NatureScot is currently running one of its periodic public consultations reviewing the use of General Licences for wildlife management.
As discussed earlier this week, RSPB Scotland considers the current system of General Licensing as being “unfit for purpose” (see here).
Campaign group Wild Justice agrees with that position and has produced a step-by-step guide for anyone who wants to participate in the public consultation.
It’s important that participants use their own words rather than a cut and paste job, so the Wild Justice guidance is exactly that – just guidance.
The consultation closes on 31 August 2026 (this coming Monday) although the terms of reference for the consultation don’t provide a specific closure time on Monday, so if you’re able to complete the process before Monday that would be ideal.
Earlier this month, NatureScot announced it was imposing a three-year General Licence restriction on Invermark Estate in the Angus Glens, relating to the discovery of a Peregrine with shotgun injuries found on 3 September 2024.
Invermark Estate boundary (in red), sourced from Andy Wightman’s Who Owns Scotland website
The three-year General Licence restriction on Invermark Estate doesn’t apply to the whole estate, just to land managed by Dalbrack Farm (outlined in red on the map below), which is owned by Invermark Estate, and prohibits the use of General Licences 01, 02 and 03 on that land from 7th August 2026 up to and including 7th August 2029.
In accordance with NatureScot’s Framework for implementing General Licence restrictions, Invermark Estate was entitled to appeal the restriction decision within 14 days of its implementation.
When an estate makes a formal appeal in writing, it effectively suspends the General Licence restriction notice until such time that NatureScot makes a decision on the appeal, which it tries to complete within four weeks.
I noticed yesterday that the decision notice to impose the three-year General Licence restriction on Invermark Estate had vanished from NatureScot’s website, which I interpret as meaning Invermark has appealed the restriction decision, and so NatureScot has temporarily suspended the restriction whilst the appeal is considered.
I’m not aware of any previous appeals made by other estates against General Licence restrictions ever being successful. Failed appeals include Raeshaw Estate and Corsehope Farm in 2016 (here, and a further failed judicial review in 2017, here), Burnfoot Estate and Wester Cringate Estate’s failed appeal in 2016 (here), Leadhills Estate’s failed appeal in 2020 (here, and for hilarious details of that failed appeal see here), Leadhills Estate’s (again) failed appeal in 2021 (here), Lochan Estate’s failed appeal in 2022 (here), Invercauld Estate’s failed appeal in 2022 (here), Moy Estate’s failed appeal in 2022 (here), and Raeshaw Estate’s (again) failed appeal in 2026 (here); Raeshaw has now lodged a judicial review against this latest decision (here).
Millden Estate said it would appeal its General Licence restriction in 2023 although I’m not sure whether it ever did. If it did appeal and I missed it, the appeal must have failed because the restriction was still in place in March 2026 when it was due to formally end. Lochindorb Estate is currently serving a General Licence restriction but I’m not sure it ever appealed, and if it did, the appeal must have failed because the restriction is still active today. The Milton of Drimmie Estate is currently serving a General Licence restriction and hasn’t made an appeal because the restriction is still in place and the appeal deadline has now passed.
General Licence restrictions are imposed on estates when there is sufficient evidence from Police Scotland that raptor persecution has taken place but when there is insufficient evidence to prosecute a named individual.
When NatureScot imposed the three-year General Licence restriction on Invermark Estate in August this year, a statement attributed to the estate was published in The Courier on the same day. It went like this:
There’s lots of very interesting stuff in this statement, and I intend to examine some of the claims in another blog.
But for now, I’m fascinated by Invermark Estate’s appeal against the General Licence restriction, which it claims is a “significant restriction upon us“, but has argued that it does not manage the land covered by the restriction.
NatureScot is currently running one of its periodic public consultations on the use of General Licences for wildlife management.
In response, RSPB Scotland has today issued the following statement:
NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE: SCOTLAND’S BIRD CONTROL LICENSING SYSTEM IS FAILING WILDLIFE
The licencing system allowing people to lethally control wild birds in Scotland is not fit for purpose, according to RSPB Scotland.
Screen grab from RSPB covert footage showing a Scottish gamekeeper beating a Goshawk to death inside a Crow cage trap that was being used under a General Licence on the Milton of Drimmie Estate, Perthshire
General Licences allow people to carry out activities that would otherwise be illegal, such as controlling certain bird species to prevent serious damage to livestock and crops or to protect other wildlife.
