RaptorPersecutionUK

More reasons to ban driven grouse shooting – evidence from the Peak District National Park (guest blog by Bob Berzins)

This is a guest blog written by conservation campaigner and author Bob Berzins who has written previously on this blog here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

MPs are scheduled to debate the Wild Justice Ban Driven Grouse Shooting petition on 30^th June 2025 in Westminster Hall.

The Government response to the petition states, “… well managed shooting activities…can be beneficial for wildlife and habitat conservation”, and, “The Government supports the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) – which helps prevent and detect crimes against wildlife by obtaining and disseminating intelligence and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations.” Further, “All forms of predator management to protect grouse must be undertaken within the law, including compliance with animal welfare legislation.”

Fine words, if only they were true.

This site provides comprehensive and ongoing exposure of blatant and deliberate raptor persecution on many driven grouse moors. So I’ll provide an update and recent examples from the Peak District of some of the other factors which support an urgent need for a ban.

Grouse moors receive a lot of taxpayer money for little return

This link (here) shows a data map for environmental stewardship agreements in England. These areas have not made the transition to the new Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) but have their existing 10 year agreements extended. The database indicates that Moscar Estate, owned by the Duke of Rutland in the Peak District National Park, has a scheme from 2012 to 2028 with total subsidy payments calculated at over £2.8 million.

Natural England is responsible for administering these stewardship schemes but rarely checks SSSI unit condition. After paying Moscar Estate (so far) over £2 million since 2012, the condition of two of the SSSI units that were last checked by Natural England in 2022, Black Hole Moor (here) and Derwent Moors (here), are both rated as Unfavourable – No Change.

Here is the NE commentary on the site condition assessment for Black Hole Moor:

Here is the NE commentary on the site condition assessment for Derwent Moors:

From these site assessments, it seems clear to me that driven grouse moor management – which prioritises grouse numbers above all else – does not result in good condition of blanket bog, a priority habitat.

A carcass-filled landscape

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) claims that grouse moors are teeming with life. A more accurate description would be: filled with decomposing carcasses.

Canada Geese and assorted dead wildlife photographed on Moscar Estate, spring 2025 (Bob Berzins)

Canada geese can be shot under General Licence GL41 (here) to ‘prevent slips and falls, spread of human disease and issues with birds nesting’. I think it’s obvious to most people that decomposing carcasses just a mile upstream from a Yorkshire Water reservoir are a health hazard but it’s impossible to get the Environment Agency or local authorities to take action on stink pits.

Charred and barren uplands

Evidence of burning on Midhope Moor, spring 2025. (Bob Berzins)

In October 2023, when nearby grouse moors were being deliberately set alight, Sheffield filled with smoke (here), causing air pollution monitors for particulates to spike well above safe levels for several hours. But burning continues (so there can be more grouse to shoot) and when vegetation is removed from steep slopes in particular, water flows increase making flooding more likely. If new concrete barriers protect Sheffield city centre then Doncaster is flooded downstream.

Pharmaceuticals seep into our water

Typical medicated grit station on a Peak District grouse moor, summer 2025. Over-turned turf on blanket bog (Bob Berzins)

There was no grouse shooting that I’m aware of in the Peak District in 2024, and the response from estates was a very obvious increase in burning, mowing, traps and medicated grit. So more intensive management which has obviously failed before. And oh dear, there doesn’t appear to be any grouse this year either.

The quartz grit in the photo is usually laced with Flubendazole – a worming agent to prevent the strongyle parasite and it’s very obvious how this leeches into the water table. And by the way Yorkshire Water won’t test for this chemical. The only reason Flubendazole is used is to produce more grouse to shoot. [Ed: See here for more detail on the medicated grit scandal – exposed ten years ago and still it continues].

Police, National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) and animal welfare

In March 2025, I reported a number of DOC traps (a brand of spring trap) I’d found on another Peak District grouse moor to South Yorkshire Police and I included a request that SYP officers liaise with the National Wildlife Crime Unit (after listening to the NWCU presentation at last autumn’s Northern England Raptor Conference). I was being ‘the eyes and ears’ that NWCU had requested.

