Author: RaptorPersecutionUK

More cock and bull from Ian Botham

shrivelled bananaIan Botham used to be best known for his world-class reputation as an English cricketer. These days he’s better known to some of us as being the grouse-shooting industry’s teller of cock and bull stories [definition: an absurd, improbable story presented as the truth].

Cock story here (We’ll spare you the repulsive accompanying image but it looked a lot like this picture on the right).

Bull stories here, here, here, here, here and here.

Today’s Mail on Sunday contains another Botham-penned cock and bull story, aimed again, of course, at the RSPB. It’s a long rant that volleys off in as many directions as one of the shotgun cartridges Botham fires at game birds, with pellets spraying everywhere in the hope that one might hit the target.

He seems to think that the RSPB has it in for eagle owls, although the evidence he provides is, well, shaky to say the least. By the way, Beefy, if you’re going to pretend to be a knowledgeable ornithologist, at least learn how to express binomial nomenclature: it’s GCSE-level stuff that the genus always starts with a capital letter. Anyway, he alludes to ‘something he read’ last month about the RSPB wanting to ‘nip the colonisation [of eagle owls] in the bud’ although he doesn’t provide a link to said article. Fortunately, his friends over at the GWCT have provided a link, and it’s to an article published in the Yorkshire Post in March – we’ll come to that.

Incidentally, isn’t it strange that the GWCT blogged about eagle owls today, a Sunday, the same day as Botham’s article was published? It’s almost as if the GWCT knew Botham’s attack was coming and wanted to join in, helpfully loading the cartridges into Beefy’s gun before he squeezed the trigger. Take note, RSPB, the GWCT is one of your so-called ‘partners’.

Anyway, back to that article in the Yorkshire Post (here). In it, the journalist cites an unnamed ‘RSPB Officer’ as saying if there was a significant increase in eagle owl numbers it might be wise to ‘nip the colonisation in the bud’. This, it seems, is the basis for Botham’s rant. Yes, really, that’s it.

But who was this ‘RSPB Officer’? Was it even an RSPB employee? It seems strange that what he/she purportedly said is at odds with the ‘official’ RSPB position on eagle owls, as published on the RSPB website (here).

Now, even Botham, with his questionable judgement, must have realised that this ‘evidence’ was flimsy and nowhere near enough to justify another full-scale attack on the RSPB so he’s padded out his story with some other ‘stuff’. This consists of much of the usual guff, including his oft-repeated claim that gamekeepers ‘are putting their house in order’ and no longer killing raptors. Here’s a nice pie chart that says differently:

gamekeepers prosecuted - Copy

Before today’s article in the Mail on Sunday, many of us had been wondering what this season would hold. There are some, an optimistic few, who thought that with the publication of DEFRA’s Hen Harrier Inaction Plan, things might settle down, the sniping in the media might stop, partnership-working might do what it’s supposed to do, and hen harriers and other upland raptors might just be left alone.

Having read today’s article, many of us (so far over 27,500) believe that’s cock and bull.

Peregrine found dead at persecution hotspot, Co. Antrim

The Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group (NIRSG) has reported the discovery of a dead peregrine at a known persecution hotspot in Glenwherry, Co. Antrim.

In 2012, a recently fledged peregrine was found dead underneath the nest cliff. It had been shot (see here).

The latest dead peregrine (part of a breeding pair) was discovered on Monday 11th April 2016. The bird has been sent for post mortem as it is strongly suspected it has been illegally killed.

Peregrine Glenwherry

Dr Marc Ruddock from the NIRSG, who has monitored peregrines in this area for over a decade, said: “It is deeply frustrating to think that someone might have gone out of their way to target this bird if the post mortem confirms an illegal act. In 2014 there were only 57 successful breeding peregrines across the whole of Northern Ireland. The loss of a breeding adult has the potential to lead to desertion of a historical breeding site and widespread persecution could result in serious implications for the viability of the Northern Ireland population of peregrines.

NIRSG volunteers will be increasing surveillance and monitoring at peregrine sites across the country immediately in order to protect nesting sites at this time of year and will report any suspicious activity to the Police Service of Northern Ireland. I would urge the public to be vigilant and also report any suspicious activity or vehicles in the vicinity of cliffs or quarries immediately to PSNI”.

