A trial is underway today at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where two gamekeepers are accused of alleged offences in relation to the illegal killing of Red Kites in the Cairngorms National Park earlier this year.
Red Kite. Photo by Ronnie Gilbert
A Head gamekeeper and an assistant gamekeeper were charged in May 2025 ‘in connection with wildlife offences following enquiries into the death of red kites in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire in February, 2025′ (see here).
This is believed to be related to the discovery of a shot Red Kite in the Glenbuchat area of Strathdon between 3rd and 4th February 2025 (see here).
The trial has been scheduled for two days.
NB: Comments turned off as legal proceedings are live.
UPDATE 18.20hrs: Alleged killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park – trial of two gamekeepers adjourned as Sheriff recuses himself due to RSPB membership (here)
Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team posted the following on Facebook on 3 December 2025:
WILDLIFE CRIME AWARENESS – INJURED PEREGRINE
Between 01/09/25 – 08/09/25, we received a report from the Youlgrave [Youlgreave] area that a peregrine falcon had been sadly shot.
After x-rays it showed that the incident caused the bird’s wing to shatter.
X-ray provided by Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team. Annotated by RPUK
Thankfully, this story doesn’t end in tragedy — the peregrine is alive and currently undergoing rehabilitation.
This post is a reminder that peregrines are legally protected, and it is a criminal offence to intentionally injure or kill them under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
If you witness wildlife crime or anything suspicious:
If you have any information relating to this incident, please quote 25*580157
Together, we can protect our wildlife
ENDS
It’s not known where or when this Peregrine was shot, but given the extent of its injuries it’s unlikely to have been able to fly far from that location.
I don’t know why it’s taken Derbyshire Constabulary three months to appeal for information on a supposed priority wildlife crime.
To the relief of many raptor conservationists, a proposal to downlist the Peregrine Falcon from Appendix 1 to Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which would allow the capture and trade of wild Peregrines) has been thwarted at the 20th Conference of the Parties on CITES (CoP20), currently taking place in Uzbekistan.
Young Peregrines in the wild, not related to this case (Photo by Ruth Tingay, taken under licence)
Peregrines have been listed as an endangered species on CITES Appendix 1 since 1975, prohibiting international trade of this species, following the catastrophic effect of pesticides on Peregrine populations globally.
Since then, many populations have ‘recovered’ after significant conservation effort over many decades, although recent declines of ‘recovered’ populations are reported in a number of countries, and the species’ status is still poorly understood in many other countries.
Canada and the USA proposed downlisting the Peregrine from Appendix to 1 to Appendix II to allow capture of wild Peregrines and international trade to meet demands for falconry. Here’s a copy of the proposal to the CITES Conference of Parties:
However, a large number of raptor biologists and conservationists from around the world, many of them specialising in Peregrine research, opposed the proposal and warned of the high risk to some populations.
This excellent paper published recently in the scientific journal AnimalConservation explains those concerns:
A vote on the downlisting proposal took place at the CITES Conference yesterday (3 Dec 2025) and did not receive sufficient support to pass and the proposal was rejected.
Here is a note of what happened, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in its Earth Negotiations Bulletin as part of its daily CITES Conference reporting:
This is good news for Peregrines globally, but I haven’t seen, nor do I understand, the UK’s rationale for supporting the proposal. If any blog readers have information about that, it’d be interesting to read.
Even if the proposal had been agreed at an international scale, national governments would still retain responsibility for regulating ‘wild take’ in their own countries.
You may remember in March this year, Defra endorsed Natural England’s recommendations for a presumption AGAINST the issuing of licences for taking wild birds of prey for falconry (see here).
The theft of wild Peregrines in the UK for trade continues to be a problem. Recent prosecutions include the conviction of two men found guilty of laundering wild Peregrines stolen from nest sites across south Scotland (see here) and an ongoing prosecution of a man in Worcestershire accused of 21 charges relating to the possession and trade of wild Peregrines (here).
Back in September, Natural England announced its decision to end its controversial plan to ‘reintroduce’ Hen Harriers to southern England (see here).
