be crafted to create such a necessary opposition with the stamina for a long campaign. We have excellent groups such RPUK, Wild Justice, RSPB, One-Kind and others operating specific species and environmental organisations. Marine protection is another foe of bad practices relating marine animals and trawling. The infrastructure is there, and groups operating in many small ways by alerting the public with street activities, could achieve results. The Battle for Middle Earth is about to begin, as enough is enough.
They’re not really “rogue” gamekeepers, the odd “bad apple”, are they? It’s probably the other way round – the law-abiding gamekeepers are the rarity with all the others killing every predator, scavenger or inconvenient animal they can including raptors and using everything in their arsenal to do it
These scopes have the potential to completely destroy our wildlife, BASC recently posted a blog on their website about a guy using these in fox control. To start with he was shooting just upwards of 50 foxes a season. His reason for doing so was to do us all a favour because he had seen what a fox can do in a hen house, I find it staggering that in this day and age when you go to a supermarket and see all the free range eggs on the shelves their are still people who have not got the brains to make a simple hen house. His second reason for doing so is to protect Ground nesting birds. Oblivious to the fact that kill the fox allows stoats weasels rats and mice to proliferate. Even though he does this for our benefit and not just for some macho bullshit and he is only controlling the foxes his bag has gone up to 150 plus since using these scopes, I have refrained from joining the RSPB in the past over their lack of effort in fronting the shooting community over many issues but thank God someone has finally opened their mouth. Check will be in the post soon
“His reason for doing so was to do us all a favour because he had seen what a fox can do in a hen house”
followed by
“I find it staggering that in this day and age when you go to a supermarket and see all the free range eggs on the shelves their are still people who have not got the brains to make a simple hen house”
Are you saying there should be no hen houses – because foxes kill the occupants – or there should be hen houses? In my experience all free range chickens have hen houses, by the way
“I have refrained from joining the RSPB in the past over their lack of effort in fronting the shooting community over many issues”
Which ‘issues” do you claim that the RSPB ignore?
I, too, have been aware of these practises taking place for quite some time. Where they were sourced in the early days was also a matter of conversation.
I strongly agree with the sentiments expressed by Greer Hart and would suggest organisations along the lines of The Sabs. Inflitrating some of the beating squads and joining in the after shoot drinking sessions can be a fertile ground for information. Identifying those involved with the activity and attaching oneself to the relevent night outs while targetting those drinking the heaviest would soon produce results and a burgeoning reservoir of information would soon built.
This is one of the main discrepancies between the two sides ; one side appears to be able to inflitrate the other at will while the environmental side seem unable to do this. The problem is one of social class at the most fundamental level. Figure it out and you will crack the nut.
I have never heard or read such a load of nonsense propaganda in my life the RSPB are never going to admit that raptor numbers are increasing because it doesn’t make them money. Constantly proclaiming that things are bad, game keepers are the cause, keeps the money rolling in and alienates people who generally do a lot of good work for wildlife at large; much better than any land managed by any so called environmental land managers or organisations; a fact that these organisations ignore or cover up. If the RSPB are so good at what they do why are their reserves so poorly biodiverse. They stoke this rhetoric to boost funds and it works because they have people like all of you believing this without ever producing one ounce of proof. As a child I rarely saw any raptors and spent many hours actively looking but as time has gone on I see them everywhere. Use your own eyes they are lying to you for the money, raptors are what make headlines but they are thriving even on our local moor where there is a shoot there are a variety of owls, kites, hen harriers, kestrels, curlew, woodcock, peregrines, buzzards and hobbys and this is a fact and applies right across the country but the variety of garden birds and song birds even the humble sparrow are in massive decline non of which are shot yet all the birds that can be shot like magpies crows rooks jays are on the increase so clearly shooting isn’t the problem that is where the RSPB need to put their money and their focus but they wont because people like you are not as vocal about those I don’t know why you don’t embrace gamekeepers and learn from them to help the species that need help instead of raging about a perceived wrong that is based on nothing but opinion speculation and rumour i think its time to put up or shut up if there is evidence produce it but they wont because it doesn’t exist and lies when found out loose money and support
1. Not all raptor species are increasing
2. Investigating raptor persecution actually costs the RSPB money.
3. Since 1990, two thirds of raptor persecution have been gamekeepers.
4. RSPB reserves are not “poorly biodiverse” at all.
5. The RSPB aren’t lying. You are!
6. Are you really so stupid to think that you can fool those here with your infantile fabrications?
“the RSPB are never going to admit that raptor numbers are increasing because it doesn’t make them money”
From https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/red-kite/
“It was saved from national extinction by one of the world’s longest-running protection programmes. It has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland.”
