Channel 4 News aired an exclusive seven-minute report this evening about raptor persecution on gamebird shooting estates across the UK.
Fronted by Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson, this was a pre-cursor to the publication tomorrow of the RSPB’s latest Birdcrime report (2022) and the film featured two case studies that are included in that report – the illegal shooting of a hen harrier found dead on the Knarsdale Estate in Northumberland earlier this year, and the illegal poisoning of a red kite and a white-tailed eagle found on a pheasant shoot in West Sussex in October 2021. A beater’s gundog also died from the same poison, on the same estate, within a few days.
I’ll be writing in detail about both these cases and others, once Birdcrime has been published. There’s a lot to say.
In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend you watch the Channel 4 report here:
Tune in to Channel 4 News this evening at 7pm – there’s an exclusive report on the continued killing of birds of prey in the UK with a particular focus on two new cases.
You do not want to miss this programme. [Update: link to programme now added to foot of this blog]
The report will be led by veteran correspondent Alex Thomson, who has previously reported robustly on raptor persecution crimes (see here and here).
Alex is known for not pulling his punches so standby for a furious response from the game shooting industry, just as they responded last time (here).
The timing of this news report also probably explains why the Moorland Association published its pathetically cynical piece yesterday about hen harrier survival rates, in the hope of grabbing a few favourable headlines while they can, although they failed to mention that over half of the brood meddled hen harriers that they claim are doing so well are either missing in suspicious circumstances or have been confirmed illegally killed. Funny that.
This evening’s Channel 4 news report will be followed up tomorrow by the publication of the RSPB’s latest Birdcrime report.
UPDATE 21.30hrs: Channel 4 News reports two thirds of raptor persecution crimes in 2022 linked to shooting estates (here)
A new trial date has been set for a man accused of killing a goshawk at a pheasant-rearing farm in Wales.
Thomas Edward Jones, 38, was due to stand trial at Welshpool Magistrates Court on 6 November 2023 after he previously pleaded not guilty to the shooting and killing of a goshawk at Pentre Farm in northern Powys in July 2022, where tens of thousands of pheasants are reportedly reared for the game shooting industry.
Goshawk photo by Mike Warburton
The trial was adjourned and has now been rescheduled for 6 December 2023.
Thanks to the RSPB’s Investigations Team for the information.
PLEASE NOTE: As this is a live court case comments won’t be accepted until criminal proceedings have concluded. Thanks for your understanding.
UPDATE 7 December 2023: Trial discontinued for man accused of killing goshawk at pheasant-rearing farm in Wales (here)
A staggering 56% of all satellite-tagged hen harriers that have been brood meddled since 2019 are ‘missing’ in suspicious circumstances / have been illegally killed.
Of the 41 brood meddled hen harriers, 23 are ‘missing’ / dead, according to data held by Natural England (data from September 2023 onwards not yet available):
DEAD* = body recovered, awaiting formal post mortem results, under active police investigation
I’m publishing these results in response to an astonishing piece published today by the Moorland Association that claims that the [short-term] survival rate of brood meddled hen harriers is almost double that of un-meddled hen harriers.
The Moorland Association hasn’t provided the data it used to reach its conclusion but given the appallingly high level of continued illegal killing of hen harriers on driven grouse moors (110 missing/dead since 2018) it seems like a desperate but futile attempt to portray the grouse shooting industry as the hen harrier’s best friend. I’m afraid that fictional tale has long been blown out of the water.
I note also that the Moorland Association doesn’t mention the extent of the ongoing persecution of hen harriers on grouse moors but that’s hardly a surprise given that the Moorland Association Chairman recently told BBC Radio 4, “Clearly, any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (here).
Why Natural England continues to view the grouse shooting industry as a ‘partner’ when that industry so blatantly ignores/denies what’s so obviously going on is beyond me, I’m afraid, although the £75,000 ‘donation’ received by NE might have something to do with it.