The decision was widely welcomed by conservationists, who had long argued that Hen Harriers don’t need to be ‘reintroduced’ to southern England, or anywhere else in the UK for that matter. They are perfectly capable of breeding in the wild and recolonising their former range, over a relatively short space of time, IF, and only IF, their survival isn’t curtailed by grouse moor gamekeepers shooting, trapping and poisoning them, pulling off their heads and legs, or stamping on their eggs and chicks.
I’ve blogged about this unhinged ‘reintroduction’ plan for years – see here for a series of links to relevant blogs (scroll to end to find the links).
Whilst Natural England’s decision to close the farce was welcome, the reasons behind it were quite vague:
‘Following a thorough review, it has become clear that Natural England is no longer in a position to provide the long-term funding and resource needed to continue delivering the Hen Harrier Southern Reintroduction project, despite the progress to date. The difficult decision has therefore been made to conclude this project‘.
I submitted an Freedom of Information request to Natural England on 16 September 2025, asking for further detail.
On 13 October 2025 Natural England refused my request, saying it was ‘manifestly unreasonable’ because the cost of providing the information requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ as laid out in the regulations.
This document reveals that two of the wild-disabled captive-held Hen Harriers, brought over from Europe to form the core breeding programme, have since died (cause of death is not given), leaving just four breeding pairs in captivity. In 2025, those birds failed to breed successfully for the third consecutive year.
In addition to this, funding cuts to Natural England, and a demand for increased payment from the International Centre for Birds of Prey (ICBP) to manage the unsuccessful captive breeding programme, meant the project became unviable.
The document states, ‘Natural England has spent heavily on outsourcing breeding to ICBP, with the agreement ending in March 2026‘ [with an additional two-year extension granted].
So what does ‘spent heavily‘ actually mean? How much public funding has Natural England/Defra actually wasted on this pointless project?
Well, according to a Parliamentary response to a written question from Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake in November 2025, NE/Defra is said to have spent a whopping £572,272.
Over half a million pound’s worth of public funding, with nothing to show for it? Good grief.
But take a close look at that parliamentary response from Defra Under-Secretary Mary Creagh MP. It states this funding was spent between March 2021 and October 2025.
So what about the money spent prior to March 2021? Why hasn’t that been factored in?
We know that planning and preparation for this project began as early as 2016 (see here), and has included numerous trips to France & Spain by the project team, trying to persuade the Europeans that sending Hen Harriers to the persecution-infested UK is a good idea, and even included paying for satellite-tags for Harriers in Spain in an attempt to curry favour with the Spanish authorities (see here).
That won’t have been cheap!
How much, in total, has this useless project cost us? And how does Natural England justify spending so much of our money given its “duty to ensure the effective and responsible use of public funds“?
Meanwhile, further north, Hen Harriers continue to be killed illegally on driven grouse moors. Natural England says it has spent £80,800 on the ludicrous Hen Harrier brood meddling trial (the project itself will have cost a great deal more than this but the cost of satellite-tags and doing the actual brood meddling is believed to have been privately funded by grouse moor owners).
Mary Creagh says that a total of 15 Hen Harrier nests were brood meddled, resulting in 58 Hen Harrier chicks subsequently released. She seems to have forgotten to mention that over half of those released birds (at least 31 of the 58) later ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances and/or were illegally killed.
Value for money and public benefit? Not in my book.
I’ve blogged recently about a number of illegally-killed Hen Harriers whose deaths have not been publicised by the authorities (Hen Harrier ‘Susie’ who was found dead with gunshot injuries on a grouse moor in the North Pennines, here; and Hen Harrier ‘254843’ who was found dead on moorland in Northumberland National Park with shotgun damage to her satellite tag, here).
Here’s another one. This time found illegally poisoned on a grouse moor in North Yorkshire.
Once again, the details of the illegal killing of this latest Hen Harrier have only become public after careful scrutiny of a national database (this one operated by the Health & Safety Executive) – an entry on a spreadsheet rather than a full-blown press release from the investigating authorities.