and “Consequently, the red kite’s future as a British breeding species is now much brighter with numbers rising 1026 per cent from 1995-2014.”
From https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/sparrowhawk/population-trends-and-threats/
“Illegal killing is also much reduced following the legal protection given to sparrowhawks. Lack of suitable habitat and food availability are probably the main factors limiting sparrowhawk numbers today.”
From https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/buzzard/population-trends/
“Today, the buzzard is our commonest raptor, having recolonised all the areas occupied in the 1800s”
So, you are not telling the truth about the RSPB, are you?
“If the RSPB are so good at what they do why are their reserves so poorly biodiverse.”
They are not. You are simply lying (and you can’t give a single example).
“yet all the birds that can be shot like magpies crows rooks jays are on the increase so clearly shooting isn’t the problem”
They are increasing because of all the game bird carrion which your lot leave all over the countryside and roads, so shooting is obviously the problem!
We should note that (contrary to the false claim from Mr Matthews) the UK Magpie population has remained roughly stable since the mid 90s.
WordPress is falsely claiming that comments are ‘duplicates’ and is autonomously removing them.
That was the immediate WordPress response to my post (above September 22, 2023 at 3:16 pm) yet I can (now) see that my response has been published. Not sure what happened, there, but…
Despite continuing to receive new posts (topics) I have received no new emailed comments from WordPress since September 18th (immediately after the user-interface ‘upgrade?) on any thread (including this one).
In the web interface, my settings for the new ‘Email me new posts’ and ‘Email me new comments’ switches are always identical – but the behaviour of WordPress appears to be differing between them. First puzzle.
The orientation of ‘on’ and ‘off’ for vertical (electrical) light switches differs depending upon which country you are in (in the UK (‘up’ is off) and in the USA (‘up’ is on), for example). But what is the protocol for horizontal software switches – as used in the new WordPress interface – when the user interface does not tell you? Second puzzle.
I continue to experiment…
First discovery: editing any input text automatically *resets* the orientation of the software switch to its default, without warning you. But it does this to both switches.
Second discovery: The ‘Daily’ and ‘Weekly’ buttons cannot be selected (under any circumstances), even though the ‘pointer’ changes to indicate that you can.
How many satellite tagged Hen Harriers have gone missing or been reported illegally killed over RSPB reserves?
Perhaps you would like to offer an explanation for all the satellite tagged Hen Harriers which have gone missing over one particular area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park which is managed for grouse shooting.
Perhaps you could offer an explanation why there are reports of game keepers being prosecuted in the courts for wildlife crimes, but to the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been a single RSPB warden prosecuted for such offences.
Or maybe you would like to comment on all the vital evidence the RSPB investigators have gathered to help convict the criminals who persecute birds of prey?
The truth of the matter is that many involved in commercial game shooting don’t like the RSPB because they have successfully exposed just how much crime is associated with this activity, and just how much commercial game shooting can damage nature and the environment.
The evidence is there for all to see, and I hope the RSPB continue to receive huge public support, because they are an organisation that really does care about nature and the environment, and aren’t one of those organisations that pretends to care about nature but really exists to promote the killing of wildlife.
killed on or near their land, there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever to kill birds of prey, this should be reflected in the punishment.
Regardless of who shot the bird, the estate will be the reason behind it, so make them feel it, take away their income, remove the shooting licence.
As for the industry getting all upset about stricter regulations, tough, this is only necessary because of their actions to date, having a strict licencing system will weed out the chaff, the legitimate estates will have nothing to fear, only those with a past will be worried, and rightly so.
This is totally barbaric , Hit them in the pocket!!