Dr Eimear Rooney, NIRSG representative on the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW), said: “Disappointingly our fieldworkers detect incidents of raptor crime each year, particularly of peregrines, red kites and buzzards being poisoned or shot. Wildlife crime incidents, particularly where they occur in remote locations, can often go unreported. PAW is working hard to raise awareness both of the law and the protection it affords birds of prey. However, there are clearly still those individuals who are determined to kill birds of prey“.

In March this year, the PSNI and PAW group launched Operation Raptor, a multi-agency initiative aimed at targeting those who continue to kill birds of prey (see here).

Peregrine Glenwherry 2

Banning driven grouse shooting on the Scottish political agenda

Last night Scottish Environment Link hosted an event called ‘Environment Matters’, a national hustings event in the run up to the election in May.

It was recorded and is available to watch here.

Hustings

Brilliantly chaired by Joyce McMillan (LINK President) it’s worth watching even if you have just a passing interest in general environmental issues. For us, we were particularly interested in the discussion on wildlife crime, raised as a topic by audience member Andy Myles (see 56 mins in), and specifically the response given by Scottish Green Party candidate Mark Ruskell (see 1:06 mins in).

The actual topic of banning driven grouse shooting wasn’t part of Andy Myles’ question; Andy’s question was whether the panel would be prepared to separate poaching from wildlife crime. But it was interesting (and pleasing) that in his response, Mark Ruskell immediately linked, perhaps subconsciously, the subject of wildlife crime to driven grouse shooting.

Mark Ruskell proved to be pretty well-informed, as well he should, given that one of his fellow electoral candidates (Andy Wightman) recently co-authored a report on the intensification of grouse moor management in Scotland (here) and another party colleague (Alison Johnstone) has repeatedly raised parliamentary questions about dodgy wildlife ‘management’ on grouse moors (e.g. here).

Here’s how Mark responded to Andy’s question:

“I think there’s a wider issue there about the management of country estates and I think we’ve seen a lot of criticism of estates that are practicing driven grouse shooting, and we know what those environmental impacts are: the muirburn, the raptor persecution, the use of veterinary medicines spread over moorlands, the targeting of non-target species like hares as well, and I think we need to see a reform of country estates and the way they manage themselves. I think that if that can’t take place then the argument in favour of licensing will kick in, and you’ve obviously seen high profile calls and petitions for a banning of driven grouse shooting as well. I don’t think we’re quite there yet in terms of the evidence but I think there needs to be a willingness from the larger landowning interests to address the very serious environmental problems that they’re creating, and I think personally that probably lends to some form of licensing going forward“.

The bit where he said “I don’t think we’re quite there yet in terms of the evidence” [for banning driven grouse shooting] was a bit confusing, because he’d already stated that the environmental impacts were already well known. The evidence isn’t lacking at all; the question is how to deal with the evidence, i.e. wait for the landowners to get their acts together and act lawfully, or introduce licensing, or ban driven grouse shooting.

The first approach is a complete non-starter. The grouse shooting industry has had 62 years to stop illegally killing raptors and yet still it goes on. And judging by the industry’s recent fatuous responses about heather burning “It’s the same as getting your hair cut” – see here, and mountain hare massacres being “informed and balanced” – see here, then the only two options remaining are to introduce licensing or ban driven grouse shooting altogether.

So what does the electorate think? Well, according to a recent YouGov poll, 52% of polled Scottish voters agreed that driven grouse shooting should be banned (and only 19% opposed) – see newspaper article here and a more detailed report of the survey here.

And if you look at the groundswell of support from Scottish constituencies for Mark Avery’s latest e-petition to the Westminster Government to ban driven grouse shooting in England (here), then it’s pretty clear what many are thinking.

It’s great to see this issue rising up the political agenda, and it’s not going away.

Mark Avery’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting is less than one month old and this evening it has passed 19,000 signatures. If you want to add yours, please sign HERE

Pigeon racing men convicted of poisoning peregrines & sparrowhawks

Four men associated with a pigeon racing club in County Waterford, Ireland, have been convicted of illegally poisoning peregrines and sparrowhawks, and other associated wildlife crimes.