However, under the current system landowners do not need to apply for a licence to lethally control birds such as Crows, Jackdaws, and Rooks.
While NatureScot state that the licence must be used appropriately and abide by animal welfare requirements, there is no process by which usage of these licences is routinely monitored or reported.
“We recognise that the licenced control of some species may be appropriate in certain evidence-based circumstances,” said Ian Thomson, Investigations Manager for RSPB Scotland.
“Yet the killing of otherwise protected species needs to be backed up by a system of compliance monitoring, submission of licence returns, and publication by NatureScot of summarised results on an annual basis – as the RSPB does for its own landholdings.
“We currently have no idea how many wild birds are killed under General Licence in Scotland every year“.
NatureScot is currently holding a consultation on General Licences, which could see changes to how the current system functions.
At present, NatureScot does not record who uses these licences, to what extent they are used or why, nor does it record where in Scotland they are utilised.
The unaccountability within this system has repeatedly been abused such as in the recent case of a Perthshire gamekeeper who beat a Goshawk to death after pulling it from a crow trap, which was being used under the General Licence.
“This consultation gives us a chance to ask whether a system that permits the unrestricted, unmonitored, and unregulated killing of protected species should continue,” added Thomson.
“The proposals in this consultation currently perpetuate a system that is out-dated, unaccountable and not fit for purpose.
“Multiple police investigations and successful prosecutions show how this system is widely misused and abused to the detriment of protected species, including birds of prey.
“In order to fully protect Scotland’s incredible wildlife, we need a licencing system which is up to standard”.
The RSPB has called on those with concerns to respond to the consultation here.
The closing date for NatureScot’s consultation on General Licences is 31 August.
The Guardian ran an article at the weekend about Defra’s previously stated commitment to consider gamebird shoot licensing in England (for Red Grouse, Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges), following the recent introduction of grouse shoot licensing in Scotland.
The Guardian’s angle was that game shoot licensing ‘could stop [the] poisoning of birds of prey‘.
Yes, I suppose it could, but it won’t. Grouse shoot licensing hasn’t stopped illegal raptor persecution in Scotland, and so far, despite ongoing wildlife crime, not a single grouse shooting licence has been revoked.
That’s not to imply that I think the licensing approach is pointless. I don’t think it is, in as much as I see it as an important staging period towards an outright ban. Only when the Scottish Government sees that licensing has failed will it realise that this level of regulation is unenforceable and that only leaves one remaining option.
The Guardian article contains a few inaccuracies. It claims that, ‘Currently, about 30 million pheasants are set loose each year by shooting estates for people to pay to shoot‘ – that should read 50 million (in addition to about 10 million Red-legged Partridges), but what’s a difference of 30 million between friends?
The article also claims that ‘Seven satellite-tagged hen harriers were found poisoned or shot on or near grouse moors last year‘. That should read at least 16 Hen Harriers ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, more than likely shot, and one was found poisoned.
Regular blog readers won’t find much new in the article. The RSPB wants gamebird licensing, Defra has committed to consider the evidence for further regulation (as if it doesn’t already know!) and hold a public consultation on any proposed changes, and the Countryside Alliance is apoplectic about (a) the perceived lobbying influence of the RSPB and (b) the terrifying concept of landowners being held to account for anything.
Nevertheless, I was pleased to read this article because its important that this issue remains in the public sphere, if nothing else to put pressure on the Government to fufill its commitment to collect evidence, make policy change and open a public consultation on the inevitable downfall of gamebird shooting in its current format.
THE UK’S RAREST BREEDING BIRD RAISES CHICKS AT SECRET LOCATION FOR THE SECOND YEAR RUNNING
The UK’s rarest breeding bird of prey, the Montagu’s Harrier, has nested for the second year running this summer at a secret location in England, successfully raising six youngsters from two nests.
Male Montagu’s Harrier (photo by RSPB)
Last year a pair of adults raised four chicks at the same secret farmland location. It was the first time the species had successfully bred in the UK since 2019. This year, the same adult male nested with two new females, with the nests just a short distance apart. The ten-year-old male, named ‘AU’ from his leg ring, remarkably went on to feed three youngsters in each nest. AU was himself ringed as a chick in a protected nest in Wiltshire in 2016.