I’ve written previously about the inhumaneness of these traps (here) and this photo below shows a Stoat mainly outside the trap with only a small part of the body crushed under the bars – contrary to legal and humane use of these devices.

Trapped Stoat in a DOC trap (Bob Berzins)

Regardless of the trap set-up, Defra informed me that animals were protected from unnecessary suffering because the trap operator has a statutory obligation to remove any animal trapped as a result of a foul strike.

This is a nonsense because there’s no statutory requirement to check these traps and this device, like many others, is in the middle of nowhere miles from any road or track.

A crucial factor in the humaneness of these traps is compliance with the statutory requirements for the set-up. Relevant here is the maximum permitted diameter of the internal baffle (a structure with an aperture/hole that slows down the animal and directs it into the trap) for a ‘run through’ trap (as shown in the above photo) is 51mm and the bottom of the hole/aperture has to be level with the trap plate (see here, p3).

The trap in the photo above has a 50mm mesh tunnel where wire strands have been cut to enlarge the opening and because of the large piles of moss either side of the trap, the internal baffle is several centimetres above the plate. I would say this trap is unlawful and the trap operator should be prosecuted.

Some estates do manage to set compliant traps such as this one below where a smaller gauge mesh is used for the tunnel with the approach on a flat plank of wood level with the trap:

The South Yorkshire Police Officer dealing with this case assured me they work closely with the NWCU and also said,

“We have a meeting coming up with all the estate managers and I would like to raise these issues at the meeting.”

I replied asking for notes or minutes of the meeting. It’s well known that police, the Peak District National Park Authority, estate managers and gamekeepers meet annually at Chatsworth – a closed door get together with no minutes or published notes. I understand that other meetings have also taken place between police and the Peak District Moorland Group [Ed: one of a number of regional grouse moor gamekeeper groups established in recent years, established and funded by shadowy figures in the grouse shooting industry, with an objective to promote grouse moor shooting and smear/discredit anybody who dares raise questions about sustainability, ethics and criminality. This particular moorland group has strong links to the dodgy astroturfers, C4PMC (Campaign for Protection of Moorland Communities)].

A further visit I made three months on, in June 2025, showed the estate in question still setting traps that I believe to be set unlawfully. And still no proper reply from the police.

Trap photographed in June 2025 (Bob Berzins)

Perhaps the National Wildlife Crime Unit could offer an opinion here – the incident number is SYP-20250321-1026. Or has this case already been wrapped up in a closed door meeting with a friendly handshake and slap on the back?

The Government response to the Wild Justice petition is disingenuous greenwash. So please write to your MP – the simplest way to stop this nonsense is to ban driven grouse shooting.

UPDATE 19 June 2025: ‘Reclaim Our Moors’ – local residents in Sheffield and North Derbyshire start campaign for community ownership of ‘trashed’ grouse moors (here)

50,000-signature petition calling for ban on possession of poisons, handed into Stormont, Northern Ireland

Press release from Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group (17 June 2025)

50,000-signature petition, calling for a ban on poison possession, handed into Stormont.

Today (17th June), a petition begun by the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group (NIRSG), calling for the possession of various toxic pesticides to be made illegal, was handed in to officials at Stormont by representatives of the Group, alongside staff from RSPB NI and Ulster Wildlife.

Photo by Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group

The petition, which was instigated in response to the widely condemned poisoning of two young White-tailed Eagles in Glenwherry, Co Antrim, in May 2023, has garnered over 50,000 signatories from Northern Ireland and beyond.

The eagles died after consuming a bait laced with Bendiocarb, a chemical prohibited from outdoor use in Northern Ireland, and were the latest victims in a series of poisoning incidents here that has claimed the lives of over 60 protected birds of prey in recent years.