Here are the limited details that I’ve found:
HSE Ref number 107/913. Confirmed poisoning, North Yorkshire, January 2025. Chemicals Bendiocarb, Carbofuran, Isophenphos, Alphachloralose. Notes: ‘A dead Hen Harrier was found on a grouse moor. Residues of Bendiocarb, Carbofuran, Isophenphos and Alphachloralose were found in the samples analysed, which is an abuse of these compounds. Case closed as passed to the Police‘.
I haven’t seen ANY police appeal or press release about the illegal poisoning of this Hen Harrier or the discovery of its corpse in North Yorkshire 11 months ago in January 2025. Not a single word.
Where is the publicity from the National Wildlife Crime Unit-led Hen Harrier Taskforce? The specialist group set up explicitly to tackle the ongoing illegal killing of Hen Harriers. Not a single word.
Where is the publicity from the police-led national Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG), one of whose functions is apparently ‘awareness raising‘ and ‘raising the profile [of illegal raptor persecution] via media exposure‘? Not a single word.
Poisoning is not a commonly-used method for killing Hen Harriers because this species is not a routine carrion eater. Typically they are shot when foraging low for live prey or flying towards a roost site, or trapped on or next to their nest sites and then bludgeoned to death instead. Although there was one case of a Hen Harrier being found poisoned on a Pheasant-shoot in County Meath, Ireland in 2019 (here).
The information I’ve gleaned so far about this latest Hen Harrier poisoning just refers to ‘North Yorkshire’. It’s a huge county, with grouse moors in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, Nidderdale National Landscape (previously called an AONB), and the North York Moors National Park.
However, the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed the distinctive combination of chemicals used – a highly lethal mixture widely known as the ‘Nidderdale Cocktail’, so described due to the frequency of use of this nasty combination in Nidderdale, where it has killed a number of birds of prey over the years, particularly Red Kites, and also a pet dog (see here).
That might suggest a Nidderdale grouse moor as the location of the January 2025 Hen Harrier poisoning, although the Nidderdale Cocktail has also been detected in other poisoning cases as far north as Scotland, perhaps indicative of gamekeepers moving jobs, so it’s not conclusive.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve been critical of an apparent lack of action from North Yorkshire Police in relation to a national wildlife crime priority incident. Just a couple of years ago they refused to investigate the circumstances of an illegally poisoned Red Kite that had been found dead on Swinton Estate (see here).
This apparent lack of inertia is in direct contrast to how North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Crime Team used to function a few years ago, under different leadership, when it was proactive and very public about its work (e.g. see here, here, here, here etc).
I’ve submitted a number of FoIs to various agencies about this latest Hen Harrier persecution incident. I’ll report more when they respond.
Press release from Police Scotland (1 December 2025):
APPEAL FOR INFORMATION AFTER BIRD OF PREY SHOT IN ABERDEENSHIRE
Officers are appealing for information after a bird of prey was shot in Aberdeenshire.
On Saturday, 8 November, 2025, a member of the public found an injured goshawk in the Whiterashes area.
The bird was recovered with the help of the Wild Arc Wildlife Rescue Centre but died before arriving at a vet.
Following further enquiries, it was established that the bird had been shot.
Goshawk with a crow. Photo by Ronnie Gilbert
Constable Ann Ashman, of the Wildlife Crime Unit, said: “Goshawks are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and it is illegal to kill any protected species.
“Our enquiries are ongoing and we are working with our partner agencies to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
“I would appeal to anyone with any information that may assist our investigation to contact us. Your information could be vital in establishing what has happened.
“If you were in the Whiterashes area that day and saw anything suspicious – or have any information about shooting activity in the area – please contact us.
“Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1942 of 8 November.”
Press release from Cairngorms National Park Authority (24 November 2025)
PEREGRINE NUMBERS IN DECLINE IN CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK
The last UK-wide survey of peregrines took place in 2014 and covered Scotland as a whole, showing a 9% decline in numbers across the country. The Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme also found some evidence of a decline from 2009-18; however, no survey was undertaken to assess peregrine populations specifically within the National Park during that time.