While never common, the population of Montagu’s Harriers declined after a high of nine successful nests in 2011. There was no successful breeding between 2020 and 2024, and the species was officially placed on the Red List in 2021.
Careful monitoring by the RSPB in partnership with the farmers meant this year’s nests were protected by fences to exclude ground predators and the chicks were all uniquely ringed in mid-July.
In what is a UK first, two of the juvenile females have been fitted with satellite tags. These £3,000 state-of-the-art lightweight tags will allow the RSPB to follow the birds daily on their 7,000-mile return journey to West Africa.
The RSPB is urging birders to look out for the other youngsters as they leave the country and to report any sightings by emailing the Montagu’s hotline: montys@rspb.org.uk
Three of this year’s six Montagu’s Harrier chicks being ringed (Photo by RSPB)
Mark Thomas, Montagu’s Harrier species lead at RSPB, said: “We are doing our absolute utmost to save this iconic species in the UK and are delighted with six flying juveniles this year. The satellite-tagging of juveniles for the first ever time should give us a direct insight into their migration, survival and when and where they return to the UK. This has been a true team effort and we would like to thank the farmers, conservationists and our sponsors Mark and Mo Constantine.
Paying tribute to the male bird AU, Mark added: “AU is truly awesome, he is single handedly propping up this species in the UK with his amazing display flights in May being rewarded by attracting two new breeding females, seemingly out of thin air.”
Montagu’s Harriers winter in Africa before returning to Europe to breed. They nest on the ground in agricultural fields, with their youngsters often still too young to fly at harvest time. As a result, nests are prone to unintentional destruction across their European range. Interventions by conservationists and partnerships with farmers are essential, particularly with even earlier harvests fuelled by climate change.
In a further twist, three of last year’s youngsters ‘JJ, JP and JO’ have all been seen in the UK this summer, so conservationists hope if they return next year they all may well also attempt to breed.
ENDS
Brilliant news! Well done to the farmers and the RSPB for protecting these nests. Let’s hope the adults and six juveniles manage to get out of England alive, unlike some of their predecessors (e.g. see here and here).
Professor Dave Goulson is a leading UK conservationist, known especially for his work on bee behaviour, ecology and conservation, but also a lot more.
He’s also a celebrated author, and his most recent book, Eat the Planet Well, (Penguin Books, 2026) has been shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing.
This book explores ‘how modern food production harms both human health and the environment’. He had originally included a chapter on game shooting and hunting, but his editors decided not to include it. His publisher apparently thought it was ‘a bit peripheral to the main message’ and Dave suspects the publisher also thought ‘it was a bit controversial and might upset some people’.
Rather than letting the chapter go to waste, Dave has uploaded a YouTube video where he sits and reads the unpublished chapter from his laptop.
As you’d expect of someone with such impeccable credentials, it’s very good. But what’s probably the most powerful is his measured, quiet delivery.
Well worth a watch if you’ve got a spare 22 minutes.
Last month, a press release from Wildlife Poisoning Research UK (WPRUK) revealed that more White-tailed Eagles had been poisoned in Dorset, with high concentrations of Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs) being found in their corpses. These deaths are in addition to the high profile poisoning of an eagle in 2022 and Dorset Police’s appalling botched investigation.
WPRUK made the point that the details of these, and other poisonings, were being with withheld by Government agencies, and that the Government- approved Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme is a ‘total failure’.
I’m delighted to see that Private Eye has picked up on this story in its latest edition (thanks to the blog reader who alerted me).
There’ll be an anti- grouse shooting protest walk taking place in the Peak District National Park this coming Sunday (16 August 2026), timed to coincide with the start of the grouse-shooting season on the Inglorious 12th.
Organised by the campaign group Reclaim Our Moors (see here for earlier blog on them), the one-hour walk, followed by speeches, will take place on Moscar Estate, meeting at 10.30am, and is open to anyone who wants to join in.
Top London chef Richard Corrigan, who owns Corrigan’s and Bentley’s restaurant in Mayfair, says he has become more particular about where he sources Red Grouse for his menu.
Red Grouse photo by Ronnie Gilbert
In an article in The Guardian yesterday, he tells journalist Helena Horton that he now refuses to buy from large estates, and also refuses to buy from any estate that has been associated with raptor persecution.
