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Police appeal after buzzard shot dead in Cambridgeshire

Press release from Cambridge Constabulary (4th February 2021)

Buzzard found shot in Horseheath

Police are appealing for information after a buzzard was found dead in Horseheath.

A member of the public found the bird of prey in a wooded area while on a walk on 29 January.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) are now working with the RSPB to find those responsible after it was discovered it had shot gun pellets in its body and wings.

PC Alun Bradshaw from the RCAT said: “Someone has deliberately shot this bird and we urge anyone with information to contact us.

“All birds of prey are protected by law. If you notice a dead or injured bird of prey in suspicious circumstances, please notify us and the RSPB.”

RSPB Assistant Investigations Officer, Tom Grose, added: “Many of us will have enjoyed watching buzzards lately on our daily walks. They are a natural part of our countryside and a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Buzzards and other birds of prey are protected by law, yet all too often we received reports of them being illegally shot, trapped and poisoned.

“At a time when the natural work and its wildlife are increasingly under threat, we all have an important role to play. If you have any information which may help this investigation, please come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact us online via our web chat or call 101 quoting incident 239 of 30 January.

ENDS

Wildlife crime on grouse moors in the Peak District National Park – an illustrated talk by Bob Berzins

Bob Berzins is a conservation campaigner who has spent a number of years highlighting the ecological damage caused by grouse-shooting interests on the moors of the Peak District National Park (e.g. see guest blogs he’s written for Mark Avery here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here).

Regular blog readers will be well aware that the Peak District National Park has been identified as a hotbed of illegal raptor persecution for many years (e.g. see here) and this reputation continued, in and around this National Park (!) even when the country was in lockdown last spring (see here).

[A shot buzzard found critically injured at Rushup Edge, near Mam Tor in the Peak District National Park on 13th January 2020. It had to be euthanised. Photo via Derbyshire Constabulary]

Bob’s willingness to speak out about his findings on these Peak District grouse moors has led to him being targeted, like so many of us, by a campaign of harassment and intimidation from members of the grouse shooting industry, presumably in an attempt to silence him.

It’s a measure of the man that he hasn’t quietly slinked off, even in the face of the most malicious abuse, but has instead stood his ground and continued to share his experience and knowledge.

A few days ago he gave an illustrated presentation (online, of course) to the Sheffield Green Party. His talk was entitled ‘Wildlife Crime in the Peak District’ and it’s now available to watch on YouTube:

Gamekeepers responsible for more illegal raptor killing than any other profession

Somebody sent me a screen grab the other day of a statement posted on social media by the Southern Uplands Moorland Group (SUMG), which is one of a number of regional groups representing grouse moor estates around the country and designed to persuade the public that birds of prey are warmly welcomed and that gamekeepers love having birds of prey on their ground.

The statement published by the SUMG is fairly typical of the misrepresentation of facts that we’ve all come to expect from certain quarters of the grouse shooting industry. It reads as follows and I’ve underlined the sentence of interest:

Now, I can’t recall EVER saying on this blog that a dead raptor is automatically linked to the [game]keepering profession and there are numerous examples of illegal raptor killing offences that I’ve reported on here over the years where gamekeepers have quite clearly not been responsible (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here, here, here etc).

As a co-director of Wild Justice I’m also pretty certain that WJ has NEVER made such a claim. If there is such evidence, the SUMG are challenged to provide it.

I can’t speak for the RSPB but I can’t imagine they would EVER make such a ridiculous claim either.

Speaking for myself, I don’t even believe, as some do, that ALL gamekeepers are raptor killers. A lot of them are, of that there’s no doubt whatsoever, and some other gamekeepers will benefit from that killing even if they’re not doing the actual killing themselves, but I also know of some decent, law-abiding gamekeepers who are as thrilled at seeing a raptor as I am. I’ve met them and have worked with them, so I know they exist.