In 2024 the Cairngorms National Park Authority collaborated with three of the regional branches of the Scottish Raptor Study Group: Highland, North East of Scotland and Tayside and Fife, to carry out a survey to establish how many peregrine sites within the National Park were occupied and assess their breeding success.
Raptor Study Groups have records going back to the 1960s of sites where peregrines have bred within the Cairngorms National Park and these were used as the basis for the survey. The study shows that the estimated number of peregrine pairs in the breeding season within the National Park has declined by 56% since 2002, with less than half of territorial pairs successfully fledging young in 2024.
Contributing factors are likely to include upland land management practices, decreased prey availability for peregrines, wildlife crime and, more recently, outbreaks of Avian Flu.
It is a complex picture, and more research is needed to understand the key factors and gain a better understand of upland raptor population dynamics – including interspecific competition (ie competition for resources between individuals of different species) and the influence of prey availability. It will require action from the Park Authority working with a range of partners, including the Raptor Study Groups, NGOs and estates on the ground, as well as NatureScot and other public bodies, to explore what can be done to try and turn the tide for peregrine and all raptors in the National Park.
Dr Sarah Henshall, Head of Conservation at the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “This is the first time we have been able to get a clear view of peregrine falcon numbers in the National Park and it paints a bleak picture. We will be working closely with Raptor Study Groups, estates and other experts to explore a range of options such as the installation of nest cameras to help us understand bird behaviour, DNA work to support wildlife crime prevention initiatives and GPS tagging to get information on bird movements and survival.
“Our ongoing conservation work, from ecological restoration to increasing the sustainability of moorland management, aims to benefit habitats for peregrine and other key upland species. This survey further highlights the importance of this work and strengthens our resolve to help this iconic bird thrive.”
The continued decline of Peregrines in the Cairngorms National Park comes as no surprise whatsoever, and its link to intensively-managed driven grouse moors even less so.
The illegal persecution of Peregrines on driven grouse moors is an issue that has been documented repeatedly in scientific papers since the early 1990s, nationally (e.g. see here) and regionally (e.g. see here for research from northern England). A particularly illuminating paper published in 2015 reported specifically on the decline of breeding Peregrines on grouse moors in North-East Scotland, including those on the eastern side of the Cairngorms National Park (here).
This latest report from the Cairngorms National Park Authority, based on fieldwork undertaken by the Scottish Raptor Study Group, is a welcome addition to the literature and will help inform the new requirement (under the Wildlife Management & Muirburn Act 2024) to monitor and report every five years on the status of a number of raptor species (Peregrine, Golden Eagle, Hen Harrier & Merlin) on grouse moors in Scotland as a measure of how well / badly the legislation is working.
The report’s findings are cautious, citing a number of factors that could be potential drivers influencing the recent decline (e.g. Bird Flu, interspecific competition etc) but these cannot, and do not, account for the long-term decline of Peregrines in the uplands, either within the Cairngorms National Park or in other upland areas. I’m pleased to see the report acknowledge this.
Let’s not kid ourselves. The Cairngorms National Park Authority has known for some time that illegal raptor persecution is a huge issue within the Park boundary – check out what the CNPA was proposing in 2013 to tackle the problem (see here) – unsurprisingly, it didn’t work.
The latest report includes an analysis of the relationship between Peregrine breeding site occupancy and the intensity of grouse moor management (ranging from ‘low’ to ‘high’ management intensity and everything in between).
The young Hen Harrier in question (Tag ID: 254843) was fitted with a satellite tag when she was a nestling in Northumberland on 5 July 2024.
