Author: RaptorPersecutionUK

Feasibility study for proposed reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Cumbria

The BBC News website published an article a few days ago about the proposed reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Cumbria. The article was based on a recent BBC radio interview with Dr Alex Dittrich from the University of Cumbria who is reportedly involved with the project.

This project is in its infancy, with an initial feasibility study completed in April this year and now the group, led by The Lifescape Project, is seeking an eye-watering £120-150k to undertake 12 month’s worth of further ‘sensitivity testing’ in addition to consultation with stakeholders and the public. This funding request does not cover the cost of an actual reintroduction, only the preliminary stages up to submitting a licence application to Natural England.

I’m not sure why the results of a previous, extensive stakeholder consultation from 2013, undertaken by the University of Cumbria to establish the views of the farming, fieldsports and conservation sectors to the proposed reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Cumbria, isn’t being utilised here?

The most recent reintroduction project report (see below) was published in April 2022 and lists the members of a newly-formed group called ‘White-tailed Eagles Cumbria Working Group’. Those listed include the Lifescape Project, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, RSPB, the Solway Coast AONB, University of Cumbria, University of Leeds and Natural England. The report states that this group will ‘oversee the development of the proposed feasibility study and any subsequent post-release activities’. If things go to plan, the report suggests that the first release of white-tailed eagles could take place in ‘summer 2024’.

The report, which can be read below, isn’t off to a convincing start. The eagle photograph on the front cover looks like a Bald eagle from North America, not a White-tailed eagle from Eurasia.

white-tailed-eagles-reintroduction-proposal-cumbriaDownload

The good news is that a local Conservative MP, Mark Jenkinson (Workington) is fully supportive of the proposal to undertake further feasibility studies and consultations. This attitude is very welcome and in marked contrast to the well-publicised anti-eagle hysteria of another Conservative MP, Chris Loder (Dorset).

The Federation of Cumbria Commoners (representing hill sheep farmers) on the other hand is already questioning the justification for restoring the sea eagle to its former range (see here) but, to me at least, the Federation’s response does seem to reveal an air of inevitability about the potential release and reintroduction of eagles to this part of the country.

UPDATE 7th October 2024: Translocation of white-tailed eagles to Cumbria – public consultation opens & ill-informed hysteria begins (here)

UPDATE 23 October 2025: Should White-tailed Eagles be reintroduced to Cumbria? Another questionnaire seeks your views (here)

Consign snares to the history books: a demo outside the Scottish Parliament

UPDATE 12th September 2022: This event has been postponed due to recent events. It has been rescheduled for 29th October 2022 (here).

REVIVE Coalition partner OneKind, the animal welfare charity, is hosting a demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament on Saturday 17th September, from 11.30am to 1pm, calling for a complete ban on the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Scotland.

Thousands of snares are deployed on game-shooting estates every year, which maim and kill animals in order to protect stocks of red grouse, pheasants and partridge for ‘sport’ shooting. It’s currently legal to snare some species (e.g. foxes), despite the inhumane method, but as snares are indiscriminate up to 80% of species caught are non-target species, according to DEFRA figures, and these species include badgers, otters, deer and pet cats and dogs. This shocking report from the REVIVE coalition for grouse moor reform provides more detail.

The demonstration on 17th September is timed to coincide with the Scottish Government’s current review of snaring legislation and OneKind’s CEO Bob Elliot has written an excellent account of why a ban is needed and how this demo could help achieve that aim (see here).

For more information about the demo and to register your attendance, please see here.

If you’re unable to attend, please consider sending a letter to Environment Minister Mairi McAllan using this e-letter template from OneKind, urging the Government to introduce a full ban on the manufacture, sale and use of snares in Scotland.

More golden eagles released in South Scotland

Press release from South Scotland Golden Eagle Project (8th September 2022):

Pioneering conservation project reveals new record number of golden eagles soaring in southern Scottish skies ahead of UK’s only golden eagle festival

As part of a series of ground-breaking translocations to reverse the decline in numbers of golden eagles in the south of Scotland, the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project has today (Thursday 8 September 2022) revealed it successfully transported six more golden eagle chicks from the Scottish Highlands to a secret location in south Scotland this summer. The new additions bring the total population of golden eagles in the south to around 39 – more than tripling the population to the highest number recorded in the area for three centuries.