The two poisoned White-tailed Eagles found dead on a grouse moor in May 2023.
Photo by Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group

NIRSG’s raptor officer, Dr. Eimear Rooney said: “The day we recovered the bodies of those two eagles from the hillside at Glenwherry was one of the most upsetting of my career working with Northern Ireland’s raptors. White-tailed Eagles are only just making a return to our skies after being made extinct on the island of Ireland by past human actions over 100 years ago. But it’s not just eagles that fall victim to the criminals illegally using these poisons – it’s Red Kites, Buzzards and Peregrine Falcons as well as people’s pet cats and dogs.”

Dawn Miskelly, Ulster Wildlife CEO, said “Poisons have devastating impacts on raptor populations. Protecting these birds from poisoning is not just about conserving individual species – it’s about safeguarding and preserving biodiversity for future generations. We urgently call on the Assembly to recognise the significant public concern around this issue and act by resolving to create legislation to make the possession of these toxic pesticides illegal.”

Ian Thomson, RSPB’s Investigations Manager added “Similar legislation in Scotland has led to the successful prosecution of a sizeable number of individuals linked to the illegal poisoning of wildlife. There is no legal reason to hold onto these chemicals, long banned from use, but we repeatedly see Northern Ireland’s birds of prey fall victim to these same substances. Making their possession illegal here will make identifying the perpetrators of these crimes more straightforward, will hopefully create a significant deterrent to the illegal use of poison, and most importantly, will help protect wildlife, domestic pets and people from harm.”

Dr Marc Ruddock, also from NIRSG, continued: “The Wildlife Order already includes legislation banning the possession of pesticides containing a proscribed ingredient, but, in the 14 years since that legislation was passed, lawmakers have never produced the required list of proscribed ingredients. This means that highly toxic poisons such as carbofuran and aldicarb, banned from legal use, are being stored and utilised by those wishing to do harm to our wildlife. It is clear that the intention of the legislature, in passing these laws back in 2011, was for the possession of these awful chemicals to be a crime, but the final step to do so was never completed. It needs to be done, now, with no further delays and recognise the public’s considerable concerns and acts quickly to create a pathway to finally resolve this issue.”

The organisations that attended today at Stormont are all members of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime and previously met with DAERA officials. They were also able to discuss their concerns with Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir MLA, yesterday.

Dr. Rooney added “Our meeting with the Minster was welcome and constructive, and he acknowledged that the poisoning of our birds of prey is deeply concerning. We are grateful to Minister Muir for meeting us today at Stormont and receiving the petition.”

ENDS

First of all, many thanks to all of you who signed this petition, which reached 50,000 signatures in March this year (see here).

Secondly, well done to the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group for curating this campaign, supported by the RSPB and Ulster Wildlife. The illegal poisoning of those two White-tailed Eagles, found on Northern Ireland’s only driven grouse moor in May 2023, was both shocking, and yet not shocking. It’s a sad reflection of what we’ve come to expect on many driven grouse moors across the UK.

The groups did well to secure a meeting with Minister Andrew Muir, but it’s surprising to see it described as “constructive”. What does that mean? The Minister was presented with a petition of 50,000 signatures calling for a ban on the possession of these lethal, unlawful chemicals, and he said what, exactly?

‘Oh yeah, thanks, it’s awful isn’t it, let me think about what we can do about it‘?

The remedy is simple, and obvious. Write the list of proscribed poisons and get it added to section 15B of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985.

It’s not that difficult!

UPDATE 25 June 2025: Police launch investigation after Red Kite killed in poisoning hotspot (here)

UPDATE 6 July 2025: Northern Ireland Minister commits to taking action on illegal poisoning of birds of prey (here)

Wild Justice blog: Ask your MP to attend Westminster Hall debate on banning driven grouse shooting – 30 June 2025, 4.30pm

Blog from Wild Justice:

You will remember that we asked you to sign our most recent petition to ban driven grouse shooting and over 100,000 of you did so – thank you!

Thanks to your tremendous response, this issue is once again the subject of a parliamentary debate at Westminster Hall on Monday 30 June 2025, starting at 4.30pm. This will be the third time a petition calling for a ban has passed 100,000 signatures (we’re a tenacious bunch!) but it’ll be the first debate under a Labour government and is therefore an opportunity for Labour to show its environmental credentials at a time when public interest and environmental concern is high.