The convictions are the result of surveillance and investigation by conservation rangers from the Irish Republic’s National Parks & Wildlife Service at three quarries in March and April 2014: Cappagh Quarry, Keereen Quarry and Carroll’s Cross Quarry. Live pigeon baits, smeared with poison and tied to stones or stakes had been found on a number of occasions at the top of the quarry cliffs, designed to lure in raptors. Four poisoned peregrines and two poisoned sparrowhawks had also been found.

pigeon poison wales 2012

On March 9th 2016 at Dungarvan District Court, the following individuals were convicted:

Stephen O’Brien, of 58 Congress Villas, Dungarvan, was convicted of 20 offences, including the use of a live decoy on five separate dates. He was fined 1500 Euros for each of the five dates (7,500 Euros in total) and the other 15 charges were recorded as ‘proven’.

Kevin Crotty (Chairman of Dungarvan Premier Pigeon Club) of 16 Lismore Avenue, Dungarvan, was convicted of 10 offences on five separate dates. He was fined 600 Euros for two offences and the remaining eight charges were recorded as ‘proven’.

John Crotty, of 23 Congress Villas, Dungarvan, was convicted of four offences. He was fined 700 Euros for one offence and the remaining three charges were recorded as ‘proven’.

Christopher O’Brien, of 79 Congress Villas, Dungarvan, was convicted of obstructing an Authorised Person during a search of his premises and with the illegal possession of protected wild finches. He was convicted of 16 offences. He was fined 700 Euros for one offence and the remaining 15 charges were recorded as ‘proven’. He was also ordered to forfeit a stuffed peregrine that had been found at his house.

The National Parks & Wildlife Service believes raptor persecution is a significant problem in Co Waterford and said peregrines had been a particular target, resulting in reduced breeding success. They encourage farmers and members of the public to report suspicious incidents, in confidence, to: Tel (01) 888 3242 or email nature.conservation@ahg.gov.ie

The photo shows a live pigeon decoy, smeared in poison and tied to a rock in a similar poisoning case in Wales in 2012 (photographer unknown).

Calls to put ravens on General Licence to allow indiscriminate culls

Calls are being made to put ravens on the General Licence, which would allow them to be killed indiscriminately (see here).

Bert Burnett of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association is supporting the latest petition and said:

“Ravens, no matter where you go now in our countryside you have every chance to see or hear ravens, but they are not like small children who as the saying goes ‘should be seen and not heard’, if you see them they will be doing damage and even if you hear them they will be planning damage“.

Here’s a raven carrying off a polar bear cub.

raven carrying polar bear cub

[Artwork by Jackie Morris, from The Ice Bear]

Buzzard shot in East Yorkshire

A buzzard with shot gun injuries has been found on farmland at North Frodingham, Driffield, in East Yorkshire.

It has undergone surgery to have its wing pinned and is now being cared for by Jean Thorpe of Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation. If you’d like to help support Jean’s never-ending voluntary efforts, please consider a donation here.

Anyone with news about the buzzard shooting please contact Humberside Police on 101.

Buzzard shot Driffield April 2016 Jean Thorpe

Buzzard shot Driffield April 2016 Jean Thorpe 2

Linklater on Langholm: fake facts from a ‘respected journalist’

Following the recent news that the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project (‘Langholm 2’) was winding down prematurely (see here), as predicted it hasn’t taken long for those within the grouse-shooting industry to start claiming it a massive failure.

On Saturday (2nd April), ‘respected journalist’ Magnus Linklater had an article about Langholm 2 published in The Times (see here for paywall version and here for free copy). The inverted commas around ‘respected journalist’ are used deliberately because not everyone agrees with this credibility rating, based on Linklater’s previous musings on raptors and grouse moors (e.g. see here, here and here).

This latest article is littered with what we’ll politely call fake facts; a common theme from Linklater. Either this ‘respected journalist’ has just made stuff up (again), or he hasn’t done the research you might expect from such a feted correspondent (and editor!).

Here are just some of those fake facts.

Linklater says: “Grouse numbers have declined to an unsustainable level” and “There are no longer enough grouse to justify commercial shooting” and “Grouse numbers have never sufficiently recovered” and “Although grouse numbers did revive from their previous low level, there were never enough to justify letting the moor for driven grouse shoots“.