However, there’s no getting away from the undeniable evidence that shows overall, gamekeepers in the UK are responsible for more illegal raptor killing than any other profession. If you want to see the evidence, have a look at this pie chart published by the RSPB last year in their annual Birdcrime report:

Interestingly, one of the individuals included in the convicted gamekeepers section of this pie chart was a certain Alan Wilson, a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association who was convicted in 2019 of a catalogue of horrendous wildlife crimes he committed on the Longformacus Estate, a grouse/pheasant shooting moor in, er, the Southern Uplands (see here).

It strikes me that the Southern Uplands Moorland Group would do well to concentrate on ousting the criminals within the gamekeeping industry rather than smearing those of us who report on such crimes and who, quite legitimately, campaign for the Government to clamp down on the criminals involved.

Songbird Survival charity continues to call for licences to kill birds of prey

It’s usually the Scottish Gamekeepers Association making complete fools of themselves with wildly hysterical claims about the ‘damage’ that raptors might do to babies and toddlers, but never far behind is the massively ecologically-illiterate charity, Songbird Survival (SS).

The SS Chairman, Colin Strang Steel, is no stranger to these blog pages (e.g. see here and here). And here he is again, this time on the letters page of the Scottish Farmer (30 January 2021), calling, again, for licences to kill birds of prey (buzzards and sparrowhawks) in response to an earlier editorial about killing sea eagles (here).

His latest clamouring for licences is reproduced here:

Sir, – Your Editorial in The Scottish Farmer, January 16, made some eminently sensible proposals for dealing with rogue sea eagles.

The net needs to be widened, though, to include other avian and mammalian species which are largely responsible for the natural balance in this country having become so out of kilter, in favour of predators.

It is all very well for armchair conservationists to howl with protest at the mention of ‘control’ and trot out the usual platitude that nature will find its own balance. This, of course, is never going to happen while we are around, since man has controlled nature since Neolithic times.

At the top end of the apex predator lists are badgers, buzzards, foxes, and sparrowhawks, to mention just a few. They have no natural enemies and so it is hardly surprising that with the added benefit of protected status (except foxes) their numbers have just gone on multiplying, while their prey, like songbirds and waders, have gone in totally the opposite direction.

This has, not surprisingly, resulted in nature being out of balance and unless man is allowed to intervene more than current legislation permits, it is almost certain that we will not only see the demise of some of our best known and loved bird and small animal species, but attacks on livestock will only increase.

In an article about the threat posed by growing deer populations in The Scotsman on January 19, Duncan Orr-Ewing, of the RSPB, stated: “Nature seeks balance to thrive and by managing our deer populations, we can help nature to flourish.” It is not just deer populations which need managing for nature to thrive.

The idea of introducing even more apex predators, like lynx and wolves, should be treated with extreme caution as they can only contribute to the balance of nature going even further in the wrong direction once they become established and allowed to multiply unchecked.

Colin Strang Steel

Chairman of SongBird Survival,

Threepwood, Galashiels.

ENDS

I can’t think of anyone within the conservation community who takes SS seriously – whenever its name is raised, eyes roll, there are a few chortles and the conversation moves swiftly on. The SS is largely seen as an irrelevance and its Chair’s ill-informed views, made so frequently in publications like the above, do nothing to change anyone’s views.

The SS has recently announced a new CEO, Susan Morgan, who appears to be an experienced administrator but by her own admission is inexperienced in the field of conservation. She’ll fit right in at the good ship SS then. Perhaps her first project could be to fundraise for some much-needed training for SS trustees on the ecology of predator – prey relationships.

Multi-agency raid on Scottish grouse moor following reports of alleged wildlife crime

The Scottish SPCA and Police Scotland, along with other partners, have undertaken a search on a Scottish grouse shooting estate following reports of alleged wildlife crimes.

The multi-agency raid took place in November 2020.

A Scottish SPCA special investigations unit chief inspector, who cannot be named due to undercover work, said: “The Scottish SPCA is committed to the protection of all animals including wild animals.

‘We can confirm there is an ongoing investigation in to wildlife crime in the Tayside area.

‘This investigation is being carried out in conjunction with our partners from Police Scotland and we look forward to working with the wildlife crime unit as the case progresses“.

I understand this unnamed estate is in central Perthshire.

More details will be published when they’re made available.

