Further to the RSPB press release accompanying the publication of the RSPB’s latest Birdcrime report this morning (here), RSPB Scotland has issued a separate press release.
It reveals the suspicious disappearance of a satellite-tagged golden eagle on an unnamed grouse moor in Inverness-shire in July this year and the suspicious disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier on an unnamed grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September this year.
Both of these areas have long been identified as raptor persecution hotspots. I’ll come back to this news shortly.
Here is a copy of RSPB Scotland’s press release:
Charity asks MSPs to support grouse moor licensing legislation as news emerges of further “suspicious disappearances” of protected raptors.
RSPB Scotland is urging Members of the Scottish Parliament to support new legislation to regulate grouse shooting after a new report was published by the RSPB today. The 2022 Birdcrime report highlights the continued illegal killing of Scotland’s birds of prey and the ongoing link between these crimes and land being managed intensively for driven grouse shooting.
In 2022, there were 61 confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents across the UK. As well as incidents for Scotland, the report revealed that 35 satellite-tagged birds of prey suspiciously disappeared on Scotland’s grouse moors from 2017 to 2022, including 8 Golden Eagles, 21 Hen Harriers and 5 White-tailed Eagles.
Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Species and Land Management said: “Despite welcome improvements to legislation from successive Scottish Governments and very good partnership-working between Police Scotland, the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Scottish SPCA and RSPB Investigations staff in following up incidents, clearly these actions have not been enough to protect our precious birds of prey.
“These crimes have continued for decades, because the chances of being caught are tiny, and even in the rare instances when the links to individuals or landholdings have been clear, sanctions imposed have proven to have had little effect in stopping criminal activity in many cases.
“A meaningful deterrent in the form of licensing of grouse shooting is now urgently required, including the sanction to stop or suspend grouse shooting if links between land management activities and raptor crimes are confirmed by Police Scotland and NatureScot. We are calling on our all MSPs to support the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill proposals now passing through the Scottish Parliament”.
The Scottish Government’s sharp focus on taking further action to stop raptor crimes began in 2016, when RSPB Scotland raised concerns about the suspicious disappearance, over several years, of multiple satellite-tagged Golden Eagles on grouse moors in the northern Monadhliath, in Inverness-shire. An independent Grouse Moor Management Group report (the “Werritty Review”) was subsequently commissioned by the Scottish Government, which confirmed that these birds were being systematically killed on some grouse moors.
Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations said: “As members of the Scottish Parliament prepare to debate the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill at Holyrood next week, they will be very concerned to hear that in late July this year, yet another satellite-tagged Golden Eagle vanished, in identical suspicious circumstances to its many predecessors, in this same intensively managed area of grouse moors in Inverness-shire.”
Just a few weeks later, in early September, a tagged Hen Harrier similarly disappeared, and is also presumed killed, in the Angus Glens, another area where some estates have a long history of confirmed raptor persecution incidents.
Ian Thomson continued: “This new legislation makes the undertaking of raptor persecution a significant business risk that, at last, will be a meaningful deterrent. Some criminals operating on Scotland’s grouse moors still think they are above the law. We hope the Scottish Parliament will show them that they are not by enacting this new legislation before the start of the grouse shooting season in August 2024”.
ENDS
Raptor Persecution UK 
We are waiting for you, MSPs of the Scottish Parliament…
It’s time the Royals led the way in this situation as they own shooting estates. If they don’t, the RSPB should drop the Royal prefix.
well said
Long overdue. ACW.
Well said license removal if any birds are discovered on the grouse moors it’s the only way forward . So upsetting .
The xxxxx xxxxx who are responsible for these birds going missing will make sure they are not found.
I hold very little faith in politicians doing the right thing. My strong suspicion is that first and foremost politicians are motivated by self interest, which includes re election. I think we can say with some certainty that behind the scenes the landowners and pro shooting lobby will be working very hard to ensure any legislation which might detrimentally impact upon how the shooting industry is able to go about its business of maximising game bird numbers and the number of shoot days an estate can offer, and ultimately the amount of money which can be made, is minimised.
As such the wealthy and powerful people who remain in the shadows but operate in the background may well be be tugging politicians strings to ensure that any legislation to control grouse or game bird shooting is manipulated and molded in such a way, that it is full of loopholes and “get out of jail cards”, making enforcement very difficult.
I may be wrong, but the devil will be in the detail.
You’re right that the devil will be in the detail, but the fact that the Government recently announced they’d add an amendment to ban snares suggests to me that on this issue they’re going to stand up to the big landowners and other vested interests. IMO it’s the fact that the SNP are in a coalition with the Greens that’s making the difference. On their own the SNP may well of caved in, especially as some of their MSPs represent rural constituencies and some are keen supporters of the shooting industry, here’s looking at you Fergus Ewing, you might be my MSP but you don’t represent me.
An unnamed grouse moor in Inverness-shire, my money’s on it turning out to be Moy Estate.
The SNP government are more obsessed with their independence and taking everyone to court.
They MUST FINE ESTATE OWNWRS WHERE EVER A PROTECTED RAPTOR IS FOUND DEAD OR MINNING.
HIT THESE LAND OWNERS WHERE IS HURTS £25,000 FIBE FOR EVERY RAPTOR KILLED OR MISSING ON THEIR OROPERTY.
THIS IS ALL THEY UNDERSTAND MONEY