So, four times in this article Linklater mentions that there aren’t enough red grouse to shoot at Langholm. It’s clearly a point he wants to drive home to the reader, but it’s just not true. As we, and others, have previously commented, the red grouse population at Langholm has recovered sufficiently, to a density which previously supported driven grouse shooting activity on this moor (see here, here, here).

Linklater says: “There are currently 14 hen harrier nests on the moor“.

Really? On 2nd April? That would be extraordinary. Blimey, climate change has really kicked in. Or, Linklater is clumsily using last year’s hen harrier breeding status and applying it to this year. But wait! There weren’t 14 hen harrier nests at Langholm in 2015. There were eight, and six of those produced fledglings. How about in 2014? There were 12 hen harrier nests in that year (the highest recorded during the Langholm 2 project) and of those, 10 nests produced fledglings. So from where has Linklater conjured up the “current 14 hen harrier nests“? Has he just made it up?

Linklater says: “More than 100 [hen harrier] pairs were fledged“.

Er, if that were true it would mean that more than 200 birds had fledged during the Langholm 2 project. Again, untrue. More than 100 individuals have fledged – half the number Linklater is claiming. It could be a simple slip of the keyboard or it could be that Linklater wants to give the impression of a moor ‘plagued’ by hen harriers. Note his phrase “uncontrolled birds of prey” earlier in the article and pair it with his repeated referral to a (supposed) lack of red grouse and it becomes apparent what he’s trying to do here.

Linklater says (when describing the results of the earlier Langholm 1 project): “Harriers multiplied until there were more than 20 pairs, and grouse became virtually extinct“.

If there were “more than” 20 pairs, why not give the exact number? Could it be that there weren’t “more than” 20 pairs after Langholm 1? Could it be that there were actually 20, which, incidentally, just happened to coincide with a peak in the cyclical vole population? Why exaggerate? Surely not to try and create an impression that there were more hen harriers than there actually were?

And what’s this about red grouse becoming “virtually extinct“?! This is made up nonsense of the highest order. Red grouse didn’t become ‘virtually extinct’ after Langholm 1. What actually happened was that raptor predation reduced the autumn grouse abundance by 50%. In other words, the ‘surplus’ birds from an artificially-high red grouse population were no longer available to be shot. The red grouse population (and the hen harrier population) dropped back down to what some would call ‘normal’ (natural) densities. That’s a very, very, very different scenario from becoming ‘virtually extinct’.

Perhaps, if you were a grouse moor owner like Linklater (well, he, his wife and their lawyer are trustees of a Trust that owns a grouse moor), you might consider the red grouse population ‘virtually extinct’ because, for all intents and purposes, if there aren’t enough to shoot then they might as well, from the grouse moor owner’s perspective, be ‘virtually extinct’.

Linklater uses two quotes just to ram home the point to any reader who hasn’t yet caught on to his notion that hen harriers need sorting out (legally, of course). The first is from Teresa Dent of the GWCT (an organisation known to promote illegal activities as ‘best practice’ – see here). She says:

“There is a lot of work to do…..to find solutions to the conflict between hen harriers and red grouse that can be applied elsewhere“.

Oh, so no mention of the successful use of diversionary feeding of hen harriers during the Langholm 2 project, which has shown that the proportion of red grouse in the diet of diversionary-fed hen harriers was a negligible 0-4% (see here)? How strange. And by the way, Teresa, the conflict isn’t ‘between hen harriers and red grouse’ – it’s between hen harriers and driven grouse shooting; hen harriers and red grouse have survived together for thousands of years, duh!

The final quote is from someone associated with the Langholm 2 project but who prefers to remain anonymous:

“If you want ground-nesting birds, including hen harriers, then you need moors to be managed [by game keepers]. The success of the harriers at Langholm has come about because of intensive and expensive management. Unfortunately, the losers are the grouse“.

Actually, the success of the hen harriers at Langholm has come about because the keepers haven’t been allowed to illegally kill them.

Here’s one worthwhile way of responding to ‘respected journalist’ Linklater’s article: Please sign the petition to ban driven grouse shooting HERE

Vicarious liability prosecution: Andrew Duncan (Newlands Estate) part 5

Criminal proceedings continued yesterday  against landowner Andrew Walter Bryce Duncan, who is alleged to be vicariously liable for the crimes committed by gamekeeper William (Billy) Dick in April 2014.

