Today this blog reaches its 14th birthday!
It feels like I’ve been writing it forever, although in the grand scheme of things it’s just a mere eye blink.
It continues to attract public and political interest, with blog views now approaching 11 million, with over two million of those in the last year alone.
Awareness about raptor persecution and its link to gamebird shooting has changed significantly since I began writing in 2010. Obviously not all of that is attributable to this blog – there have been many, many people who’ve helped push the issue up the political agenda, not least the fine work of the RSPB’s Investigations Team and the grassroots movement started by Mark Avery with the publication of his 2015 book, Inglorious: Conflict in the Uplands and his subsequent work with Chris Packham bringing Hen Harrier Days to the fore, which has since led to many other individuals, groups and charities joining the campaign and pushing it forwards.
Social media has helped enormously – no longer can the game-shooting industry control the narrative in the main stream press and present themselves as law-abiding ‘custodians of the countryside’ without being challenged and called out on the widespread criminality that runs deep within its ranks.
The long-term work of the raptor study groups has contributed massively in helping to expose the impact of persecution on various raptor populations, and the satellite-tracking of golden eagles and hen harriers has been a game-changer, leading to the publication of seminal scientific research papers (e.g. here, here and here) which has helped demonstrate to politicians the clear link between raptor persecution and driven grouse shooting.
All this work has directly influenced Government policy in Scotland, where the introduction of a grouse shooting licensing scheme is imminent under the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, which is expected to be passed by the Scottish Parliament later this month. It’s not perfect by any means and it remains to be seen how effective it will be, but its clear intention is to crack down on those who persist in illegally poisoning, shooting and trapping protected birds of prey and it’s a monumental step forward from where we were in 2010 when the only thing politicians had to offer was empty promises about not tolerating these crimes.
But even as I write, raptor persecution continues across the UK – there are a number of current police investigations in Scotland, England and Wales which I expect to see publicised in the coming weeks. It is clear that there is still a long way to go to rid the UK of this pervasive savagery.
As ever, I’m indebted to those who help fund my time to write this blog, to those who work with me behind the scenes (you know who you are), to those who send me information, to those who take the time to comment here, and especially to those who share blog posts on social media channels – raising awareness of the illegal killing of birds of prey was the main driver behind setting up this blog and it continues to be one of its main objectives.
Thanks for your continued support.
Raptor Persecution UK 
And what an excellent job you are doing!
Congratulations on your 14th birthday Ruth Tingay. Well done and please do keep up the good – nay excellent – work.
HEN HARRIER DAY
by Ruth Tingay
2014 is when it all began
Amidst Hurricane Bertha at the Derwent Dam
There was a bloke called Avery and a bloke called Packham
And the Sodden 570, united in passion.
Thank you for all that you do but I live in hope that the day will come when you don’t need to do it!
Could I also congratulate and thank you for all your hard work, Ruth.
Just the best, thank you Ruth on behalf of all persecuted raptors. Steve
Sent from my Galaxy
Ruth, congratulations, I cannot begin to describe how significant your work is, passionate, objective, scientific and unrelenting. I worry about who and how this work could continue if you ever decided to step down. You put armchair conservationists to shame through your activism and for that you and your kin have my total respect. Thank you and long, long may this continue.
Ruth, you are a superhero. Keep up the fabulous work. To all readers, don’t just read this blog – ACT ON IT. Write to your MP. Pester those news organisations (BBC etc) who don’t provide due coverage.
Thank you for your dedicated work Ruth. It is deeply appreciated by myself and many many others.
well done , the facebook group I run has been posting all your blogs since 2014 – it is our 10th anniversary this month , congratulations Ruth and all people involved
Many people are now seeing this blog. What many don’t see is the enormous amount of crap that you have to put up with simply for stating the truth. Thank you so much for putting up with all you have to just to keep us informed and raptors safe. All power to you.
A huge , heartfelt thanks for everything you do in the fight against raptor persecution.You have my upmost respect, you are a strong , resilient and brilliant campaigner.
Thank you for all you have done Ruth. We were part of the sodden 570 and we realised then that something special was starting. You have made sure that those thoughts have come to fruition. Sue & Chris Green.