When Labour was in opposition, it indicated that it would consider licensing grouse shooting because it agreed that the continuation of widespread wildlife crime and environmental destruction (such as burning heather in areas of deep peat) associated with driven grouse moor management was unacceptable. However, in its woeful response to our petition at 10,000 signatures, Labour pretended that these issues are under control instead of acknowledging that current regulation is barely monitored and often weakly enforced. Labour concluded that it had no plans to change anything, either through licensing or a ban.

If this is genuinely Labour’s current stance and it believes that driven grouse shooting is good for wildlife, the environment and people, then it needs to explain to voters:

Why the illegal shooting, trapping and poisoning of birds of prey such as Hen Harriers, Red Kites, Buzzards, Peregrines etc continues on grouse moors even though it’s been illegal for 71 years;
Why it thinks the continued burning of heather moorland, particularly in protected areas like blanket bogs, is acceptable in a climate emergency;
Why it thinks the mass medication of a supposedly ‘wild’ bird (Red Grouse) with a toxic chemical (Flubendazole) is acceptable when ecotoxicology studies have identified this as an emerging environmental contaminant of acute and chronic toxicity;
Why it thinks that the continued use of grit trays (to distribute the drug Flubendazole) is acceptable when this is known to have contributed to the rapid spread of disease (respiratory cryptosporidiosis) on many grouse moors which not only poses welfare concerns but is also a significant threat to biodiversity, especially other avian species of high conservation concern;
Why it thinks its acceptable to legally kill up to a quarter of a million animals each year in traps and snares, just to ensure that artificially-high numbers of Red Grouse are available for shooting;
Why it thinks it’s morally acceptable or ethical to trap wild birds, particularly crows and other corvids, and subject them to sudden confinement, fear and possible aggression, along with the discomfort of exposure, before finally being ineptly beaten to death;

These are just a few examples of an increasingly large list of concerns about driven grouse shooting. In recent years a number of rural communities that live within areas intensively managed for driven grouse shooting (e.g. Yorkshire Dales National Park, Calderdale, North York Moors National Park, Peak District National Park) have been raising their objections to what is happening to their local environment, particularly the ongoing illegal persecution of birds of prey, the increased risk of flooding, the industrial-scale legal killing of native wildlife, and the effect on public health from harmful smoke and particles from the burning of the grouse moors.

Labour has so far dodged providing any justification for its support of this outdated Edwardian hangover other than saying that “well-managed shooting activities can bring benefits to the rural economy and can be beneficial for wildlife and habitat conservation”. The whole point is that driven grouse shooting isn’t “well managed” at all – it’s largely unregulated and out of control – and is known to have high animal welfare, environmental and social costs.

Invite your MP to attend the debate

The forthcoming Westminster debate provides the perfect opportunity for Labour to stand up, on record, and tell us why it supports the status quo. It also gives MPs who do want to see driven grouse shooting come to an end an opportunity to make their views heard.

Some of you have already been writing to your MPs ahead of the debate and have shared with us the responses you’ve received (thank you). But we’d like more of you to do this because (a) it’s important that your MP understands that this issue matters to constituents, and (b) MPs who are interested in environmental and animal welfare issues attend the debate and add to the conversation.

Please write to your MP, sharing your concerns about driven grouse shooting, and asking them to attend the debate on June 30^th.

We won’t provide you with a template letter/email because we believe that many MPs simply ignore mass mail outs. Instead, we urge you to compose your own, using the six points above as a general outline and/or adding your own personal thoughts. It is worth emphasising to your MP that you are well informed about this issue and that you’ll be watching the debate with interest to see whether they attend, and if so, whether they provide a fair representation of your views.

If you’re not sure who your MP is, you can use this easy online tool to find their contact details.

We mentioned recently that our CEO, Bob Elliot, was interviewed recently by the League Against Cruel Sports talking about our ban driven grouse shooting campaign. It’s a useful reminder of the issues, have a listen here.