Gamekeeper Dick was convicted in August 2015 of killing a buzzard on the Newlands Estate, Dumfriesshire by striking it with rocks and repeatedly stamping on it (see here). Dick was sentenced in September 2015 and was given a £2000 fine (see here), although he is appealing his conviction.

Here’s a quick review of the proceedings against Andrew Duncan so far:

Hearing #1 (18th August 2015): Trial date set for 23rd Nov 2015, with an intermediate diet scheduled for 20th Oct 2015.

Hearing #2 (20th October 2015): Case adjourned. Nov trial date dumped. Notional diet hearing (where a trial date may be set) scheduled for 18th January 2016.

Hearing #3 (18th January 2016): Case adjourned. Another notional diet & debate scheduled for 11th March 2016.

Hearing #4 (11th March 2016): Case adjourned, pending the result of gamekeeper Billy Dick’s appeal. Another notional diet scheduled for 4th April 2016.

Hearing #5 (4th April 2016): Case adjourned, pending the result of gamekeeper Billy Dick’s appeal. Another notional diet scheduled for 3rd June 2016.

Vicarious liability in relation to the persecution of raptors in Scotland (where one person may potentially be legally responsible for the criminal actions of another person working under their supervision) came in to force four years ago on 1st January 2012. To date there have been two successful convictions: one in December 2014 (see here) and one in December 2015 (see here).  One further case did not reach the prosecution stage due, we believe, to the difficulties associated with identifying the management structure on the estate where the crimes were committed (see here).

“Burning heather is the same as getting your hair cut” claims grouse moor propagandist

“Burning heather is the same as getting your hair cut“, according to Tim (Kim) Baynes of the Scottish Moorland Group.

Yes, I always look forward to visiting the hairdresser to have my hair doused with a fire accelerant and then lit with a blow torch.

Burnrps - Copy

The grouse-shooting industry’s latest outlandish claim comes as part of another PR damage limitation exercise, this time in a failed attempt to explain to the public why huge areas of grouse moor-dominated landscape are being set alight. You can read this latest propaganda piece here.

It’s true that burning can be a useful conservation tool in certain circumstances, on some habitat types and if used in moderation. However, the increasing intensity with which grouse moor managers burn sensitive upland moorland habitats is not a useful conservation tool. It’s actually far from it, despite the latest vacuous claims of the grouse shooting industry.

See here for the key findings of a recent study by scientists at Leeds University in to the effects of moorland burning on peatlands. Not many conservation benefits described here.

See here for the findings of a recent study by scientists from the RSPB in to the extent of moorland burning in the UK. Not many conservation benefits described here either. In fact burning was detected in 55% of Special Areas of Conservation and in 63% of Special Protection Areas. These sites are designated under EU legislation for their conservation value and yet many are in ‘unfavourable condition’ with burning identified as the primary cause.

And see here for Mark Avery’s view on how burning (combined with draining) is likely to be linked to increased flooding downstream.

Sign the petition calling for a ban on environmentally, economically and socially damaging driven grouse shooting HERE.

Photo of grouse moor ablaze, March 2016 (RPS).

Hen Harrier Day 2016 (Sunday 7th August)

bawc_slider_hen_harrier_day2016

Hen Harrier Day returns for its third year and this time takes place on Sunday 7th August 2016.

Some campaigners are already at an advanced planning stage and have confirmed that Hen Harrier Day events will take place in Dorset, Lancashire and on the Isle of Mull. Other groups are in the early preparation stages and anticipate announcing their venues in the near future.

To keep up to date with the news and to find an event near you, please bookmark the Hen Harrier Day website (here), coordinated by the fine folk at Birders Against Wildlife Crime (BAWC). If you’re planning to hold your own event and you want it listed on the Hen Harrier Day website, please contact phil@birdersagainst.org

BAWC has also been busy producing a new range of Hen Harrier Day merchandise, including a massive array of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and, we’re told, much more to come! If you want to show your support for Hen Harrier Day, and by doing so help raise awareness and contribute vital funds to the campaign, please visit BAWC’s online shop here.

Remember, this is a grassroots campaign, organised entirely by volunteers, and relies on (extra)ordinary people like YOU getting involved in whatever way you can. Please show your support.

The e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting has passed 15,000 signatures in 14 days. If you’d like to sign, please click HERE.