Author: RaptorPersecutionUK

Hen harriers breed on grouse moor in Peak District National Park

Press release from the National Trust, 3 July 2018:

Welcome return of the skydancer to the High Peak

One of Britain’s most threatened birds, the hen harrier, has bred on the National Trust’s High Peak Moors in the Peak District National Park, for the first time in four years.

The four chicks are said to be in a ‘healthy condition’ after hatching just a few days ago on land managed by the conservation charity.

[Photo of the 4 hen harrier chicks from National Trust website]


The hen harrier is one of the most special birds of the British uplands and is famed for the adult’s mesmerising and dramatic ‘sky dance’, which the male performs as it seeks to attract a female.

“We’re delighted to learn of this nest” said Jon Stewart, the National Trust’s General Manager for the Peak District.

“The hen harrier has been one of the most illegally persecuted birds of prey in Britain for many years and we have set out on a mission to work with others to create the conditions for the harrier and other birds of prey to thrive once again in the uplands.

“We hope this will be a positive model for improving the fate of our birds of prey and providing the healthy natural environment that so many people care about and want to see”.

In 2013 the Trust published its High Peak Moors Vision, which put at its heart restoring wildlife, including birds of prey, and involving people in the care of the moors.

The conservation charity leases much of its High Peak moorland for grouse shooting and all shooting tenants have signed up to actively supporting the Vision.  As well as the hen harrier, initial signs are promising this year for other species such as the peregrine falcon, merlin and short eared owl.

“It is critical the birds are now given the space and security to rear their young without the threat of disturbance or worse.” Jon continued, “The Trust will be working with its partners and tenants to give the birds the best chance of success. We are also working with the RSPB EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project to fit satellite tags to the chicks so that we can monitor their movements and learn more to inform the conservation of this very special bird. There is a great sense from everyone closely involved that we want this to work not just for these birds now, but as a symbol for the whole future direction of our uplands.  Uplands that are richer in wildlife and beauty, widely enjoyed and providing huge public benefits.”

ENDS

This is very encouraging news indeed. It’s early days, of course, but the fact the harriers have been ‘allowed’ to settle for a breeding attempt is a vast improvement in this part of the Peak District National Park, where two years ago we reported on an armed gamekeeper using a decoy hen harrier in what was widely believed to be an attempt to attract in, and then shoot, any prospecting hen harriers (see here).

As a direct result of that video footage, the National Trust bowed to public pressure and pulled the lease from the shooting tenant (see here) and earlier this year new tenants were installed on several moors in the area (see here).

Let’s hope these chicks are ‘allowed’ to fledge, without any brood meddling from Natural England, without being stamped on by neighbouring gamekeepers, without the adult male being shot while away hunting, and without the nest receiving any disturbance from well-intentioned birdwatchers.

It’s also good to see that if they do fledge, the chicks will be satellite-tagged by the RSPB’s Hen Harrier LIFE Project and not by Natural England, so we might just get some information about their fate.

#Justice4Ravens crowdfunder target smashed!

A massive, massive thank you to everyone who has supported the #Justice4Ravens crowdfunder, which smashed through its £25k target this lunchtime!

A fantastic response by over 1000 people who’ve been prepared to put their hands in their pockets and support this legal challenge against SNH’s deliquent decision to issue a raven cull licence to a load of grouse moor gamekeepers just ‘to see what happens’.

Some said a crowdfunder was futile and it’d be foolish to start it as we’d never raise £25k ‘just for ravens’. It turns out they were foolish to underestimate the strength of feeling on this issue.

Thank you, to everyone who has supported this effort, no matter how little or how much – you supported it and that’s what counts.

We’ll provide updates on proceedings as and when its appropriate.

Last push on #Justice4Ravens crowdfunder

There are just three days to go for the Scottish Raptor Study Group’s #Justice4Ravens crowdfunder.

Aiming to reach £25k, this fundraiser was set up to help cover the costs of a legal challenge against Scottish Natural Heritage’s disgraceful decision to allow the killing of ravens on grouse moors as part of a peverse experiment ‘just to see what happens’.

Several top-class lawyers, all experts in judicial review, are currently working hard on building the case.

An incredible total of £22,414 has been raised so far by an amazing 848 donors, including £1,750 raised by The Probable Bird Society (@ProbableBS) through sales of #Justice4Ravens t-shirts and beanies.

It would be fantastic if the remaining £2,586 could be raised by Wednesday to reach the target by the time the crowdfunder closes.

If you’d like to help this fight, please visit the crowdfunder page HERE

THANK YOU!

Peregrine & two buzzards found poisoned: police appeal for info

Press release from South Wales Police (Bridgend & Vale of Glamorgan), 29th June 2018:

We are appealing for witnesses after three birds of prey were poisoned.