You will be able to watch the live debate online here: https://www.youtube.com/UKParliament

Thank you for helping us secure another Westminster debate on this issue and for helping to ensure that a large number of MPs understand its importance to constituency members. Together, we can stand up for wildlife and urge the restoration of our uplands for nature, climate and people.

ENDS

Another Raven found shot dead next to grouse moor in notorious persecution hotspot in Peak District National Park

Press release from RSPB, 9 June 2025:

ANOTHER SHOT RAVEN, THE LATEST VICTIM IN THE PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK

In February 2025 a Raven was found shot near Bradfield, South Yorkshire, following a similar incident in the same area 6 months earlier.
This incident is the latest in a series of confirmed persecution incidents involving protected birds in this area of the Peak District National Park in recent years.

In August 2024, a Raven was found shot dead near Agden Side Road, Bradfield – within the Peak District National Park. Although South Yorkshire Police appealed for the public’s help, no one has been charged in connection with the offence. [RPUK comment: it took South Yorkshire Police 3.5 months to issue an appeal for information about this illegal shooting – see here].

We can now reveal that six months later, on 2 February 2025, another dead Raven was discovered by a member of the public – less than three kilometres away from the location of the first incident.

An x-ray revealed several pieces of shot embedded in the Raven’s body. Post-mortem analysis confirmed that it had been shot with a shotgun, and died instantly, or shortly after being shot. The RSPB Investigations team reported the crime to South Yorkshire Police and assisted with the investigation, but again no one has been identified or charged in connection with the incident.

Despite it being illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take a wild bird in the UK, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Ravens and bird of prey species are being illegally targeted and killed in many upland areas of the UK.

Sadly, there is a long history of incidents involving the illegal killing of protected bird species in the Peak District National Park, including birds of prey and Ravens. In addition to the two shot Ravens, in the last five years (2020-2024) 17 illegal persecution incidents involving 17 individual birds of prey, and a dog, have been recorded in the National Park. These confirmed incidents have involved a number of bird of prey species being shot trapped and poisoned, including Buzzards and Short-eared Owls, and also rare and recovering species, such as Peregrine Falcons, Goshawks and a Hen Harrier. These figures are likely to represent the tip of the iceberg as only a fraction of these incidents are detected and reported – with the true figure likely being significantly higher.

In February 2022, a satellite-tagged male Hen Harrier (a red-listed species), disappeared after roosting on a grouse moor in the Peak District National Park. The satellite tag – which the police confirmed had been deliberately cut off – was found three days later, suggesting the bird was shot and the tag removed and discarded away from the location. This incident would have gone undetected, if the Hen Harrier had not been satellite tagged.

See the table below for more information relating to these crimes. All incidents were reported to the police, but no one has been identified or charged in connection with any of these crimes.

Tom Grose, RSPB Investigations Officer, said: “The ‘Peak District National Park’ – a place many of us visit to enjoy nature – is still a notorious hotspot for the illegal killing of birds of prey and Ravens. These dramatic, upland landscapes should be safe havens for protected species, but time and again we see evidence of serious wildlife crimes. Tragically, what we uncover is likely just the tip of the iceberg. In areas this vast and isolated, many more incidents will go undetected.”

Phil Mulligan, Chief Executive for the Peak District National Park Authority, said: “Extensive work to restore areas of degraded moorland in the Peak District National Park means the moors are in a better state than they have been for the last 200 years. However, birds of prey, an essential part of the ecosystem, are conspicuously absent or under-represented in many parts of the Peak District. Their illegal killing is a blight on these internationally important moors and deprives people of the spectacular wildlife experiences they provide. The National Park Authority unequivocally condemns wildlife crime and calls on landowners and managers to help prevent the actions of a small number of people from tarnishing the reputation of the majority“.

Many of these incidents have taken place on land managed for grouse shooting and the two Ravens were found very close to grouse moorland, although it is unknown who may have shot them.

The RSPB is urging the UK Government to introduce a licensing scheme in England for grouse shooting (as is now law in Scotland) and gamebird shooting. If criminal activity – such as the killing of protected birds is detected on an estate, then this licence could be revoked, which could be a powerful deterrent.