This latest publicity ruse by the Moorland Association is pathetic but predictable. I suspect they know what news is brewing in the background and are trying to get some favourable media coverage before that all breaks…
Christopher Wheeldon, 34, of Lime Grove, Darley Dale, Matlock appeared in court in Chesterfield on 15 November 2023 to face charges charges relating to the alleged theft of peregrine eggs and disturbance of a peregrine nest site in Bolsover in April 2023 (see here).
Photo by Ben Hall, RSPB Images
This is the case where the accused failed to attend court in October 2023 and a warrant was issued for his arrest (see here).
The case was adjourned again on 15 November 2023 as there was insufficient time and Wheeldon is now scheduled to appear again on 15 January 2024.
Thanks to the RSPB’s Investigations team for the information.
PLEASE NOTE: As this is a live court case comments won’t be accepted until criminal proceedings have concluded. Thanks for your understanding.
UPDATE 16 January 2024: Derbyshire ‘drug addict’ jailed for stealing peregrine eggs (here)
The Stage 1 report on the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill has been published this morning.
This is the report prepared by the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee, the lead committee responsible for scrutiny of the Bill, and provides its conclusions and recommendations for the various parts of the Bill, e.g. provisions to ban glue traps, to address raptor persecution with a licensing scheme, to licence the use of certain traps, to licence muirburn, to ban snares, and to extend the investigatory powers of the Scottish SPCA. The Committee’s conclusions and recommendations are based on the evidence the Committee has heard over the last several months and, undoubtedly, on the individual biases and interests of the Committee members.
The Stage 1 report is published in advance of the Stage 1 debate, where the entire Scottish Parliament has an opportunity to vote on the general principles of the Bill to decide whether it progresses to Stage 2, which is when amendments can be proposed.
The Stage 1 debate is anticipated to take place before the end of this month although there seems to be some uncertainty about the actual date at the moment. I’ve heard various suggestions that it’ll be on either 29 or 30 November.
On 26 September 2023, two gamekeepers were convicted at Dumfries Sheriff Court for offences committed on Overlaggan Estate in 2021, a pheasant, partridge, duck and goose- shooting estate in Dumfries & Galloway.
David Excell, 54, pleaded guilty to deliberately trapping and killing a pine marten and failing to comply with the conditions of his firearms licence. Kenneth McClune, 61, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the conditions of his firearms licence.
Location map from Overlaggan Estate sales brochure
Landscape view from Overlaggan Estate sales brochure
You might recall that I wrote about this case (here), and I mentioned that I thought there was something odd going on because I was pretty sure that four men had been charged originally and that the alleged offences included the illegal killing of birds of prey, according to a press statement issued by Police Scotland in October 2021 (see here).
But when gamekeepers Excell and McClune were convicted at Dumfries Sheriff Court in September 2023, there was no mention of the other two defendants, nor of the alleged raptor persecution offences, which I thought was odd, so I’ve done some research.
First I asked Police Scotland about the case, to determine whether the raptor persecution charges were going to be heard in a separate case, or whether the charges had been dropped, and if so, why? Police Scotland refused to comment and instead pointed me in the direction of the Crown Office.
The Crown Office told me this:
“As you were not directly involved in this case there is a limited amount of information which I can give you as we need to ensure compliance with Data Protection legislation.
I can, however, advise you that there were four accused persons in this case and there were charges involving raptors. COPFS have a duty to review the available evidence throughout the life of a case. This review includes the assessment of evidence, the availability and strength of evidence against each accused and outcome focus for a case.
On the day of the trial pleas were offered from two of the accused in the terms that you are aware of [Ed: i.e. the guilty pleas from gamekeepers David Excell and Kenneth McClune in relation to firearms offences and the killing of the pine marten]. In light of this new circumstance the case was reviewed by the prosecutor. I can assure you that this decision was not taken lightly and was ultimately done so based on a careful analysis of the evidence. COPFS takes the prosecution of offences involving raptors and all other wildlife crime extremely seriously and prosecutorial action will be taken if there is sufficient evidence and if it is in the public interest to do so”.