Here are some of his quotes:
“We now insist [birds] come from small estates rather than the large shoots, where dozens are shot at a time. I am not too sure I agree with the large shoots. I would rather people shoot wild animals for the table rather than shoot for the sake of having a day out“
and
“Something that has really annoyed me is the killing of raptor birds on the estates. They are being poisoned by people on these estates. I would never buy grouse from those estates. We all know who they are“
and
“I was brought up in moorland, I am very aware of the heather and the turf, they need the wetlands to be restored to keep the moors in good shape. Some estates have taken it all a bit too far and have turned it into factory grouse shooting operations“.
I applaud Richard Corrigan’s ethical stance, although I wonder if it stretches to include birds shot with poisonous lead ammunition. It certainly doesn’t stretch to other obscenities – his menu still includes Foie gras. But we have to start somewhere, and he’s the first chef that I’m aware of who is prepared to publicly call out the grouse shooting industry. Good for him.
The Guardian article also includes quotes from Ariane Burgess MSP from the Scottish Greens, which appears to be the only mainstream political party calling for moorlands to be restored for people, wildlife and the climate, ‘not managed as a playground for bloodsports’ (see here).
The ‘tip of the iceberg’ is a phrase often used by researchers and conservationists when describing the scale and extent of illegal raptor persecution in the UK, meaning that what is known or can be seen is only a small fraction of what is actually happening under the surface.
Killing birds of prey is an offence in the UK, and has been for over 70 years, so the people committing these crimes will often go to great lengths to hide the evidence (e.g. here), which is quite easy to do if the offender is a gamekeeper working under the cover of darkness on a privately-owned estate in a remote area with few witnesses around.
Satellite tagging has done much to help us understand the scale of these crimes in recent years, particularly on grouse moors where Golden Eagles (here) and Hen Harriers (here and here) are targeted, and now new modelling research is about to blow the lid on the whole sorry story.
If you thought that 149 dead or ‘missing’ Hen Harriers in the UK since 2018 was shocking, most of them on or close to grouse moors, it’s clear we don’t know the half of it. Prosecutions are rare, as demonstrated earlier this year when Yorkshire Dales gamekeeper Racster Dingwall became the first person ever convicted in England for Hen Harrier persecution, despite hundreds of confirmed persecution incidents recorded since the 1980s.
This male hen harrier died in 2019 after his leg was almost severed in an illegally set trap that had been placed next to his nest on a Scottish grouse moor (see here). Photo by Ruth Tingay
At a recent British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) conference earlier this year, new research was presented suggesting that there are around 400 Hen Harrier ‘persecution events’ across different life stages (e.g. nest, adult, 1yr and 2yr old birds) and that only 0.5 – 10% are detected.
This research was presented as a poster rather than a spoken presentation, and has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, so caveats are needed at this stage but it is anticipated that the publication process is underway.
The Hen Harrier research is part of a wider PhD study, also examining ‘tip of the iceberg’ modelling scenarios for Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Red Kites – species that are long known to be the victims of illegal persecution on UK grouse moors.
The research is being undertaken at the Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Capetown, South Africa, as part of the research portfolio of Associate Professor Arjun Amar, well known for his studies linking the illegal persecution of raptors to driven grouse shooting in the UK, including the detrimental effects this can have at a population scale, particularly on Red Kites, Peregrines and Hen Harriers.
The research abstract submitted for the conference is as follows:
TIP OF THE ICEBERG: ESTIMATING THE TRUE EXTENT OF RAPTOR PERSECUTION ASSOCIATED WITH GROUSE SHOOTING
Arjun Amar, Koi Pillay, Rob Thomson, Steven Ewing.
Despite decades of legal protection, raptors continue to be persecuted in the UK, particularly in the uplands where red grouse shooting conflicts with raptor conservation. Detecting persecution associated with this conflict is challenging due to its illegality and the remoteness of grouse moors, meaning official crime records likely represent only the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ with many incidents remaining hidden as ‘dark figures.’ Here, we attempt to estimate the persecution levels and population data for Hen Harriers, Peregrine Falcons, Red Kites, and Golden Eagles. We then compare these estimates to recorded crime figures for the same species, period, and regions. Our findings suggest the actual scale of persecution is substantially greater than detected cases, underscoring the importance of recognising and accounting for ‘dark figures’ to avoid underestimating the severity of this threat to raptor populations.
I’m looking forward to seeing this research published in due course.
Raptor Persecution UK 