Reintroduction & Rewilding Summit

Press release from Birds of Poole Harbour and the Self-Isolating Bird Club (2nd February 2021)

On April 10th 2021 Dorset-based charity Birds of Poole Harbour, in partnership with Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin’s Self Isolating Bird Club, will host the first ever Reintroduction and Rewilding Summit, an event aimed to educate and inspire the public on some of the latest and most innovative conservation projects going on across the UK and Europe right now.

It is widely accepted that the planet is now at an ecological tipping point. Whether discussing the climate crisis or extreme declines in biodiversity, taking appropriate action to remedy these problems is still not a priority for many of those in power. In the past year especially, nature has proven its worth 100 times over, with millions of people finding comfort and solace within it.

Liv Cooper from the Birds of Poole Harbour charity said:

“At Birds of Poole Harbour, we are not content with letting the opportunity to restore and conserve our natural heritage slip through our fingers, and we’re not alone. We are a small part of a mighty network of people and organisations striving to make positive change for nature, exploring novel ways of doing so and educating the public as we go. As a charity, with our involvement in the Poole Harbour Osprey Translocation Project, we’re particularly inspired by the uptake of wildlife restoration projects through reintroductions and rewilding, and we know that many other people are just as engaged and enthused as we are. We therefore decided to launch a new event, bringing these projects together to showcase them to the public: The Reintroduction & Rewilding Summit“.

The R & R Summit is a virtual event which you will be able to stream live from home on Saturday 10th April 2021. The day will be hosted by the brilliant Self-Isolating Bird Club and will be jam-packed full of content from different projects, conservationists and science communicators talking all about reintroductions and nature restoration.

The event will raise the discussion of a multitude of questions, from whether reintroductions are the best way to re-establish native species, to how beavers can shape our landscape, and whether rewilding has become an overused buzzword or is it actually our best chance to reverse catastrophic biodiversity decline?

But most importantly, it’s hoped the day will provide much-needed hope and excitement for the future of wildlife restoration and will inspire the public to discover more about these projects.

Speakers will include the likes of conservation hero Roy Dennis, Beaver expert Derek Gow, ‘Rebirding’ author Benedict Macdonald and the White Stork project. The Birds of Poole Harbour team will also be sharing more information and announcing more guest speakers over the coming weeks, and are hoping to get as many people as possible to tune in on the day, so put the date in your diary! Plus, don’t worry if you can’t watch it on the day as all content will be available to watch on the Birds of Poole website and social media channels after the event too.

Here’s a taster video of what’s coming:

The R&R Summit Insight Podcasts

Over the next 10 weeks leading up to the event, guest podcaster Charlie Moores will be interviewing a series of reintroduction and rewilding project leaders, discussing the details, aims and inspiration behind each scheme. With many of these topics or ideas sometimes being considered controversial, these open discussions aim to lay all cards on the table, allowing listeners to hear about the processes, practicalities and outcomes of each of the projects and how they fit into a wider context of conservation.

Podcast 1 – Poole Harbour Osprey Translocation Project

In 2017, charity Birds of Poole Harbour began a 5-year Osprey translocation project in an effort to restore a south coast breeding population having been absent for nearly 200 years. In this first podcast, Charlie discusses with some of the Poole Harbour Osprey project team the reasoning behind the reintroduction, their aspirations moving forward and the project’s place within a wider nature restoration framework.

You can listen to the first podcast and all the rest as they’re produced over the next 10 weeks on the Birds of Poole Harbour website HERE

ENDS

Lies, damn lies & statistics

The following is a guest blog written by someone who wishes to remain anonymous. I know who they are and I understand their reason for wishing to remain anonymous. When you’ve read the blog, you’ll probably understand, too.

This guest blog was originally submitted last week so some of the figures referring to the number of abusive attacks by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association since the beginning of the year will probably now be out of date.

Lies, damn lies & statistics

In November last year, the Scottish Government finally published some more results of their socio-economic review of driven grouse moors (see here). These findings contributed to the Government’s thoughts about how to finally respond to the Werritty review of grouse moor management.