Congratulations Ruth on reaching this milestone. Your endeavour is outstanding. Thank you for all you do.
Despite a degree of modesty on Ruth’s part this blog has been and is a vital cog in a guerrilla war against the criminality, appalling practises ( legal and otherwise), lies, dishonesty and misrepresentation that is rife, I’ll say that again RIFE in all aspects of gamebird management and shooting in the UK. Without Ruth many fewer would understand this and help put the pressure on shooting itself, all aspects of the legal professions and politicians. Ruth’s fortitude must be remarkable to resist all the slurs, lies and personal attacks on social media and elsewhere. To put it bluntly you are, to many of us a true hero Ruth and as long as it is necessary may you have the fortitude to continue. Thank you seems inadequate somehow.
Agree 100% Well chosen words.
Spot on.
Absolutely superb work by all concerned, especially the consistent, determined work by our excellent Ruth Tingay – this work & blog have underpinned & enhanced so many positive campaigns. Very Well Done indeed… Of course, very little of this would be necessary if it wasn’t for the continuing arrogance, complacency, organised crime & callous cruelty of the bird shooting bloodsports estates. Time now, for all conservationist NGO’s & wildife Activists to demand an end (ie legislation banning) to ALL bird shooting bloodsports, including so-called “Wildfowling”. Killing for kicks has no place in a would-be civilised society & World. What do other folk who support & follow the excellent work of @RaptorPersUK think?
Thanks for all your work Ruth. Something to mention, is the value your blog has in bringing together the community of people who are very concerned about what goes on on driven grouse moors. If it were not for you, the true extent of the crimes, bad practice, etc would not be known about by each of us as individuals. It is so important that we are informed, so we have a solid basis for arguments against this sport.
Congratulations. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude.
It would be wonderful to arrive at a situation where the blog has no further birthdays because it is no longer needed. We are not there yet but I am sure that we are much much closer to that day than was the case 14 years ago and that is thanks in large part to your persistence, courage and commitment. Well done for getting this far and keep up the good work!
We all owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you.
Absolute super hero – brave, committed, intelligent, determined, reliable, honest …
A massive Thank You to you all. Without this blog, I, and, no doubt, many others, would not have found out about the depths of Raptor persecution in the UK. We wouldn’t know how , where or when to protest and make our voices heard. Without you, I doubt we would have any raptors left at all, especially Hen Harriers. ( a little birthday present to Wild Justice tomorrow!)
Thanks to Ruth and her colleagues who have done more to publicise the illegal sector at work within the Driven Grouse Moor Industry and bring it to the notice of the public than has been accomplished since the practise was made illegal. This is done while her and her colleagues are under threat from those who feel threatened by her work and, like Chris Packham, has had to involved the police to discourage more of the same. Thanks also for your courage, Ruth and Colleagues, Well done.
Congratulations Ruth. You are a star. We applaud you and everyone who fights for justice for our wildlife. I’ve learned so much since joining your blog. Sometimes I feel despair, sometimes joy but good information is vital and you give us that in bucketloads. I have a huge love for hen harriers after working and living in Langholm for 21 years and the community there is proving that there is another way to manage our uplands for the benefit of wildlife. Many others will follow, I’m sure
We are forever indebted to your commitment and hard work fantastic work fantastic people well done Ruth long may the fight for justice go on and the good will win wild life is lucky to have people like you fighting it’s corner.
We owe you a massive debt of gratitude Dr.Tingay. Not only do you highlight the dreadful criminality of the illegal killing of raptors to the wider public, you pressure, probe and question the relevant authorities and organisations, holding them to account on our behalf, I dread to think of the state of play without your work and dedication. I’m sure many of us are acutely aware that it comes at no little personal cost to you. So ‘thank you’ indeed!
Brilliant work shining a light on our countryside, keep it up.
Thank you for all your amazing work – you’re an absolute star. More generally, you give me hope for the Interweb and wider social media – this is one of the few places where you can read something on your screen and know that it is well-researched and authoritative, which is refreshing. It must be very draining, but please keep up the good work and don’t let the evil idiots grind you down.