[Two of this year’s golden eagle cohort being released. Photo by John Wright]

News of the translocation comes as the initiative was named a finalist for this year’s National Lottery Awards Project of the Year for its “amazing conservation work” – a public vote, closing 9 October, will decide the winner.

The Project is now preparing to celebrate the new arrivals at the UK’s only Golden Eagle Festival in Moffat. The festival, taking place between 16 and 18 September 2022, has been organised to help secure vital support for the charity’s continued conservation efforts and celebrate the UK’s first Eagle Town of Moffat. It will showcase the project’s success and the ways in which people can help golden eagles to flourish in southern skies once again.

The Moffat Eagle Festival programme features a number of events and talks for all ages, many of which are free, including keynote speeches by wildlife cameraman and TV presenter Gordon Buchanan and renowned wildlife photographer Laurie Campbell, family fun workshops, an “Eagle Cliff” climbing wall and live music sessions.

Speaking about the news of the project’s latest arrival and his involvement in the Festival, Gordon Buchanan said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to hear that the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project has successfully released six more golden eagles this summer, bringing the total population to the highest number recorded in the area for three centuries! This is truly groundbreaking.

“The perfect predators, golden eagles are heart-stoppingly exciting to watch, so I’m not surprised that eagle fever is spreading throughout the south of Scotland, as more than 15,000 volunteers and project participants have taken this iconic bird under these wings. It is great to see widespread support from landowners and estates, scouts, schools and other community groups. I’m delighted to support this project as part of the fantastic programme for this year’s Moffat Eagle Festival.”

Cat Barlow, Project Manager for the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, which was awarded the prestigious Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Tony Bradshaw Award for Outstanding Best Practice earlier this year, added: “It is thrilling to know that our six new arrivals bring the local population of golden eagles to the highest number recorded in the area for three centuries. As a top predator, this majestic bird of prey is fundamental to protecting our local eco system. Before our project began, only three pairs were nesting in the south of Scotland. We’ve now more than tripled the population, and though all seem to have settled in the south of Scotland, some of our birds have even travelled as far south as The Forest of Bowland in Lancashire, where the species has been extinct for a number of years.

“Our work has only been possible due to the support of National Lottery Heritage Fund, our project staff and partners, NatureScot licensing team, raptor specialists, Advisory Panel members, estates, CalMac Ferries, Visit Moffat, Moffat Eagle Festival revellers and of course the wider community in the south of Scotland. We would also like to thank all those who take the time to vote for us for the National Lottery Award Project of the Year – the £5,000 prize money could help us make an even greater difference.”

Francesca Osowska, NatureScot’s Chief Executive and a passionate supporter of the Project, said: “The key aim of this exciting project is to increase the number of breeding pairs in the south of Scotland, a vital part of our work to reverse biodiversity loss and combat the climate emergency. With wildlife declining across the globe, it is fantastic to hear that the project has translocated so many eagle chicks once again this year. Golden eagles are an exciting part of Scotland’s wildlife, and we’re passionate about returning them to places where they used to thrive.

“This is brilliant partnership working, and a great support for the local green economy. Already, we are seeing great success. The project’s many accolades really are very well deserved and we hope lots of people vote for them to win the National Lottery Awards Project of the Year.”

Earlier this year, led by the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, Scottish Raptor Study Group workers in the Scottish Highlands, carefully collected chicks from a number of supportive estates (including RSPB Abernethy and Rottal Estate Angus Glens) under license from NatureScot before taking them to the release site in a confidential location in the Moffat Hills. The birds were then cared for in specially-designed release aviaries and supplementary fed to help them adjust to their new habitat before their release this summer. Experts at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies also provided considerable support throughout the process to monitor the health and wellbeing of the birds.

Caroline Clark, Director for Scotland, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “This translocation of six eagle chicks is fantastic news for the biodiversity of the South of Scotland, and for the country as a whole. It is because of groundbreaking achievements like this, and the project’s impressive partnership working and engagement with the local community, that the project has been shortlisted for The National Lottery Awards Project of the Year, which is now open to the public vote.

“Through our conversations with National Lottery players, we know that nature is incredibly important to them. The £1.5m funding given to the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project means they can help protect Scotland’s outstanding wildlife and landscapes.”