If you have any information relating to either of these incidents or any other crimes involving the illegal killing or targeting of birds of prey, please contact South Yorkshire Police and the RSPB Investigations team. Call the Police on 101 and fill in the RSPB’s online reporting form: www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wild-bird-crime-report-form If you have information about anyone killing Ravens or birds of prey which you wish to report anonymously, please call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.

ENDS

All incident grid references either sit within or intersect with the
Peak District National Park boundary.

It took the police 3.5 months to issue an appeal for information about the Raven was found shot in August 2024. This time, it’s been left to the RSPB to issue a press release, four months after the latest Raven was found shot in February 2025. It’s notable that this press release doesn’t include any comment or quote from South Yorkshire Police.

The RSPB press release includes this line:

‘…the two Ravens were found very close to grouse moorland, although it is unknown who may have shot them‘.

Yep, it’s a tricky one, that. Whoever could it have been?

Meanwhile, the issue of banning driven grouse shooting will return to Westminster for another debate on 30 June 2025. The continued illegal shooting, trapping and poisoning of birds of prey (Ravens are not birds of prey but are considered by many to be ‘honorary raptors’ given their similar ecological niche) is one of the core reasons why we continue to call for a ban.

Vengeful shooter sentenced for placing poisoned baits in attempt to frame estate after feud with landowner

In April I blogged about Clive Burgoyne, 38, who had pleaded guilty to placing four poisoned baits on the Guynd Estate in Fife in February 2023, which he did in retaliation to try and frame the estate for raptor persecution after the landowner had revoked permission for Burgoyne to shoot on the estate (see here).

Sentencing was deferred until 5 June for reports. Appearing at Forfar Sheriff Court yesterday, Burgoyne was ordered to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work.

That’s a pitiful sentence and won’t act as any sort of deterrent to anyone else thinking of placing poisoned baits in the countryside.

One of the pheasants used as poisoned bait

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has published the following statement following sentencing:

MAN WHO COVERED PHEASANT CARCASSES IN RAT POISON OVER FEUD WITH LANDOWNER SENTENCED

A man who coated pheasant carcasses in rat poison to bait and injure other legally protected wildlife has been ordered to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work.

Clive Burgoyne, 38, of Forfar, carried out the crime as part of an ongoing feud with a local landowner over shooting rights.

He hoped that his actions would cause reputational damage to the landowner’s country estate.

Burgoyne was given the Community Payback Order at Forfar Sheriff Court after he admitted a breach of wildlife legislation between January and February 2023.

Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife and environmental crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said:

“It is highly important to preserve Scotland’s natural heritage, including the wildlife that forms part of it. As such, wild birds are given strict protection by our law.

“Clive Burgoyne’s reckless actions put various wildlife, particularly birds of prey, at risk of injury and death.

“COPFS takes offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act seriously and will prosecute individuals where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the public interest to do so.

“The result in this case is a testament to the collaborative working between COPFS, Police Scotland, and Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), who in this case were able to provide vital forensic evidence.”

Prosecutors told how witnesses saw Burgoyne in the front passenger seat of a car travelling towards, and later away, from the Guynd estate near Arbroath on the morning of February 3, 2023.

A short time later, an estate worker discovered a dead pheasant on a footpath within the estate.

The breast had been removed and the bird was covered in a quantity of grain and seed which was then coated in a bright blue liquid.

A further search of the area revealed three more dead pheasants nearby which had been similarly cut open and treated.

Analysis carried out by officials at the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture confirmed the blue grain was an anticoagulant rodenticide formulation containing the active ingredient difenacoum.

They believed the appearance of the pheasant carcases suggested they had been prepared and set out with the intention of causing harm to birds.

Difenacoum is highly toxic to birds and if consumed causes haemorrhaging. A single feed from a baited carcass would prove fatal to a raptor.

The court heard that the dead pheasants had clearly been left out in the open to attract non-target species such as birds of prey.

