The Moorland Association (the lobby group for grouse moor owners in England) has announced the election of a new Chair, James Lambert.
Lambert is a bit of an unknown quantity although seemingly was big in the ice cream world and was High Sheriff of North Yorkshire between 2022/23 so may have some useful connections for some of his grouse moor-owning mates.
He’s less well known as his predecessor was when he became Chair – Mark Cunliffe-Lister, who owns Swinton, the grouse-shooting estate that had been at the centre of numerous police investigations into alleged wildlife crime prior to his appointment at the Moorland Association, including the conviction of one of his gamekeepers, and would have been at the centre of another police investigation more recently had North Yorkshire Police bothered to do its job.
Cunliffe-Lister’s four-year tenure as Moorland Association Chair can be defined by his brazen denial on Radio 4’s Farming Today programme last summer when he claimed, “Clearly, any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (see here).
Lambert has small shoes to fill. Let’s see whether he can bring some credibility to the Moorland Association, although don’t hold your breath. The press release announcing his appointment as Chair includes the following statements:
I doubt very much whether Lambert was responsible for writing this greenwashing propaganda but let’s look at the details anyway:
Yes, grouse moors dominate England’s designated SSSIs, which is probably why so many of them are in unfavourable conservation status (see here).
Yes, some grouse moor managers are undertaking peatland restoration but many of them are still burning on deep peat, completely ignoring the new regulations against this practice (see here). In fact two grouse moor owners have been convicted for burning on deep peat in protected areas – one* in the Peak District National Park (here) and the other in Nidderdale, who, embarrassingly, was a Director of…..The Moorland Association (see here)! [*Ed – see update at foot of blog]
Are grouse moors ‘strongholds’ for the hen harrier, short-eared owl, merlin, golden plover, ring ouzel and lapwing? If only the hen harriers weren’t being illegally shot, decapitated, stamped on, having their wings and legs pulled off, trapped etc (here, here and here), the short-eared owls weren’t being shot and stamped into the ground (here, here, here, here and here), the merlins weren’t being caught and killed in indiscriminate traps (here) or having their nest sites shot out (here) or having their nesting habitat burned to a crisp (here and here), the golden plover weren’t being shot for fun (still on the legal quarry list – see here), the ring ouzels weren’t being caught and killed in indiscriminate traps (here) and the lapwings weren’t being used as poisonous bait (here).
*UPDATE 10.24hrs – thanks to blog reader Tom who has pointed out in the comments section that one of the Directors of the company (Dunlin Ltd) prosecuted for burning on deep peat in the Peak District National Park appears to be listed as a new Director of the Moorland Association!!
Raptor Persecution UK 
Not only was the person prosecuted in Nidderdale for burning on deep peat a former director of MA, but the director of Dunlin Ltd, the company prosecuted in the Peak District is an existing director of MA too! (https://www.moorlandassociation.org/whos-who/) It’s almost like they just don’t care…
Well spotted, Tom! Update now added to the blog.
Looking at the MA website their Who’s who page is much less informative than it was, I wonder why. Embarrassment limitation perhaps.
They’ve got some new Directors, as well as the new Chair, so I guess they haven’t yet got around to publishing their bios.
The rule of law only seems to apply to ordinary Joe Public, which comes up with new strictures on our liberty daily…..and we have now discovered internationally.Meanwhile the hoi poloi and their minions seem to be exempt……internationally as well. Things haven’t really changed since Middle Ages.
Been away so a bit of catching up on posts. Just a small point of literary correction : hoi poloi are Joe Public not the ruling class. A small solipsism that should be corrected to avoid future confusion. Nit picking I know. Cannot help it!
I reposted this article on my profile on Facebook and had it immediately taken down telling me that it was not in accordance with their policy. Are Raptor Persecution posts now outlawed on FB.
“Are Raptor Persecution posts now outlawed on FB.”
Is this the influence of Sir Nick Clegg, President of ‘Global Affairs’ at Meta?
https://about.meta.com/uk/media-gallery/executives/nick-clegg/
“I reposted this article on my profile on Facebook and had it immediately taken down telling me that it was not in accordance with their policy…”
It might just be you , George? I did the same, as a test, and it appears to still be there one day later…
Maybe someone is following you to make spurious complaints?
Well said Hazel same old same old like you say nothing changes uphill struggle with bringing illegal happenings to justice things need to be taken more seriously and the law should be the law.
It looks like business as usual for the last bastions of the establishment. The Post Office; Grenfell; bad behaviour by police in far too many instances to mention here- corporations; utilities and of course politicians, just to name a few of the many injustices. No wonder some landowners feel they can do as they like. I can see why gamekeepers are so loyal, as it’s one way a working class man can commit crimes with near immunity.
hazelhames says: “Things haven’t really changed since the Middle Ages.”