When I asked the Crown Office to specify what were “the charges involving raptors“, the Crown Office told me this:
“All I can advise you further is that there were three charges under s1(1)(a) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 involving raptors.
The rules around what information we can provide and to who are outlined in s6 of the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014. Subsection 2 outlines the categories of individuals who are entitled to information upon request. You do not fall within any of those categories in relation to this case.
Even if you did, COPFS are only required to provide information in relation to the ‘nature’ of the charges on a complaint, not the details of them. So had you been a witness in this case, I would have been unable to provide you with any more information than I already have.
I am sorry that I cannot provide you with any more details about the case. You will hopefully appreciate that, in an effort to assist you as much as possible, I have provided you with more information than I was technically required to give you under the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014“.
So there we have it. The raptor persecution charges were dropped, with no explanation given, and we’re not even allowed to know the details of those charges, let alone why they were dropped, other than there were three charges and they related to S1(1)(a) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act, which refers to the killing, injuring or taking of a wild bird. We don’t know whether that involved poisoning, shooting or trapping in this case.
Presumably there was sufficient evidence to warrant the charges being placed against the four individuals in the first place so we can conclude that raptor persecution crimes were indeed committed, but the resultant dropping of those charges and the subsequent (and lawfully legitimate) position of both Police Scotland and the Crown Office means that effectively those crimes have been covered up, and the public has no (lawfully legitimate) access to the details.
How is that ‘justice being seen to be done’? All it does is provide the game-shooting industry a platform to perpetuate the myth that gamekeepers are no longer killing birds of prey on land that’s managed for gamebird shooting.
At the time the offences were committed, Overlaggan Estate was marketed on the Sporting Lets website as offering the following ‘sport’:
The owner of Overlaggan Estate was not identified in the Sporting Lets promotional material but details of the management team were given as follows:
Police Scotland announced the charges against the four men in a press release in October 2021. Interestingly, Overlaggan Estate was put on the market in February 2022. Here’s the sales brochure:
The estate has since been sold and the farm is now owned by James Pringle Jack, according to Andy Wightman’s brilliant website, Who Owns Scotland:
James Pringle Jack owns several other estates in the area, including Hensol and Dornells. It is not known whether Mr Jack operates a pheasant/partridge shoot at Overlaggan or whether any of the previous staff are still employed there. There is no suggestion that wildlife crime continues on the estate.
It’ll be interesting to see whether a General Licence restriction is imposed for the offences committed on the estate in 2021.
The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) has submitted supplementary evidence to the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee on the issue of snaring, as a follow up to last week’s evidence session as the Committee prepares its Stage 1 report on the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill.
Dead fox found in a snare. Photo: Scottish SPCA
The SAWC has provided this supplementary evidence because it wasn’t given the opportunity to challenge various claims that were made during last week’s evidence session, particularly the oft-repeated statement that so-called ‘humane cable restraints’ (just a re-branded snare) meet the required standards of the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (AIHTS) for restraining traps.
The SAWC points out that this claim isn’t supported because ‘foxes are not one of the species covered by the AIHTS’ but even if they were, the AIHTS for restraining traps are ‘considered to be low and have been widely criticised by wildlife biologists, conservationists and animal welfare organisations’.
The SAWC’s supplementary evidence can be read here:
Now you might think that this supplementary evidence is redundant given that Environment Minister Gillian Martin MSP has since announced her intention to push forward with a complete ban on all snares, but the proposed ban is still a long way from the statute book.
Besides, the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee should have ALL the available evidence in front of it as it prepares its Stage 1 report, although I can’t imagine anyone is expecting an especially supportive Stage 1 report given the Committee is dominated by several MSPs whose obvious disdain for the proposed Bill has been only too apparent over recent months. Indeed, it is chaired by Conservative MSP Finlay Carson who in May this year reportedly told a GWCT-hosted grouse symposium that the Bill amounts to “unnecessary legislation“, and that was before he’d even heard the evidence he was responsible for scrutinising!