The six new arrivals have been named by a range of individuals, school children, organisations and supporters of the Moffat Eagle Festival including the Buccleuch Arms Hotel in Moffat, and the project’s lead charity partner, The Southern Uplands Partnership, who named one bird Merrick after the highest peak in the area.

South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) received 300 entries from children and young people throughout southern Scotland in a competition to name one of the birds. The winner was two-year-old Zara Blackburn from Kelso, who suggested the name ‘Sula’.

Announcing the winner, Tracey Graham, SOSE’s Head of Marketing and Communications said: “SOSE is a supporter of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, so we were delighted to be asked to name one of the chicks that were released during the summer.

“As part of our plans to engage with the people of the South of Scotland, we thought this was a great opportunity to ask our local communities to help us and we got a fantastic response to our naming competition we held at Border Union and the Dumfries shows we attended during the summer. We look forward to hearing Sula progress and well done to Zara!”

Project partners the Southern Uplands Partnership, RSPB Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates, Scottish Forestry and NatureScot worked on the project together for more than 11 years before releasing the first eagle chicks in 2018.  Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, project partners and the Scottish Government, the initiative is a key project under ‘Scotland’s Biodiversity. A Route Map to 2020’, supporting the Government’s ‘2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity’.

For the latest project and festival news, or to donate to the charity initiative, visit: www.goldeneaglessouthofscotland.co.uk

To vote for South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project to win the National Lottery Awards Project of the Year go to lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards, use the hashtag #NLAGoldenEagle on Twitter and Instagram, and/or visit @lotterygoodcauses on Facebook and add the hashtag to the pinned post. Voting runs from 9am on 7 September until 5pm on 7th October. Each person can vote once on each platform (a total of four votes).

ENDS

Red kite reported shot in Essex – Police appeal for information

Essex Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Crime Team is appealing for information after a red kite was reportedly found shot in Stapleford Abbots in the Epping Forest.

The kite was found on 3rd September 2022 and is currently undergoing veterinary treatment for what are believed to be shotgun injuries.

No further details about this reported crime have been provided yet.

Anyone with any information that could assist the police investigation please call Essex Police on Tel. 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to provide information anonymously and in confidence. Please quote incident reference number: 42/232180/22.

Court hearing delayed for Scottish gamekeeper accused of killing sparrowhawk

A court hearing has been delayed in the case of a Scottish gamekeeper accused of killing a sparrowhawk.

The un-named 22-year-old gamekeeper was charged in September 2021 (see here) for the alleged killing in Inverness-shire and was due in court on 30th September 2022.

This case will now be heard on 10th November.

As this is a live case no comments will be accepted on this blog post until criminal proceedings have ended. Thanks for your understanding.

UPDATE 11th November 2022: Court hearing delayed again for Scottish gamekeeper accused of killing sparrowhawk on grouse moor (here)

Scottish Government announces draft bill on grouse moor licensing to be introduced this parliamentary year

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that, finally, a draft bill on grouse moor licensing will be introduced in this parliamentary year.

This proposed legislation is a direct result of the continued illegal killing of birds of prey on many driven grouse moors, that’s been going on for decades.

The grouse-shooting industry hasn’t just refused to kick out the criminals in its midst; it has repeatedly denied that the crimes ever take place, despite the weight of evidence that shows otherwise, and it has actively shielded those responsible. Raptor persecution doesn’t happen on grouse moors by accident, or by bad luck, but as a consequence of the industry’s failure to self-regulate (and the Government’s failure to take effective action).

This legislation was inevitable in response to the grouse-shooting industry’s arrogance and intransigence (a nod to Mark Avery for coining that term).

[A poisoned golden eagle on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park. Photo by RSPB Scotland]

The announcement about the introduction of the draft bill was made in the Scottish Government’s 2022-2023 Programme For Government, published this afternoon, outlining the policies and actions that are expected to take place over the coming year as well as the expected legislative programme.

You can download the programme here:

scotland-programme-government-2022-23Download

The draft bill on grouse moor management is one of 18 bills the Government proposes to introduce by the end of June 2023. The statement on it is concise and short on detail but is nonetheless significant for those of us who have campaigned on the subject for years:

It’s been almost three years since the Werritty Review on grouse moor management was published (see here) and almost two years since the Scottish Government published its response (here), committing to developing a licensing scheme ‘immediately’, so the news that a draft bill is to be introduced in the now foreseeable future is a huge milestone in this long battle.