That response, accepting the need for immediate introduction of grouse moor licensing, as well as the regulation of muirburn and the use of medicated grit, came on 26 November. It was widely welcomed by those who had fought long and hard for progress on this issue. But of course, immediately afterwards, and ever since, the announcement led to a considerable amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth from the grouse shooting industry.

Their initial over-the-top response predictably suggested impending rural Armageddon, but it was much the same as they had been saying since the prospect of grouse moor licensing increased when Professor Werritty published his report back in December 2019. Landowners’ lobby group Scottish Land & Estates called the licensing announcement “unnecessary, disproportionate” and “draconian”. A bit like poisoning a young white-tailed eagle on a grouse moor in a National Park?

A few days later the Scottish Gamekeeper’s Association chairman told the world he was “angry beyond expression”, before going on to express how angry he was.

Then, after further dummy-spitting and throwing their toys out of the pram, the SGA announced that they were going to march on Holyrood to protest because “everything to do with our way of life” was being scrutinised.

Just the same as the rest of us then.

I think they want us all to feel sorry for them. But the shooting industry’s latest bout of playing the victim card began just before the Werritty response announcement, when the Scottish Government’s review reports were published. The focus of the industry’s media blitz was a carefully cherry-picked bit of this work, included in the report on the rights of gamekeepers.

BASC, who were members of the research advisory group overseeing this review (along with SLE, RSPB, NatureScot & SGA), started the ball rolling with a press release saying that “as many as 64% of Scottish gamekeepers experience threatening behaviour or abuse from members of the public at least once every year”. Spokesman Ross Ewing goes on “It is clear that this contemptuous behaviour is in part a product of concerted and maligned campaigns against shooting”.

Readers of this blog will know that many individuals who publicly speak out against some management practices associated with shooting are frequent recipients of abuse and threats, personal attacks, smears or campaigns of intimidation.

Anyone who is the recipient of this sort of behaviour will confirm that it is abhorrent, and will condemn it out of hand.

The claims made by BASC do deserve some scrutiny, however, not least because they are being routinely repeated in the shooting media and elsewhere, even as recently as last week.

The “Employment Rights of Gamekeepers” report was produced for the Scottish Government by SRUC. In introduction, it acknowledges that it is “one of the first independent attempts to investigate the gamekeeping profession and develop a profile of the people involved in the sector, their terms and conditions of employment and opinions they have on issues that impinge on their working lives.” Significantly, it also says that “a number of biases inherently exist within surveys of this type” and goes on “the findings should therefore be viewed with these caveats in mind”.

Funnily enough, none of the media coverage we’ve seen seems to mentions this.

The details about threatening behaviour appear on pg 37 of the report and states – “56% of respondents had experienced abuse/threats ‘rarely’ (once or twice per year), with 7% reporting ‘occasional’ abuse/threats (once or twice a month) and 1% ‘often’ (one or twice per week). That adds up to 64% as claimed by BASC in their press release.

But let’s look a bit more closely at the figures.

Firstly, we need to remember that this work was being undertaken parallel to and with the intention of informing the Scottish Government’s ongoing consideration of the future of grouse moor management, with a recommendation for licensing a very real possibility.

The prospect of shoot licensing described by BASC as long ago as 2017 as having “significant consequences for rural people and businesses”, and the SGA’s chairman quoted in the 22 Feb 2017 edition of Shooting Times as saying licensing “would drive wives, children and grandchildren from their homes”.

Unequivocal, emotive and very strong language, that you would imagine if they had agreed would have had the gamekeeper members of BASC & SGA flocking to contribute to the Scottish Government-commissioned review of the rights of gamekeepers, therefore having their own input to the decision-making process?

The online survey ran for two months, up to February 2020. The published report states “Gamekeeper members of BASC Scotland and the SGA were individually sent details of how to participate in the survey by these membership bodies, who also took actions to encourage uptake through newsletter articles, social media campaigns (Facebook and Twitter) and a radio interview (BBC Radio Scotland Out of Doors – January 2020).”