We are investigating the deaths of a peregrine falcon and two buzzards at Ruthin Quarry in the Vale of Glamorgan. The birds were found dead in the quarry on March 26.

[RPUK map]

A toxicology report confirmed that the birds were killed using a poisoned bait bird which was laced with a banned pesticide.

PC Mark Goulding, wildlife and environmental crime officer, said: “The killing of birds of prey is a serious wildlife offence. Raptor persecution is a National Wildlife Crime priority.

The poisoned birds ingested bait laced with the banned pesticide which was deliberately set out. I would urge anyone who may have witnessed this crime or who has information about this incident to come forward.

Anyone with information on illegal use of pesticides against wildlife can call us on 101 quoting 1800106122 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111“.

ENDS

The police press release didn’t include any photographs but from what has been described (“using a poisoned bait bird”) and given the location, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that this crime involved a live pigeon smothered in poison and tethered to a rock so that its helpless flapping attracted predators. This is a well-known barbaric persecution method that has been used for years, especially in Wales and Ireland, by some involved in pigeon racing who want to take out peregrines on the pigeon racing routes (e.g. see here).

Photo of a poison-smeared tethered pigeon at a quarry in Wales in 2012 (photographer unknown)

Species Champion Andy Wightman visits golden eagle satellite-tagging team

Earlier this year Scottish Greens MSP Andy Wightman took on the role of Golden Eagle Species Champion.

Species Champions are members of the Scottish Parliament who have agreed to lend their political support to the protection of Scottish wildlife, in an award-winning scheme organised by Scottish Environment LINK.

[Photo: Ruth Tingay]

As a long-time reader and supporter of this blog, Andy shares our concerns about the on-going threat to golden eagles from illegal persecution in some areas of Scotland. He’s also well aware of the compelling evidence published in the Scottish Government-commissioned review of the fate of satellite-tagged golden eagles, which demonstrated that almost one-third (n = 41) of sat-tagged eagles in Scotland have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, most of them on or close to intensively managed driven grouse moors.

As many of you will know, last year in partnership with Chris Packham we satellite-tagged a shedload of golden eagles as part of a wider collaborative scientific study on the dispersal and land-use of juvenile golden eagles, to help inform conservation planning for this species. One of those eagles, Fred, ‘disappeared’ from the Pentlands in January this year in the same highly suspicious circumstances as the other 41 ‘missing’ eagles (and this grim tally has since increased following the recent suspicious disappearance of golden and white-tailed eagles on grouse moors in the Monadhliaths (here), the Cairngorms National Park (here), and the Strathbraan area of Perthshire (here)).

This year we’ve satellite-tagged more eagles (another shedload) and Andy joined a team of expert licensed fieldworkers from the Scottish Raptor Study Group, who, with support from local landowners, have been visiting nest sites across Scotland.

We anticipate releasing a short film and an interview with Andy in due course.

Meanwhile, here’s one of this year’s satellite-tagged golden eagles. This is ‘Adam’, named by Andy in tribute to Dr Adam Watson, an influential character during Andy’s formative years on the hill!

[Photo: Ruth Tingay]

British Game Alliance: more greenwash from the shooting industry?

The UK gamebird-shooting industry is in crisis at the moment, with ever-increasing numbers of gamebirds being reared and released (estimated in the region of 50+ million pheasants & red-legged partridge each year) but supply is outstripping demand as game dealers struggle to sell the shot birds for human consumption. This has resulted in the widespread and illegal dumping of shot birds in the countryside (e.g. see here, here, here, here) which is causing serious damage to the reputation of the shooting industry.

Fearing enforced regulation, the shooting industry has come up with ‘the way forward’ and has established an organisation called the British Game Alliance, ‘the official marketing board for the UK game industry’, which, according to the Countryside Alliance, “aims to run a ‘British Game’ assurance scheme to ensure our game meets the highest standards“.

The British Game Alliance’s standards are quite high (see here for what is expected) and apparently compliance with these standards will be regulated and monitored by external auditors.

Sounds good, eh? In principle, yes, but our expectations were low in March 2018 when the Shooting Times revealed some of the individuals involved, including one name that made us laugh out loud given his links to estates with long histories of alleged (and sometimes proven) wildlife crime.

The British Game Alliance was launched with much fanfare and political support in May 2018 and we’ve been watching its website to find out which shoots (and sporting agents) have met the organisation’s ‘shoot standards’ to become listed as an ‘assured’ member. So far, the website hasn’t listed any of its assured members but promises that registered members will be ‘listed soon‘.