In Natural England’s HH spreadsheet that was updated in August 2024, her status was given as follows:
Date of last contact:29 July 2024
Location of last contact:Northumberland
OS reference: Recovered awaiting PM
Status:Dead
There were no further details provided until 14 months later, when Natural England quietly updated its spreadsheet in October 2025. This bird’s status was now given as follows:
Date of last contact:29 July 2024
Location of last contact:Northumberland
OS reference:NY824937
Status:Dead
Notes on Loss:The recovered carcass was not suitable for any PM owing to level of decomposition
The grid reference places the last location in an upland area of Northumberland National Park, to the north east of Kielder Water. This area of moorland is not known to be a raptor persecution hotspot – indeed it’s one of the few strongholds for Hen Harrier breeding attempts in England – and there was nothing in Natural England’s spreadsheet notes to suggest she had been killed illegally. So we’re led to conclude it was a probable natural death.
Last known location of Hen Harrier 254843 according to Natural England info
But hang on a minute.
I’ve recently found a fascinating blog posted within the depths of the National Wildlife Crime Unit’s (NWCU) website that tells a very different story. It was published on 10 October 2025 and is entitled, ‘Cracking the Case: How Experts Uncovered the Truth Behind a Hen Harrier’s Mysterious Death‘.
The original blog can be read here, and I’ve copied it here incase the link is broken in the future:
When a young female hen harrier known as 254843 took her first flights over the moorlands of Otterburn, Northumbria, in July 2024, she became part of a vital conservation effort. Fitted with a satellite tag by Natural England (NE), this small device would help scientists track her journey, monitor her wellbeing, and contribute to the protection of one of the UK’s most threatened birds of prey.
But just weeks later, her signal stopped. What initially appeared to be a tragic but natural loss of a young bird soon revealed something far more sinister and set in motion a remarkable multi-agency investigation into suspected wildlife crime.
When NE staff noticed that 254843’s satellite tag had stopped transmitting, they followed established procedures to locate her. The bird’s remains were found roughly 1.2 kilometres from her nest close to where she had been learning to hunt under her parents’ watchful eyes. At first, the team suspected natural predation.
The remains of HH 254843 (photo Natural England)
HH 254843 with damaged tag (photo Natural England)
However, during recovery, one small detail caught their attention — a small, round dent and hole in the satellite tag. It was an anomaly that couldn’t be ignored.
This discovery triggered the involvement of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) and the Harrier Task Force (HTF). Working closely with Natural England, the Northumbria Police Rural Crime Team, and scientific experts, they began piecing together what had really happened.
The first step was to send the remains and the tag to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) for a detailed postmortem. Due to the bird’s advanced decomposition, the pathologists couldn’t confirm a cause of death, but their findings were enough to justify further forensic testing.
Radiograph of the carcass of HH 254843 and her satellite tag (photo by ZSL)
From there, the investigation moved to Nottingham Trent University (NTU), where specialists used CT scanning and chemical analysis to examine the damaged tag. Their results revealed elevated levels of lead around the hole a crucial clue pointing toward a lead-based projectile.
Finally, the tag was analysed by a ballistics expert from the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). The verdict: the damage was consistent with being struck by a shotgun pellet, likely from a birdshot cartridge fired from below the flying bird. Tests confirmed traces of lead, and the impact trajectory supported the theory of a shotgun discharge at an estimated distance of up to 30 metres.
The conclusion was clear. This was no accident of nature. It was a deliberate act of wildlife crime.
Shotgun damage to HH 254843’s satellite tag (photo by Scottish Police Authority)
Thanks to the combined expertise of scientists, conservationists, and law enforcement, the incident has been officially recorded as criminal damage. Each satellite tag costs around £2,800, not including the significant resources dedicated to fitting and monitoring them but the real loss is far greater, representing another blow to hen harrier conservation efforts.
The investigation also led to important lessons for future responses. New procedures now ensure that if anything suspicious is discovered during a bird recovery — no matter how small — the process halts immediately, and police take over to conduct a forensic recovery. This prevents potential evidence from being lost and strengthens the chance of bringing perpetrators to justice.
This case demonstrates the high level of skill, coordination, and dedication required to detect and investigate wildlife crime. From the precision of CT imaging and chemical testing to the meticulous work of forensic ballistics experts and the vigilance of conservation field teams every partner plays a crucial role.