That’s a lot of publicity and encouragement, and at a time when grouse industry representatives had repeatedly been claiming their industry was under threat, you can understand them perhaps throwing everything at what they thought we be a good opportunity for the strength of feeling to be articulated. Similarly, it’s reasonable to expect that if Scotland’s gamekeeping community believed what their representative organisations were telling them, they would have been champing at the bit to tell their story.

The results were clear.

152 responses were received, 10%-13% of the Scotland’s gamekeepers.

Let that sink in. Only 1 in 9 of Scotland’s gamekeepers were so convinced by the scaremongering by SGA and BASC that they could be arsed responding to the survey by a group commissioned by the Scottish government to inform their grouse moor review. Does that mean 8 in 9 of Scotland’s gamekeepers realise that there is nothing to fear from licencing if you are managing your ground within the law? Let’s hope so!

But this response rate also calls into question the sweeping claims subsequently made in the media about 64% of gamekeepers suffering abuse. Let’s remember the caveat in the report: “a number of biases inherently exist within surveys of this type”.

If I had suffered regular or even occasional abuse just because of my work, here was an outlet where I could be counted, the abuse would be documented, the government and the public would be aware. I would want to participate.

Clearly some did. However, this was not 64% of Scotland’s gamekeepers, but 64% of the 152 people who felt sufficiently motivated to bother filling in a survey that BASC & SGA were pushing hard for their gamekeeper members to participate in.

What this survey actually reveals is that 97 people received personal abuse simply because they are gamekeepers. Again, this abuse is condemned unreservedly. But, this is not the “almost two thirds of Scotland’s gamekeepers” shamelessly peddled to the media!

Therefore, it’s entirely right that we question not just the questionable conclusions and extrapolations from this very limited, strongly caveated dataset, but also the flagrant hypocrisy of those who have desperately tried to make some capital out of these figures.

The latter predictably features the pointless and increasingly marginalised SGA, who since the 1st January this year, have either through posting on their website, publishing in their magazine, hosting on their social media accounts or sharing other’s equally squalid content, have on at least twenty-two occasions made personalised attacks, or published/shared smears, misrepresentations and unsubstantiated allegations targeting at least 9 named individuals simply because they perhaps don’t share their enthusiasm for grouse shooting/mountain hare culls etc.

They also recently hosted photos of four un-named but readily identifiable individuals with accompanying unsubstantiated allegations of crime/malpractice as comments by their supporters on their Facebook page, and have made similar accusations or smears against nine other organisations on at least eighteen occasions this year already.

And just to show how far they will stoop, one of the people targeted by a recent post on the SGA’s Facebook page died almost four years ago.

Lovely people, the SGA.

ENDS

Calls intensify to end muirburn on Scottish grouse moors

Press release from Revive, the coalition for grouse moor reform in Scotland (29th January 2021)

Scottish Government urged to protect Scotland’s ‘Amazon rainforest’

As the UK Government announces an end to muirburn on England’s peatland moors calls for the Scottish Government to end muirburn on Scotland’s controversial grouse moors have intensified.

The pressure has increased on the Scottish Government to end grouse moor burning as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has committed to a ban on deep peat, environments which store and sequester huge amounts of carbon in the ground. However when damaged by activities like burning, peatlands release carbon and are known to contribute significantly to climate change.

[Gamekeepers setting fire to a grouse moor at Leadhills Estate, South Lanarkshire. Photo by Ruth Tingay]

Campaigners have welcomed the move by DEFRA but have said the Scottish Government must go further. The Scottish Government has already announced that all muirburn should require a licence and that burning should not happen on deep peat but the terms of the licence have still to be decided.

Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager for REVIVE the coalition for grouse moor reform said:

“There is a circle of destruction surrounding Scotland’s controversial grouse moors that negatively affects our people, our wildlife and in this case the environment. Muirburn manipulates the environment to make sure that there are more grouse available for sport shooting and happens over huge land areas across Scotland. There is a very key question to answer here.

“Scotland’s peat stores about 25 times more carbon than all the forests of the UK put together and in carbon terms is our very own Amazon Rainforest. Is this environmental destruction worth it so that a few people can shoot a few more grouse? The Scottish Government must not offer a licence for any moorland burning if the purpose is as unnecessary as shooting grouse for sport.