After being arrested, a sample of Burgoyne’s DNA was found on all four of the dead birds.

ENDS

It’s worth repeating what I wrote after Burgoyne had pleaded guilty in April.

The irony of this case won’t be lost on many of us. Many within the game-shooting industry have long made unsubstantiated allegations that conservationists and animal rights activists have ‘planted evidence’ of poisoned baits in order to frame estates for alleged raptor persecution but as far as I’m aware, none of these claims have ever been proven.

Now that a ‘framing’ case has been proven, it turns out it was a spurned shooter wot dun it, not a conservationist or an animal rights activist. You couldn’t make it up!

Natural England prevaricating on release of hen harrier brood meddling report

On 14 March 2025, Natural England announced the end of the ridiculous Hen Harrier brood meddling trial (see here).

For new blog readers, the hen harrier brood meddling trial was a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England between 2018 – 2024, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involved the removal of hen harrier chicks from grouse moors, they were reared in captivity, then released back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where many were illegally killed. It was plainly bonkers. For more background see here and here.

The closure of the brood meddling sham was announced via a Natural England blog, attributed to John Holmes, NE Strategy Director.

In that blog, Holmes outlined the key results from the brood meddling trial which included a heavy reliance on two social science surveys of moorland managers:

These social science surveys/studies were intended to help Natural England ‘to evaluate any changes in social attitudes by those involved in upland management‘. In other words, did the availability of brood meddling stop the illegal killing of hen harriers on grouse moors? (The answer to that was a resounding NO – see here).

The first social science survey was undertaken as an interim study in 2021, in the middle of the brood meddling trial. This ‘study’ was hopelessly flawed in that it was limited to just 19 participants, and seven of those were NE employees and others were directly benefiting financially from their involvement in brood meddling. The findings of this ‘study’ were thus wholly unsuitable for assessing whether the attitudes of grouse moor owners had changed as a result of brood meddling – you can read my review of the ‘study’ here.

The second social science study, described by Holmes as a ‘wider survey’, was apparently conducted by National Centre for Social Research in 2024. Holmes referred to the findings of this study in his blog but Natural England didn’t publish the report to allow the public to draw its own conclusions.

Rather than rely upon Holmes’ interpretation of the study’s findings, I wanted to read it for myself so on 14 April 2025 I lodged an FoI request with Natural England, asking for a copy of the report:

‘Please provide a copy of the Natural England-commissioned report, undertaken by the National Centre for Social Research and completed in 2024 on grouse shooting industry attitudes to hen harrier brood management‘.

It was a simple, straightforward request that shouldn’t have posed any compliance issues for Natural England and I expected them to provide the report within the statutory time limit of 20 working days.

However, 20 working days later on 15 May 2025, Natural England wrote to me to tell me that a further 20 working days were needed “because of the complexity/voluminous nature of the request“.

Eh? There’s nothing ‘complex’ or ‘voluminous’ about asking for a copy of a report that had been written a year earlier!

Why will it take Natural England 40 working days to send it? Not only does this look like an abuse of process, but it also seems to me that Natural England has something to hide.

I did write back to Natural England and said, ‘You’re having a laugh – please send the report without further delay’.

So far, silence.

UPDATE 23 June 2025: Natural England still refusing to release social science report on Hen Harrier brood meddling (here)

Podcast: Wild Justice CEO Bob Elliot tells League Against Cruel Sports why driven grouse shooting should be banned

New podcast:

Bob Elliot, CEO of Wild Justice, in conversation with Emma Judd, Head of Campaigns & Communications at the League Against Cruel Sports, discussing why driven grouse shooting should be banned.

Listen here.

Ireland’s oldest breeding white-tailed eagle feared poisoned

Press release from National Parks & Wildlife Service (30 May 2025)

Minister O’Sullivan calls for co-operation in the investigation of the possible poisoning of a white-tailed eagle

The National Parks & Wildlife Service appeals to the public for information

An investigation is underway following the discovery of one of Ireland’s oldest breeding white-tailed eagles, Caimin (Y) who was found dead in Clare last Saturday. Initial post mortem results from the Regional Veterinary Laboratory indicate a possible death from poisoning.