It also serves as a reminder that wildlife crime is not victimless. Each illegal act damages not only individual animals but also the broader ecosystem and the tireless efforts of those working to protect it.
The public can play their part too. If you have any information about this incident or any suspected wildlife crime please report it.
Every report helps protect the wild places and species that make our countryside unique and ensures that those who threaten them are held accountable.
ENDS
It’s clear from the NWCU blog the extent of the effort, by multiple partners, to determine what happened here, and I applaud them for it.
I’m less impressed that this information hasn’t been given the media attention it deserves, nor that a link to the NWCU blog hasn’t been added to Natural England’s spreadsheet entry about the circumstances surrounding this Hen Harrier’s death. It really isn’t difficult.
I’m also interested that the NWCU blog states, “…the incident has been officially recorded as criminal damage“. This is presumably in reference to the shotgun damage caused to the satellite tag.
I wonder, though, how the death of Hen Harrier 254843 has been officially recorded…’Unknown’? ‘Suspicious’? ‘Illegally killed’?
The blog says, “The conclusion was clear. This was no accident of nature. It was a deliberate act of wildlife crime”. So why doesn’t Natural England’s spreadsheet reflect this?
There was a virtual pre-trial hearing at Glasgow High Court yesterday in the case against David Campbell, the former Head Gamekeeper of Edradynate Estate in Perthshire, who is accused of murdering a former colleague, Brian Low, whilst Mr Low was walking his dog on Leafy Lane, near the Pitilie Track close to Aberfeldy in February 2024 (see here for background).
The pre-trial hearing, before Lord Cubie, heard that one of the prosecution witnesses, Michael Campbell (no relation, and believed to be the owner of Edradynate Estate) has since died, but the case continues.
Both the accused and victim were formerly employed on Edradynate Estate, Perthshire. Photo by Ruth Tingay
David Campbell, now 76, is alleged to have discharged a shotgun at 65-year-old retired groundsman Brian Low, leaving him so severely hurt he died at the scene. It is alleged that Campbell did this after disabling CCTV cameras at Tigh Na Caorann, Crieff Road, Aberfeldy, in an “attempt to conceal” his whereabouts.
Campbell faces a separate charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice following Mr Low’s alleged murder. It is alleged between 16 February and 24 May 2024 he disposed of an Walther RM8 Rotex airgun – for which he allegedly did not have a certificate – at an unknown location.
He is further said to have got rid of the shotgun and a gun bag, also at a spot unknown to prosecutors.
Campbell is also accused of going to Crighton’s Cycles, Blairgowrie, and having two replacement tyres fitted on an electric bicycle, which prosecutors believe was used by him in the commission of the murder.
It is also alleged that Campbell disposed of a box, cartridge bag and bicycle tyres at Aberfeldy Recycling Centre.
Campbell further faces five breach of the peace allegations dating back to the mid-90s.
It is alleged some time in July 1995, he threatened a man called Alan Stewart and placed him in a state of fear and alarm.
Prosecutors further allege that on a date between 1 March and 31 May 1997, Campbell conducted himself in a disorderly manner at the Edradynate Estate, Aberfeldy and threatened to shoot worker Gregor Forrest.
Campbell has also been accused of threatening to shoot another man, Richard Wright, also at Edradynate Estate between 1 June and 31 August 1999.
It is further alleged that between 1 June and 30 September 2011, Campbell threatened to shoot a fourth man, Maksymillan Konchanski, at The Square, Aberfeldy.
And he is also accused of threatening to shoot a woman’s dog at Ardlach House, Aberfeldy, sometime between 1 June and 30 September 2012.
Campbell has previously pleaded not guilty to all charges and his defence advocate, Tony Lenehan KC, has lodged a special defence of alibi in connection with the murder charge.
Campbell remains on remand and his trial date has been set to begin on 2 February 2026 at Glasgow High Court before judge Lord Scott and is expected to last for three weeks.
PLEASE NOTE: As this case is live, comments are turned off until proceedings conclude.
Raptor Persecution UK 