It’s clear from media reports that the grouse-shooting lobby intends to challenge the proposed snare ban as the Bill reaches the Scottish Parliament for debate at stage 2 and I dare say that various MSPs have already been briefed on amendments they could make.
For this reason, the SAWC’s supplementary evidence will be crucial to challenge the predicted line that ‘humane cable restraints’ meet international welfare standards.
The stage 1 debate for this Bill is scheduled for 29 November 2023. This debate (by the whole Parliament) is simply to decide whether the general principles of the Bill should be accepted and progressed. Stage 2 is when proposed changes (amendments) can be made and that’s when the debate will heat up.
Last week, Chris Packham won his libel action against Fieldsports Channel Ltd and one of its journalists, Andrew (Ben) O’Rourke, after the company admitted to publishing false and defamatory material about Chris in 2022 (see here and here).
Photo by Ruth Tingay
This was a related but separate libel claim to the proceedings Chris won earlier this year against Dominic Wightman and Nigel Bean for defamatory material published by Country Squire Magazine between 2020-2021 (see here).
Responding to the settlement of the case last week, Chris has published the following video:
In this latest libel case, Fieldsports Channel Ltd admitted it was responsible for the false and defamatory publications, submitted an apology to the court for publishing such “baseless and damaging allegations of dishonesty” that “fell far below the standards expected of responsible, impartial journalists” (see here) and agreed to pay £30,000 in damages and costs, £10,000 of which has already been paid.
Interesting, then, (and the irony of this is not lost on me) that the following day an inaccurate article appeared in the Daily Mail (natch) that suggested that Chris had ‘sued the wrong company’ and ‘may not see a penny’ of the award:
This article leads to an interesting position. Either the Daily Mail journalist has been (a) misinformed or (b) has misunderstood the details of the case, resulting in the publication of an inaccurate article, or Fieldsports Channel Ltd has provided the court with an inaccurate account of the status of its various entities.
Chris’s legal team is considering all avenues.
UPDATE 28th November 2023: Daily Mail published apology to Chris Packham for inaccurate reporting of his libel win against Fieldsports Channel Ltd here
Environment Secretary Therese Coffey has left the [DEFRA] building, again, and has left the Cabinet, too. Good riddance.
The last time she left DEFRA was in 2019 and I wrote this about her departure.
My opinion, shared by many of my friends and colleagues, of her massive underperformance in her previous role at DEFRA and her most recent role as Secretary of State for the Environment, hasn’t changed. Apparent indifference to environmental challenges will be her legacy.
Coffey’s self-congratulatory resignation letter to Rishi Sunak is the epitome of this quote by Swami Paramananda:
Fools dwelling in ignorance, yet imagining themselves wise and learned, go round and round in crooked ways, like the blind led by the blind.
There’s so much laugh-out-loud material in her letter, not to mention an off the scale score on the delusion rating, but perhaps the most telling line will be this:
“While there is more I could write about what I am proud of having achieved in government, I have always been most proud in representing my constituents of Suffolk Coastal and acting on local issues“.
I wonder if she’s referring to any role she might have played in these shenanigans, currently the focus of a Wild Justice investigation? More on that shortly…
And what of her successor, Steve Barclay? Described on the news channels this evening as having been ‘demoted’ from Health Secretary to Environment Secretary (why on earth is this role considered a demotion??!), I’ve failed to find any evidence of his experience, or interest, in the environment.
Conservation and anti-conservation organisations alike have been falling over themselves to send him congratulatory tweets, which seems a bit odd. Who congratulates anyone on a demotion, perceived or real?
I’m kidding. Of course it’s obvious why they all want to ingratiate themselves because Westminster’s environmental policy has, for years, been based on handing out favours for mates, not on actual scientific evidence or even common sense.
Will Barclay be any different? I doubt it, but he at least deserves to be given an opportunity to demonstrate his intentions.
Raptor Persecution UK 