The charity Hen Harrier Action has launched its annual Xmas fundraising appeal, this year with a target of £15K to purchase five satellite tags to be fitted to Hen Harrier chicks in 2026.
As you’ll know, over the last couple of decades, raptor satellite-tagging in the UK has shone a massive spotlight on the widespread scale of the illegal killing of a number of raptor species, especially Hen Harriers and Golden Eagles.
Scientists have been able to analyse the tag data and have demonstrated a clear and unequivocal link between illegal raptor persecution and grouse moor management (e.g. see here, here, here).
In Scotland this has led directly to a change in Government policy, with the recent introduction of a grouse moor licensing scheme, whereby licences for shooting Red Grouse can be suspended/revoked if evidence of raptor persecution (and some other wildlife crimes) is found on a grouse shooting estate.
It has also led to a change in tactics by some of those motivated to kill raptors, who are now apparently choosing to target un-tagged raptors because they want to avoid the media attention and scrutiny that follows the illegal killing or ‘disappearance’ of a tagged bird (e.g. see here).
But fitting a satellite tag doesn’t necessarily mean that that raptor won’t be targeted. There are plenty of examples of tagged birds still being targeted, either because those doing the killing are too stupid to understand what a tag’s data can reveal, or more likely, there are rarely any direct consequences for those who commit these crimes so there’s no incentive for them to stop.
To my mind, the main benefit of continuing to fit satellite tags to Hen Harriers, apart from the obvious research benefits of better understanding this species’ ecology and how it uses the landscape, is that it allows us to document the scale of the ongoing criminality (that would otherwise be hidden and thus would be easily deniable by the grouse shooting industry) and to use those data to put pressure on Governments to address the problem.
As in previous years, any tags purchased by Hen Harrier Action will be fitted by licensed experts from the RSPB who will also monitor and manage the data, and alert the police / Hen Harrier Taskforce if suspicious tag activity is detected.
It also means that Hen Harrier Action will publicise any suspicious disappearances / confirmed illegal killings, without compromising any police investigation, of course, but also without sitting on the data for months, sometimes years, as we’ve seen all too often with tags fitted by Natural England.
If you’re able to contribute to Hen Harrier Action’s Xmas fundraiser, please visit their fundraising site here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
I will contribute but it’s time there were serious penalties for even touching tags never mind the persecution of these beautiful birds. Outlaw the whole lot. Make all shooting illegal unless its clay pigeon and rename that clay disk shooting. Show you mean it and mean what you show. No more dithering nor prevarication.
How much would a dummy tag cost