The fight is nowhere near over, of course. There will be various stages the bill has to navigate, which will take months, and the dark forces of the grouse-shooting industry will be hard at work chiselling away at any proposed measures of constraint (whatever they may be). But equally, conservationists will be fighting hard to ensure this proposed legislation has teeth, and importantly, strong enforcement support, which I’m told is also what the Scottish Government has in mind. Let’s see.

At this stage I’m not aware of any of the proposed detail of the draft bill so it’s impossible to comment on how effective / ineffective it might be, but the next ten months will be interesting and there’ll be opportunities for everyone to engage and influence the direction of travel.

To everyone who has worked so hard on this campaign, whether that be in recent weeks or over a period of months, years, or several decades, it hasn’t been in vain.

I’m having a drink this evening. Cheers!

Natural England utterly compromised on tackling hen harrier persecution

Hen harrier Asta, a young, satellite-tagged bird being monitored by Natural England, met a brutal and sickening end on a grouse moor in County Durham in March 2021 (see here).

Her wings were ripped off so that her satellite tag and harness could be fitted to a crow, presumably done in an attempt to deceive the authorities that Asta was alive and well, as the satellite tag continued to transmit data as the crow flew around the countryside.

It’s not known if Asta was alive or already dead when her wings were torn off.

The crow was found dead a couple of weeks later in a lowland area of North Yorkshire and a police investigation was launched when it became apparent the tag and harness it was carrying had originally been fitted to Asta, and could only have been removed from her, intact, if her wings had been pulled off.

Thanks to blog reader Alan Gregory (@Barneygregorawg) who has shared these photos of Asta, as he puts it, ‘enjoying her brief life patrolling the Durham moors‘:

The level of depraved brutality involved in this crime is quite shocking, even to those of us who have become hardened to the relentless illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK. It’s virtually impossible not to look at these images of Asta and imagine the horror she faced at the hands of her killer.

The calculated deviousness of whoever committed this crime deserves the full attention of the statutory regulator, Natural England, and widespread publicity about the lengths these criminals will go to hide their ongoing, appalling violence towards this species and other birds of prey.

What we have instead is, 18 months on, Natural England still refusing to draw attention to this crime even though the police investigation has closed. Natural England has been contacted by a number of journalists this week but is refusing to comment about Asta, let alone issue a statement of condemnation, but has quite happily permitted a staff member to appear in a propaganda video put out by the Moorland Association singing the praises of the grouse-shooting industry for its fake tolerance and acceptance of the hen harrier.

And it’s not just this crime that Natural England is shying away from talking about. Since 2018, at least 72 hen harriers have either been illegally killed or have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, most of them on or close to driven grouse moors (see here for the list). Many of these birds were tagged and monitored by Natural England. And yet I haven’t seen any statement from Natural England about this appalling figure. Instead, I’ve seen great media prominence given to the number of breeding harriers, the number of chicks fledged, the number of nests brood meddled, and statements from Natural England of ‘great progress‘ being made but no detail provided about how many privately-owned grouse moors have been involved.

Natural England is supposed to be the statutory conservation agency but it is utterly compromised by accepting financial bungs from the shooting industry with a contract clause preventing criticism from Natural England (see here).

It can’t expect to be taken seriously when it continues to avoid talking about the ongoing and illegal killing of this species on driven grouse moors.

‘Chris Packham should not be silenced by hunters’ – new petition launched

Although the BBC has already effectively told the Countryside Alliance where to shove its latest vindictive call for Chris Packham to be gagged or sacked (see here), someone has launched a counter petition to the one being promoted by the Countryside Alliance, just to ram home the message that ‘Chris Packham should not be silenced by hunters’.

If you’d like to sign this petition it can be found HERE

BBC gives short shrift to Countryside Alliance’s latest vindictive attack on Chris Packham

The perennially nasty Countryside Alliance (CA) has received a metaphorical two fingers from the BBC in response to the CA’s latest attack on Chris Packham, calling for him to be gagged or sacked.

Using The Telegraph to promote its ongoing hate campaign, last week we learned how the CA planned to complain to the BBC because on Twitter Chris had publicly applauded the hunt saboteurs whose peaceful protest had stopped a grouse shoot attended by Ian Botham in the Peak District National Park. Here’s the Telegraph‘s headline from 25th August 2022:

The Countryside Alliance was apparently upset that Chris was using his personal Twitter account to air his personal views. Shocking, I know.