“While the announcement in England is a welcome step forward if Scotland wants to be truly world leading on climate change this will be a key consideration.”

The Scottish Government has also indicated it is willing to redefine the depth of peat which would limit areas that could be burnt on. REVIVE and other groups like the RSPB are calling for deep peat to be redefined from 50cm to 25cm deep to protect more of this vital resource.

Dr Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland added:

“The climate emergency means that the management of the peat-rich grouse moorland in the UK will have to change radically because every sector will have to contribute to our efforts to cut emissions, including in the crucial next decade. That’s why it is welcome news to see the UK Government beginning to take action to better protect blanket bog from this outdated, dangerous practice.

“If the Scottish Government chooses to continue allowing land owners to burn land indiscriminately we risk damaging vital peatlands and allowing the carbon it stores to leak into the atmosphere, undermining other efforts to reduce climate emissions.”

Robbie Marsland, Director of the League Against Cruel Sports Scotland said:

“Burning heather on grouse moors is done for one reason – to increase the number of grouse to be shot. We welcome DEFRA’s commitment to reduce it in England and call on the Scottish Government to do the right thing and ban muirburn – for good”.

ENDS

DEFRA statement on grouse moor burning

DEFRA has published the following statement today:

England’s ‘national rainforests’ to be protected by new rules

Legislation will be brought forward to prevent the burning of heather and other vegetation on protected blanket bog habitats.

The government has today announced plans to bring forward legislation to prevent the burning of heather and other vegetation on protected blanket bog habitats.

The new regulations will prevent the burning of any specified vegetation on areas of deep peat (over 40cm depth) on a Site of Special Scientific Interest that is also a Special Area of Conservation or a Special Protection Area unless a licence has been granted or the land is steep or rocky.

‘Rotational’ burning is used as a management tool on moorland and blanket bog. Land managers use controlled burning on patches of heather during winter months typically on a 8-12 year rotation.

[Setting fire to a grouse moor. Photo by Ruth Tingay]

There is a consensus that burning of vegetation on blanket bog is damaging to peatland formation and habitat condition. It makes it more difficult or impossible to restore these habitats to their natural state and to restore their hydrology.

Restoring England’s peatlands is a priority for the government. It will help achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 as well as protecting our valuable habitats, and the biodiversity those habitats support.

Blanket bog, a type of peatland, is a delicate habitat of international importance, with the UK having 13% of the world’s blanket bog.

The government recognises that if moorland is unmanaged, there is a risk of wildfire which is most damaging of all and that these risks have grown due to climate change. Therefore, the government intends to work with land owners and managers to develop local wildfire control plans.

There will be specific circumstances where the ban does not apply, such as on steep land or where scree makes up half the land area. In addition, the Secretary of State may also issue licences for the burning of heather on blanket bog for the purposes of wildfire prevention, for a conservation purpose or where land is inaccessible to cutting or mowing machinery. These licences may cover several years so that they can be aligned with coherent management plans for sites.

Environment Secretary George Eustice said:

Our peatlands have great potential as a natural store of carbon, as well as protecting habitats, providing a haven for rare wildlife and being a natural provider of water regulation.

We want to work with land owners to restore the natural hydrology of many of these sites through our new agricultural policy to support our ambitions for the environment. The burning of heather on these sites makes it more difficult to restore their natural hydrology which is why we are taking this step today.

Natural England Chair Tony Juniper said:

This is a hugely welcome announcement which will see better protections for our globally important peatlands. Blanket bog is an amazing habitat that provides essential environmental benefits, including carbon storage, a home for wonderful wildlife, clean drinking water and flood mitigation. This is why it is vital we ensure these systems are healthy with peat-forming species, such as Sphagnum mosses, thriving in water-logged conditions.

We will continue to work with Defra and land managers to help with the successful implementation of these measures, including by providing advice on good upland management and leading a new peatland restoration grant scheme as part of the Nature for Climate programme.

This will provide funds to carry out restoration work on these precious ecosystems, ensuring their recovery and protection for the benefit of both present and future generations.