Maybe now we are starting to see the beginnings of a succesful Peasants’ Revolt-without the pitchforks of course.
Steve
Jobs for the boys?
“keep your friends close and your enemies closer”
i’m pretty sure that quite a few grouse moors are on SSSI’s, am i reading right that lead shot use is prohibited on SSSI’s?
https://www.gwct.org.uk/advisory/lead-ammunition/today/
Lead ammunition: the law
The regulations regarding lead shot are not the same across the UK. In
England and Wales, they are based on species as well as habitat, but in
Scotland and Northern Ireland, lead use restrictions are only based on
habitat.
In England and Wales the use of lead shot is prohibited as follows:
addition, it is an offence to stand in a designated area and shoot
a bird outside it with lead shot or to stand outside a designated
area and fire lead shot over it.
moorhens 153 .
In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the use of lead shot is prohibited for
shooting anything on or over all wetland areas. Wetland is defined under
the Ramsar Convention, as areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether
natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or
flowing, fresh brackish or salt; including area of marine water the depth
of which at low tide does not exceed six metres. However, ducks and geese
can be shot with lead over non-wetland areas in Scotland.
It is imperative that all who participate in shooting adhere to the legislation
regarding the use of lead ammunition. Failure to do so not only risks the
deposition of lead into sensitive habitats, but leaves both the individual
and the shoot open to prosecution.
“i’m pretty sure that quite a few grouse moors are on SSSI’s, am i reading right that lead shot use is prohibited on SSSI’s?”
No, I don’t think so. The restriction (still observed more in the breach than in its adherence, I might add!) concerns shooting over SSSIs near water.
The GWCT are not quoting the original legislation in full.
The Environmental Protection (Restriction on Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 lists a *subset* of English SSSIs over which lead shot is restricted.
See https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2170/regulation/3/made
“(b)on or over any site of special scientific interest included in Schedule 1 to these Regulations”
where ‘Schedule 1 to these Regulations’ lists the specific SSSIs over which lead shot is restricted, and these, I think you will find, are all near water.
Find the list here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2170/schedule/1/made
I have recently had a trip to the Yorkshire Dales, including some walking over moors managed by the Bolton Estate. It was very noticeable that the majority of the heather had been cut not burned, and the number of Curlew, Lapwing and Golden Plover were very pleasing to see. From what I understand the Bolton Estate has been working extremely hard to help conserve vulnerable ground nesting birds. I have also regularly seen Red Kite and Buzzards flying over these moors. It is therefore extremely disappointing that not very far away in another part of the Yorkshire Dales NP, there are areas where so many satellite tagged Hen Harriers have vanished in suspicious circumstances.
Hopefully this new chairman will ensure that all Moorland Association members adhere to the standards the association has promoted on its website, especially as regard to zero tolerance of raptor persecution. The fact that MA have published “Aim to sustain” on their website at least gives tangible standards by which MA members can be judged, and something that could cause some bad press if members fail to meet these standards.
I suppose the question for the shooting industry is why aren’t all shooting estates signing up to the principles of “Aim to sustain” and why isn’t the shooting press trying to influence shooters to only shoot on estates which are adhering to these principles?
Until this happens I suspect that this creates an industry where raptor persecution will still be tolerated and where those who engage in such crimes will still be able to find a place to hide.
Whilst I don’t agree with Hen Harrier brood management – If Moorland Association members do live up to their pledges of having zero tolerance for raptor persecution, then that has to better than what is taking place elsewhere, especially as it would seem politicians in Westminster have no appetite to introduce meaningful regulations for the game shooting industry.
I’ve had a look around the Aim to Sustain website including at the “accreditation documents”. I would encourage everyone to do so. I’ve no faith in it raising standards with fine words, except perhaps in game meat handling & supply. I would be surprised if it greatly impressed anybody who is honest and doesn’t have vested interest in it. And the elephant in the room being they are scared to publicise the names of “accredited estates” in case one or many of them are in future associated with a bad news story. Or additionally I suppose if someone who knows those Estates goes along and takes videos of some shoddy management practice or other, contrary to the “assurance” standards. Related example, a well known shooting channel did a video following it’s well known Gun on his shoot day on a Northumberland Estate in which the Headkeeper was speaking encouragingly about the scheme. A well known “anti” group also did a video of some things they found on the same Estate. All easily found on YT. Shows the difference between words and the real world.
A correction regards my last comment. A friend has informed me that the Estate where the poisoned wildlife was filmed was not the same Estate that was promoting the British Game Alliance on video. They are a few miles apart. My mistake of memory, apologies.