Fast forward a week and yesterday The Telegraph published a second article, this time announcing that the CA had launched [another] petition to try and force the BBC to gag Chris or sack him. You’d think the Environment Correspondent at the Telegraph might have more pressing issues to address…

Here’s the second article’s headline:

We’ve been here before, of course.

In 2015 Tim Bonner, Chief Exec of the Countryside Alliance complained to the BBC about Chris Packham describing various ‘countryside’ organisations as “the nasty brigade” and Bonner accused Chris of other alleged breaches of the BBC’s editorial code. This complaint coincided with the beginnings of a concerted campaign by Chris & others against driven grouse shooting. It was pretty obvious to everyone why they wanted Chris silenced.

After long consideration, the BBC Trust dismissed the complaint and published a report that concluded Chris had not breached any BBC guidelines (see here).

The Countryside Alliance’s latest complaint to the BBC has been met with a wonderfully chiding response from a BBC spokesman, not unlike that of a tired adult trying to explain to a small child whose brain hasn’t yet fully developed why they can’t eat ice-cream for every meal:

“As we have said before, impartiality at the BBC is sacrosanct and we have established strong and clear guidelines for social media use.

“And as a piece of context, Chris is not exclusive to the BBC, isn’t a factual journalist and isn’t speaking as a BBC presenter.”

Nice one, BBC.

UPDATE 3rd August 2022:

A counter-petition to the BBC has been set up.

That petition, ‘Chris Packham should NOT be silenced by hunters‘ can be found here.

UPDATE 17th October 2022: Public support for Chris Packham overwhelms Countryside Alliance’s latest vindictive attack (see here)

Prominent falconer on trial for alleged mistreatment of 90 raptors

A prominent falconer and eagle breeder is being prosecuted for the alleged mistreatment of 90 raptors and other bird species at his breeding facility in Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire.

Andrew Knowles-Brown, 67, and his associate Alan Rothery, 62, have been charged with a number of offences relating to the welfare of birds of prey at the Scottish Eagle Centre between June and December 2019 after an investigation led by the Scottish SPCA.

The alleged offences include keeping the birds in enclosures which were too small, failing to provide the birds with natural light, failing to provide them with adequate water, denying them the ability to exhibit natural behaviours such as flying and bathing, failing to protect the birds from injury, suffering and disease, and mistreating a Tawny owl.

Knowles-Brown and Rothery have denied the charges and a court case is ongoing. There has already been three days of evidence-giving and the case will continue on 20th October 2022 at Lanark Sheriff Court.

Media coverage so far can be found here, here and here.

Knowles-Brown is a prominent figure in the falconry world, having served as the Chair of the Scottish Hawk Board and Vice-Chair of the UK Hawk Board. The Hawk Board, which includes a representative from the Countryside Alliance, represents falconers, hawk-keepers and falconry clubs and provides welfare guidelines for those keeping raptors in captivity. It also engages in political lobbying (e.g. it was against the Scottish Government’s decision to afford the Mountain Hare full legal protection) and Knowles-Brown himself has provided evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs Committee when it was considering its draft Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill.

Some members of the Hawk Board have been lobbying for some time to be permitted to take some birds of prey from the wild (e.g. peregrines) and the Hawk Board routinely and persistently denies that peregrines are being stolen from the wild in the UK and being sold to buyers in the Middle East. I suspect an impending court case due next year will blow holes in that position.

As the Knowles-Brown and Rothery court case is live, comments won’t be accepted on this blog until proceedings have concluded. Thanks for your understanding.

UPDATE 14th March 2023: Prominent falconer cleared of welfare allegations relating to ten eagles but faces charges for another 90 eagles (here)

UPDATE 16th June 2023: Second trial underway for falconer charged with welfare offences relating to 90 eagles (here)

UPDATE 15 October 2024: Prominent falconer & eagle breeder Andrew Knowles-Brown guilty of welfare offences relating to approx 90 eagles in Scotland (here)

UPDATE 15 October 2025: Prominent falconer Andrew Knowles-Brown fined almost £14,000 for ‘shocking’ animal cruelty (here)