Caimin held territory at the Mountshannon nest site on Lough Derg for the past seventeen years. During that time, he mated and fledged a number of chicks. He was one of the first chicks to arrive as part of an NPWS Reintroduction Programme to bring back this formerly extinct species to Irish skies and was released from Killarney National Park in 2008. All of the white-tailed eagle chicks reintroduced under the programme are fitted with satellite tags, which enables them to be monitored and tracked.

White-tailed Eagle ‘Caimin’. Photo by Bob Foyle

In 2013, Camin mated with Saoirshe, a female eagle who was also part of the Reintroduction Programme. They became the first white-tailed eagles to successfully raise and fledge chicks in the wild in Ireland in over one hundred years. Caimin raised and fledged chicks into the wild until 2016, when Saoirshe died of Avian Influenza. He held the territory and mated again with Bernardine (B) in 2023 to successfully fledge more chicks to the wild from the same nest site in Mountshannon. Despite the loss of her mate, Bernardine is continuing to raise a chick on the nest site in Mountshannon.

Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan said:

“Any loss in the wild not due to natural causes, is usually the result of human activity and this tragic loss of a wonderfully aged bird, breeding happily in the Irish wild, is deeply regrettable.

“The Reintroduction Programme had been making significant progress in restoring this lost flagship species to Irish skies. These birds are part of Ireland’s natural heritage and are important for our biodiversity, as they are a good indicator species regarding the health of our ecosystems.

“We will continue with our efforts to introduce, nurture and protect these birds and I have tasked the NPWS with leaving no stone unturned to try to get to the bottom of this heinous potential crime.”

Eamonn Meskell, Divisional Manager, NPWS said:

“The knowing destruction of this wonderful bird of prey displays a wanton disregard for our re-introduction and nature protection efforts.

“These noble birds are beloved of the public and each loss is keenly felt by them and indeed by the staff of NPWS who have nurtured these birds from chicks to fledglings, onto adult life and into successfully breeding pairs. We know we can rely on the public’s help in this investigation”.

The main threat to the species in Ireland is persecution, predominantly through shooting and the illegal use of poison and wind turbine strikes. The misuse/illegal use of poisons accounts for nearly 50% of eagle deaths where the cause of mortality was able to be determined. Other causes of death include wind turbine strikes, lead shot poisoning and shooting. Avian Influenza and adverse weather also negatively impacted the breeding population.

If you have any information, please notify your local Garda station or your local National Parks and Wildlife Service office.

ENDS

Debate on banning driven grouse shooting: 30 June 2025, Westminster

Wild Justice’s most recent petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting recently passed the 100,000 signatures required to trigger a parliamentary debate in Westminster.

The date of the debate has now been announced as Monday 30 June 2025 at 4.30pm.

Thank you to everyone who promoted the petition and to the 100,000+ that signed it, helping to keep this issue in the public and political eye.

The debate is open to the public (although public seating in Westminster Hall is ridiculously limited) but the debate will also be live streamed and a full transcript will be published a short time afterwards.

More information to come soon about how to lobby your MP.

Have your say on new rules to restrict the deliberate burning of grouse moors to increase number of red grouse available for shooting

The UK Government recently announced a public consultation on proposed changes to The Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021.

This is an important area of policy because England’s peatlands are of huge international importance. 80% of them are currently degraded, with rotational burning (typically on moorland managed for driven grouse shooting) being a contributory factor to that degradation in the uplands. Protecting peat from further damage is crucial to its restoration and recovery.

Toxic smoke heading towards Sheffield after gamekeepers set a grouse moor alight in the Peak District National Park. Photo by Ruth Tingay

Here’s the consultation introductory blurb from the Government:

It would be good if as many of you as possible would respond to the public consultation, which closes at 11.59 pm this Sunday (25 May 2025).

It’s relatively straightforward, there are only ten questions that will be relevant to most of you, and Wild Justice has put together an easy-to-follow guide to each question – see here.

Thank you.

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