However, the British Game Alliance’s twitter feed (@BritishGame) has been more forthcoming. We were scrolling through this morning and were surprised to read this:

A police investigation took place at Wemmergill in 2015 after the discovery of two short-eared owls which had been shot and their corpses shoved inside a pothole (see here). There wasn’t a prosecution.

Another police investigation took place at Wemmergill in February this year following the sudden and explicable ‘disappearance’ of satellite-tagged hen harrier Marc (see here).

Even more surprising to read on the British Game Alliance’s twitter feed was this:

Edradynate Estate will be a familiar name to regular readers of this blog.

It is currently serving a three-year General Licence restriction imposed by SNH following sufficient evidence (substantiated by Police Scotland) that raptor persecution has taken place but insufficient evidence to prosecute a named individual (see here).

Edradynate Estate has been at the centre of investigations for alleged wildlife crime for a very, very long time. It’s well worth reading an earlier summary we wrote (here) which includes some fascinating commentary about the estate by former RSPB Investigator Dave Dick, who claimed as far back as 2004 that the estate was “among the worst in Scotland for wildlife crime“, and commentary by former Police Wildlife Crime Officer Alan Stewart, who said in 2005, “Edraynate Estate has probably the worst record in Scotland for poisoning incidents, going back more than a decade“.

The details involve a disturbingly high number of poisoned birds and poisoned baits that were found over the years, as well as a number of dropped prosecution cases. The most recent dropped prosecution case came just last year, when the Crown Office refused to prosecute an Edradynate gamekeeper for alleged buzzard poisoning, despite Police Scotland urging otherwise (see here).

Despite at least 22 police investigations over several decades (according to Alan Stewart), nobody from Edradynate Estate has ever been successfully prosecuted for any of these alleged wildlife crimes.

And there lies the problem with the British Game Alliance’s shoot standards. If you look at shoot standard #19, ‘Where a shoot or its employees are successfully prosecuted for wildlife crimes, the shoot will be expelled from the BGA and their membership revoked‘.

Given the well-documented difficulties of securing a successful prosecution for wildlife crime, which is an issue even recognised by the Scottish Government, hence the recent introduction of General Licence restrictions, it’s quite clear that some undeserving estates will get the official seal of approval from the British Game Alliance, thus reducing any confidence the public may have had in this well-intentioned scheme.

The people’s walk for wildlife: join Chris Packham in London on 22 September 2018

Chris Packham is organising The People’s Walk for Wildlife in London on Saturday 22nd September 2018.

Here’s why:

There’s much more detail to come and there’ll be a few surprises in store!

Be there and be part of this revolution.

Keep an eye on Chris’s website for further news.

Job vacancy: Director, OneKind

Harry Huyton, the current Director of Scottish animal welfare charity OneKind will be leaving his position later this summer to join the Scottish Greens as Director of Political Strategy, working in the Scottish Parliament to deliver the Greens’ agenda.

Harry has worked tirelessly at OneKind and has brought the charity significant prominence recently, especially with its campaign against the culling of mountain hares on driven grouse moors. This campaign included the creative stunt of parking a truckful of soft cuddly toy mountain hares outside the Scottish Parliament to replicate the now infamous image of the truckload of shot mountain hares, slaughtered by gamekeepers in the Cairngorms National Park.

[Photo by Stuart Spray]

It’s good to know that Harry’s new job will see him continue to work on many of the same issues, incuding grouse moor management, but this time from within Parliament. We wish him every success and look forward to further collaboration in the coming years.

Harry’s impending departure means that OneKind are now recruiting for a new director. Here is the job advert:

Position: Director (full time, permanent)

Location: Edinburgh

Salary: c £40k

OneKind was founded in 1911 to advance animal welfare, the protection of animals from cruelty and the prevention of animal suffering.

Our vision is for people to live in harmony with animals, ending cruelty in Scotland and working with others to deliver better animal welfare across the UK and globally. We achieve this by giving animals a voice through campaigning and lobbying for laws that will protect animals forever, and by inspiring people to make changes in their lives to reduce their negative impact on animals.

OneKind works in the mainstream of the animal protection movement to deliver positive change for animals in Scotland, and, through working with others, across the UK, Europe and beyond. We have decades of experience in helping to shape the legislative and cultural landscapes through high-profile campaigns, political lobbying, investigations and public education. We take a practical, evidence-based approach to understanding and developing solutions to animal welfare problems.

As Director you will lead the OneKind team, developing and delivering high-profile and impactful campaigns and research, and continuing to grow support and fundraising income for OneKind. Reporting to and working with the Board of Trustees, you will ensure OneKind meets the highest standards of governance and provide the staff team and volunteers with an inspiring and supportive working environment.