Today’s move marks a key step for meeting the Government’s nature and climate change mitigation and adaptation targets, and part of the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan commitment to bring 75% of SSSIs into favourable condition.

The Government will be setting out further measures to protect England’s peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England’s landscapes and nature-based solutions. The government’s £640m Nature for Climate Fund also includes funding to kick-start a programme of peatland restoration over the next 5 years.

The statutory instrument will be laid before Parliament for its approval before it comes into force.

ENDS

This is definitely progress, but although it might look good superficially, as with any Government statement the content should not be taken at face value and deserves a great deal of scrutiny.

Some of the caveats in these proposed regulations require special attention, e.g. issuing a licence to burn on blanket bog ‘for the purposes of wildfire prevention‘ sounds particularly dodgy, as does, ‘These licences may cover several years so that they can be aligned with coherent management plans for sites‘.

UPDATE 29th January 2021: Calls intensify to end muirburn on Scottish grouse moors (here)

UPDATE 29th January 2021: Reaction from RSPB’s Martin Harper (here)

UPDATE 1st February 2021: Reaction from Mark Avery (here)

UPDATE 5th February 2021: Which English grouse moors will escape DEFRA’s so-called moorland ‘burning ban’? (here)

Hen harriers: “Continuing illegal persecution is preventing the recovery we need to see”, says Natural England chief

There was a brief, useful but ultimately frustrating exchange of views on Twitter at the weekend between Tony Juniper (Chair of Natural England) and a number of conservationists.

The subject was the ongoing illegal killing of hen harriers on grouse moors. Like this one (pictured), who died in 2019 after his leg was almost severed in an illegally set trap that had been placed next to his nest on a Scottish grouse moor (see here). [Photo by Ruth Tingay]

The exchange started with an RPUK tweet about the ever-increasing list of illegally killed/’missing’ hen harriers, now numbering 51 since 2018. Tony Juniper had been tagged in the tweet, along with others, with a sarcastic question about how the ludicrous Hen Harrier Action Plan was working out.

Tony responded and the discussion went like this:

There were contributions from others in and around this core thread but I’m not including them here because although they made excellent points, they’re not fundamental to the discussion.

It was good to see Tony Juniper state, in very clear and unambiguous terms, that continuing illegal persecution is still preventing the recovery of the hen harrier. We all knew that, of course, but it’s important that the Chair of Natural England says it, and says it publicly.

I would also argue (and indeed did, in the above twitter exchange), that Tony Juniper and Natural England should be making these statements much more prominently to reach a far wider audience. In fact, with equal prominence to that which DEFRA and Natural England gave to the press-released announcement of the 2020 breeding season being ‘a wonderful result’, a rather deluded statement published jointly with their ‘partners’ the GWCT and the Moorland Association (see here). Deluded because since when has 5% been judged to be a success(?!) and also pointless if you’re not going to go on to discuss the extremely poor survival rates of those chicks once they’ve fledged the nest, as discussed in the Murgatroyd et al paper in 2019 (here).

To be fair, Juniper did say in that press release that “Too many birds still go missing in unexplained circumstances and I urge anyone who is still engaged in the persecution of these magnificent creatures to cease at once” but it wasn’t the headline news. Fair enough if there was to be another prominent press release with the headline focusing on the continued losses, but that press release has never appeared.

Instead, what we’re getting is blatant propaganda from the Moorland Association, who put this press release out on Monday, via PR agency Media House and it was picked up and published in a number of papers in Yorkshire:

I don’t intend to pick this apart line by line because I think I’d lose the will to live but suffice to say this ‘survey’ is contrived and unscientific and thus meaningless but of course newspaper editors either don’t know that or don’t care, and the Moorland Association is banking on newspaper readers not knowing or caring either. All the Moorland Association wants to do is to try and negate the publicity that the ‘51 dead/missing hen harriers‘ story has been getting.

Unfortunately for the Moorland Association, the criminals within the grouse shooting industry just can’t stop killing hen harriers, or other raptors, not even for a few years while the insane brood meddling trial runs its course, and no matter how desperate the PR they churn out, ultimately the continued killing will be the industry’s downfall, just as we’re beginning to see in Scotland.