It really is utterly a shame.
Shame on the people that do these things .
And to do it for” money”
Well – it’s off the scale and very shameful and I’m trying to be polite, trying very hard but the b & c words are in my head at this moment!!!! :(
sick ,sad ,ignorant ,disappointing, disolusioned, sorry cant even spell ,angry, greedy, selfish, arrogant, stupid, bad tempered, stain. Bringing all good people down with their illegal activities.
The comment by Ross Ewing that “we have seen no evidence whatsoever that night vision equipment has been used to target birds” is completely meaningless. Unless Mr Ewing has been out at night and seen what is actually taking place, how can he possibly know whether gamekeepers are using night vision equipment or not, to illegally target roosting birds?
It would be very unusual if those committing these crimes openly confessed what they are doing to Scottish Land and Estates.
It is a well accepted fact that criminals will change their methods to try and avoid detection and prosecution.
I suspect those involved in raptor crime are probably aware that during daylight hours their activities might well be observed by wildlife crime investigators. Therefore it isn’t surprising that some will try and conceal their criminal activities under the cover of darkness, especially if roosting birds are an easy target for those equipped with night vision equipment.
It is time governments across the UK accepted that the commercial world of game bird shooting offers a far too easy environment in which those with criminal tendencies can operate, and introduced robust legislation to eradicate the criminal fraternity from the shooting industry.
Barbarism in the 21st Century !!
Yeah these obviously sick minded people hide under the veil of darkness, when we are all supposedly meant to sleep , we’ll it’s intentional murder. So treat it that way!!
To kill any living creature having usual sleep patterns & purposely going out to kill the whole nest – easy targets! Night vision etc . Totally whacko Not right in the head at all in my opinion.
Total “paid” serial killers . B’s & C’s . Outrageous, if my children were up to these things I’d b real angry upset & ashamed. (Not that the ever would)
It’s no great accomplishment to murder at will in the darkness , Cowardly acts by Cowardly people!!!!!!!
It seems strange, or is it, that the people who own the land and are vicariously responsible for the actions of their employees never get prosecuted.
Could it be that they are connected aristocracy, millionaire landowners, Tory MP’s, or members of the House of Lords.
The feudal society is still alive and well in this country
“It seems strange, or is it, that the people who own the land and are vicariously responsible for the actions of their employees never get prosecuted.”
Do you know how vicarious liability works?
I am certain that if it was stated in every case who the landowner was that this would have a positive effect on this happening. When the names so called custodian’s of the countryside are plastered over the front pages people will be outraged.
Is it not funny that we always hear of stories like this but they are never supported with any evidence at all. The readers all blast off with varying degrees of indignation but never ask for any proof to make sure that they are right to vent their feelings in this way, they just swallow whatever tale is fed to them by the media or some dedicated anti that has a personal agenda. Talk about lynch mobs, get your facts right, obtain proof then order the rope to hang the culprits and even I will join in the communal hanging. Until then put up or shut up.
Well, you will get your chance to attend a “communal hanging” on here, upon the next conviction of a keeper. They are coming along fairly regularly too these days, especially now that the public in general are more aware (thanks in significant part to this site) of the issue and noticing things when they are out and about to tip off RSPB, etc. There is just too much evidence out there – from “multiple streams” as Professor Ian Newton termed it in the Scottish government discussion – for any doubt to remain about the massive scale of the issue. People completely new to the issue can and probably are working their way through all sides of the debate, and coming to their own conclusions. It is you that should either (a) “put up” a reason why the issue – including commentary on this blog post on a probable evolving technique of persecution – should not be discussed openly (without defaming or “hanging” anybody), or (b) “shut up” yourself.
The only short term antidote to this I can think of at the moment is for those on our side to have thermal imaging equipment too that would certainly pick up the gamekeepers and what they’re trying to kill – while hopefully managing to be missed ourselves. Who would be prepared to spend the nights required out on the moors and how practical this is I just don’t know, but this is bloody frustrating and it would be good to try and turn this technology against them. The idea keepers would start getting nervous that they’re being watched when up to now they might’ve thought it was all plain sailing brings a little satisfaction.