A freedom of information request has revealed some interesting correspondence between Doug McAdam, the CEO of the landowners’ organisation Scottish Land and Estates, and Paul Wheelhouse, the Scottish Environment Minister, on the subject of ‘Fearnan‘, the poisoned golden eagle found dead on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in December 2013.
McAdam wrote to the Minister in January, setting out SLE’s “total condemnation” of the poisoning incident. He went on to say that SLE members in the area where Fearnan’s corpse was found were “perhaps more keen than anyone” that the culprit was found and prosecuted. He assured the Minister that these landowners had conducted their own enquiries and were sure that none of their staff were involved. He said that gamekeepers were “helping the police in all aspects of the investigation” (presumably this doesn’t mean giving a “no comment” response to any questions they are asked, as recommended by official SGA policy!). McAdam also emphasised how the introduction of vicarious liability had had an impact on best practice sporting management and besides, that gamekeepers love golden eagles, so much so that plans were under way to initiate ‘a golden eagle monitoring or conservation project’ in the Angus Glens.
You can read his letter here: SLE letter to Wheelhouse re Fearnan Jan 2014
Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, to his credit, wasn’t convinced.
In what we would call a fairly robust response, Wheelhouse told McAdam that he was going to be frank with him. He pointed out that the illegal poisoning of Fearnan was just one of “a catalogue of incidents associated with the Angus Glens area“. He went on: “I understand in fact that there has been something like a dozen incidents in this area since 2008“. [We actually know of at least 26 incidents since 2008, (36 if you go back to 2004) and we also know that several others have never been publicised: see here].
Wheelhouse continued: “In the absence of any other credible explanation, I can only conclude that, despite all our efforts, there remains an element of sporting managers and owners who continue to flout the law and defy public opinion for their own selfish ends…”.
He also pointed out that any carcasses or baits that were discovered were probably representative of “only a fraction” of those put out by the criminals (in other words, he agrees with the long-held view that what is discovered is just the tip of a very large iceberg).
He warned McAdam that if persecution didn’t stop he would be put under increasing pressure to impose further measures and he suggested that the game-shooting industry would do well to stop issuing media statements of condemnation [about persecution] that give the impression of being defensive and resentful.
You can read his letter here: Wheelhouse response to SLE Fearnan letter Feb 2014
We were quite pleased with Wheelhouse’s response – a definite baring of the teeth – but as we’ve often said, it’s his actions that count, not just words. We’re waiting to see whether he can bite.
It’s interesting that he hasn’t yet made a public comment about the discovery of those five red kites and one buzzard that was all over the news yesterday, suspected to have been poisoned. We understand the death toll has since risen but more on that later. We’ll be watching with very close interest to see whether SNH will now enforce the new enabling clause to restrict the use of General Licences on the land where these corpses were found. A conviction is not required for them to exercise this new clause; SNH must just have ‘reason to believe that wild birds have been taken or killed by such persons and/or on such land other than in accordance with the general licence’ (see here).
There have been very few examples of people within the shooting industry turning against the raptor killers. Oh sure, the representative game-shooting organisations will often trot out a statement or two following the latest atrocity to have been uncovered on land managed for game-shooting, but we rarely believe their sincerity. Why? Because their statements of ‘condemnation’ are often accompanied by outlandish claims such as the poisoned eagle carcass had been ‘planted’ [by anti-shooting campaigners], or the shot red kite must have been shot miles away and it just happened to fly to a grouse moor and die there.
Talking of very, very stupid people….
The golden eagle in Scotland does face a variety of threats or potential threats, including afforestation and the construction of wind farms. We don’t dispute that. However, the main scientific report on this issue has shown that the single biggest threat to golden eagles in Scotland is illegal persecution on driven grouse moors. That is a fact, backed up by scientific peer-reviewed evidence (see link above).
The article goes on: “It is interesting to note that eagle numbers are highest in eastern Scotland, where grouse moors are actively managed“. Er, no, they’re not. Try looking at the scientific data (see 
Some people are just very, very stupid.
Another investigation has been launched after a video of a man slitting a deer’s throat and drinking its blood was posted on Facebook last month. The ‘stunt’ was allegedly part of the ‘neknominate’ craze where someone drinks alcohol, performs a stunt and then nominates someone else to take part. The video was posted by someone called Shaun Wilson from Newcastle. An article in the Newcastle Chronicle (see 
We’ve been following the progress of the RSPB’s submission to the Scottish Parliament to have the golden eagle declared as Scotland’s national bird.
It’s all very strange, especially when you consider Wheelhouse’s response to the recent designation of the Scots Pine as Scotland’s national tree. Following that designation, Wheelhouse revealed plans were in place to have a National Tree Week and to set up a special fund to help promote Scotland’s national tree! He was quoted as saying that having a national tree was a “clear symbol of our affinity with Scotland’s trees, woods and forests, and their importance to us all” (see 
Raptor Persecution UK 