For more information please contact Alan Surgeon (Trustee) at AWS Recruitment:
alan@awsrecruitment.co.uk / 0131 344 4646

  • Applicants must have a passion for Animal Welfare and ideally experience within Policy / Campaigning. An understanding of Fundraising would also be an advantage.

Deadline: Thursday 12th July
Interviews: Friday 20th July
Application: CV & Cover Letter to: Alan Surgeon / alan@awsrecruitment.co.uk

ENDS

Environment gains new junior minister in Government reshuffle

Cabinet Secretaries Roseanna Cunningham (Environment, Climate Change & Land Reform) and Fergus Ewing (Rural Economy & Connectivity) both retained their senior positions in the Scottish Government after yesterday’s reshuffle, despite strong rumours that one or both would go.

We’re delighted to see Roseanna is still in post.

And as an indication of the importance of the Scottish Government’s Environment portfolio, we’re also pleased to see today’s announcement of a new appointment (subject to Parliamentary approval) – congratulations to Mairi Gougeon for a well-deserved promotion to become Minister for Rural Affairs & Natural Environment.

Having to report to both the Environment Secretary and the Rural Economy Secretary, this looks to be a challenging junior ministerial role, especially given the very apparent divisions between protecting wildlife & the environment and the often selfish financial interests of the game-shooting industry, amongst others. But Mairi Gougeon is no stranger to a challenge – she’s the Species Champion for the Hen Harrier!

Well done, Mairi, we look forward to seeing you continue to speak up for raptors and other protected species.

[Photo from Mairi Gougeon’s twitter feed after a visit to watch hen harriers at an RSPB reserve]

Raptor rehab expert gets funding support from both Yorkshire National Parks

A bit of a good news story for a change! Yorkshire’s two National Park Authorities have found a creative way of providing funding support to Jean Thorpe, an expert wildlife rehabilitator who works tirelessly (and voluntarily) to care for the victims of illegal raptor persecution across the region.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the North York Moors National Park Authority have come up with a plan to make Jean an ‘official volunteer’, which means that they can now cover her travel expenses when she’s called out to help rescue birds of prey and owls within the Parks’ boundaries.

Given the region’s consistent reputation as the worst county in England for illegal raptor persecution, these funds will help Jean’s work considerably.

Of course, there shouldn’t be any raptor persecution within these two National Parks and some may argue that the funds should be directed towards targeting the criminals and enforcing the law. It’s a fair point, but also an idealistic one. In recent months we have seen some significant movement from the National Park Authorities (particularly the Yorkshire Dales NPA) who have stopped pretending raptor persecution doesn’t happen and instead have begun to focus on how to address it (e.g. see here and here), but there’s a long way to go.

Until raptor persecution has been eradicated from these two National Parks, finding a way to provide financial support for Jean’s work is a welcome move and we applaud the two Park Authorities for their creative thinking.

Press release from Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority:

Birds of prey specialist Jean Thorpe has become an official volunteer for the two National Park Authorities in North Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, meaning that they can cover her travel expenses while she helps rescue and rehabilitate injured birds.

The Malton-based ‘Raptor Rescue Rehabilitator’ provides specialist care for injured raptors and owls.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund has also awarded Mrs Thorpe £150 for a first response kit.  This ‘first aid kit for birds’ will help her provide initial on scene care.

The birds that come to Mrs Thorpe’s attention are from a variety of sources, including road traffic collisions, overhead wire collisions, as well as birds displaying signs of being illegally shot, trapped or poisoned.

A successful example of her work can viewed here.

Jean Thorpe, who was appointed an MBE in 2014, said: “It is excellent to get support from the two National Parks in North Yorkshire.  I am very grateful. They offer some of the best habitats in the English uplands for raptors but unfortunately I do see some horrendous injuries from illegally trapped or shot birds.  Some, but by no means all, make a recovery and get released back into their natural environment ‘’

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority Area Manager Matt Neale, who works with partner organisations through Operation Owl to tackle illegal bird of prey persecution in the National Park, said:  “Jean has a great deal of knowledge built up over many years when it comes to the rehab of injured birds. This is very specialized work.   I would also like to pay tribute to a number of other individual businesses who support Jean with her work.  This has not gone unnoticed.  Jean x-rays every raptor to help diagnose injuries and to identify the possible cause.

“Her biggest expense is mileage, as Yorkshire is a big place, so by signing Jean up as a volunteer we can help.  North York Moors National Park Authority have joined us and done the same.  We are all so grateful for her unstinting support for wildlife in both National Parks.”

Debbie Trafford, Head of Recreation and Ranger Services at the North York Moors National Park Authority, added: “Either through illegal persecution or accidents, injured birds of prey sometimes with appalling injuries are discovered requiring help, and that is where Jean excels.  National Parks are important areas for raptors and we are committed to improving the situation.”

ENDS