On 2 May 2025, Police Scotland issued a press statement about how two men had been charged in relation to the illegal killing of Red Kites in the grouse moor-dominated Strathdon area of the Cairngorms National Park in February 2025 (see here).
This general area on the NE side of the Cairngorms National Park has long been identified as a raptor persecution hotspot with several confirmed and alleged offences recorded in the area over a number of years.
The Police said the men would be reported to the Procurator Fiscal but since then there haven’t been any further updates. [SEE UPDATES AT FOOT OF BLOG]
NB: As two men have been charged, criminal proceedings are live so any comments about that case will not be published on this blog until proceedings have ended.
Shortly after the police issued that statement, land reform campaigner Andy Wightman published a fascinating blog about the lengths he has gone to to determine who might be the beneficial owner of North Glenbuchat Estate, one of a number of prominent sporting estates in the area – see here.
Andy writes that he has submitted a report to Police Scotland about the estate owner’s (North Glen Estates Ltd, registered in the Turks and Caicos Islands) alleged failure to register its beneficial owner as required by recent land reform legislation in Scotland.
Andy published an update to his first blog on 13 May 2025 where he outlines how he was waiting for an interview with a Police Scotland officer about his findings (see here).
Andy’s second blog also provides commentary about someone else’s attempt to lodge a complaint about the alleged failure of another company to register the name of the beneficial owner of Craiganour Estate (see blog here).
All three blogs illustrate the ongoing complications of finding out who owns private estates in Scotland. This is of interest to RPUK readers due to the possibility of holding estate owners vicariously liable if certain wildlife crimes, but particularly raptor persecution offences, are proven to have taken place on an estate.
One investigation into alleged vicarious liability for raptor persecution has already been dropped in Scotland after the conviction of a gamekeeper on Kildrummy Estate in NE Scotland in 2014. The authorities tried to identify the owner but failed (see here). NB: The ownership of Kildrummy Estate has since changed hands and gamebird shooting is no longer permitted..
Since the 2014 Kildrummy case the rules around registering ownership have changed in Scotland and technically it should no longer be possible for beneficial owners to hide their identity behind overseas shell companies.
Andy’s work suggests otherwise.
UPDATE 9 December 2025: Two Scottish gamekeepers on trial today in relation to alleged killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park (here)
UPDATE 9 December 2025: Alleged killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park – trial of two gamekeepers adjourned as Sheriff recuses himself due to RSPB membership (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
Bird flu is accounting for many raptor and corvid deaths due to their prey and ots about time you zealots started appreciating that fact
“Bird flu is accounting for many raptor and corvid deaths…”
Only a ‘bird-flu’ obsessive and shooting/persecution apologist like you can seriously think that HPAI is connected to land ownership in Scotland, but maybe that’s the result of consuming toxic game?
Clearly Mr Holmes is connected to the psychopathic pursuit of shooting game birds and killing raptors. Like all his type they are the ones who are uniformed choosing to ignore the real facts that raptors shot and poisoned have absolutely nothing to do with bird flu. He needs to stick to the sites that support the moronic pastime of game shooting, but there is no hope of him getting any facts right