Blog

Nasty BASCers

This is deeply unpleasant stuff from BASC.

Posted on the BASC website last week:

Targeted and abusive, aimed at a young woman at the start of her conservation career, who would never in a million years consider herself a ‘celebrity’.

Megan’s ‘crime’? First, writing an accurate post on social media about the environmental damage caused by driven grouse shooting. And second, being Chris Packham’s step-daughter.

BASC’s Garry Doolan, ex-tabloid hack (and boy, can’t you tell) accuses Megan of writing ‘woke guff‘ (which, as Mark Avery points out here, is a term which ‘tends to be used pejoratively only by the far right of politics, and racists’) and says her words were ‘admirably tackled in the comments thread‘.

By ‘admirably tackled‘ is he referring to the personal abuse Megan has received, which, unsurprisingly, has since increased considerably since BASC published this personal attack?

Nasty stuff, BASC, very nasty indeed.

YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

If, like Megan, you’re sick to the back teeth of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors, please consider participating in this quick and easy e-action to send a letter to your local Parliamentary representative (MSP/MP/MS) urging action. Launched 11 days ago by Wild Justice, RSPB and Hen Harrier Action, over 56,000 people have signed up so far.

This means that over 56,000 pre-written letters complaining about illegal raptor persecution and the environmental damage caused by intensive grouse moor management, are winging their way to politicians of all parties across the UK. If you want your local politician to receive one, Please join in HERE

Thank you

‘Intensive grouse shooting on its last legs’ – opinion piece Yorkshire Times

To coincide with the opening of the grouse-shooting season this year, BASC, the British Association for Shooting (and conservation, ahem) paid for front page adverts in some prominent newspapers, promoting the so-called ‘benefits’ of driven grouse shooting. BASC staff members were quite pleased with themselves, self-congratulating on social media.

Duncan Thomas, BASC’s in-resident raptor persecution denier, proclaimed, ‘Absolutely superb coverage in Yorkshire Post this morning…..well chuffed’. Somebody needs to explain to Duncan the difference between paid advertising and media coverage. Sounds a bit like astroturfing, doesn’t it? It’s got a familiar stench to it.

Meanwhile, back in the world where actual real people have been able to view the evidence and draw their own conclusions, we had this response (here) from Graeme Bandeira, cartoonist at the Yorkshire Post and now a further damning opinion piece in the Yorkshire Times from features writer David Goff.

You can read the article in full, here.

YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

If you’re sick to the back teeth of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors, please consider participating in this quick and easy e-action to send a letter to your local Parliamentary representative (MSP/MP/MS) urging action. Launched 11 days ago by Wild Justice, RSPB and Hen Harrier Action, over 56,000 people have signed up so far.

This means that over 56,000 pre-written letters complaining about illegal raptor persecution and the environmental damage caused by intensive grouse moor management, are winging their way to politicians of all parties across the UK. If you want your local politician to receive one, Please join in HERE

Thank you

Hobby dies after suspected shooting in Essex

Essex Police’s Rural Engagement Team have been in touch to say they’ve had reports of a Hobby being shot and unfortunately not surviving its injuries.

This is believed to have happened between 14th-15th August (last Friday – Saturday) at Essex Wildlife Trust’s Blue House Farm Nature Reserve at North Fambridge.

The incident number is #42/127418 and is being investigated by PCs Andy Long & Jed Raven from Essex Police.

Please call 101 and quote the reference number if you have any information that could help.

[Photo of the shot Hobby via Essex Police].

 

Seven more white-tailed eagles released on Isle of Wight

Following the recent news of a young white-tailed eagle being found dead on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park, killed after ingesting a banned poison (see here), here is some some more positive news for the future of this iconic species.

Press release from Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation (18th August 2020)

Successful second release of White-tailed eagles takes place in landmark English reintroduction project

The return of white-tailed eagles to England has reached its next key milestone with the successful release of a further 7 birds on the Isle of Wight. The five-year reintroduction programme now in its second year is led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, and aims to restore this lost species after an absence of 240 years.

Over five years, up to 60 white-tailed eagles will be released with the aim of establishing an initial population of 6- 8 breeding pairs on the Isle of Wight and along the mainland coast. The first six birds were released last year. It will take several years for the young birds to become established and breeding is not expected to start until at least 2024.

[Juvenile white-tailed eagle, photo by Robin Crossley]

Each bird is fitted with a satellite tracker to enable the team to monitor and track their progress. Evidence from similar reintroductions suggests that the rate of survival to breeding age is around 40%, and four of the six birds released last year have survived and are doing well.

As they mature the released white-tailed eagles have, as expected, begun to explore widely. Their journeys have taken them across much of England as they explore and learn about the landscape for the first time. Between these explorations, the birds have regularly been seen fishing for Grey Mullet in the estuaries of the Solent and observed in the skies over the Isle of Wight.

Bird enthusiasts and members of the public across the country have supported the project by reporting sightings of the eagles and sharing these via @seaeagleengland on social media and via our online sightings form.

Roy Dennis, Founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: “We are delighted that we have been able to release this next group of birds this year as planned. We have seen from other reintroduction programmes that returning lost species offers real benefits for the health of our environment, and to people and local economies. This is particularly important at these difficult times as people rediscover nature and its benefits.”

“It has been very exciting to follow the exploratory flights of the birds we released last year and to see how they are learning to live successfully in the English landscape. We have been particularly encouraged that the birds have been catching Grey Mullet in the estuaries of the Isle of Wight because we believe this will become an important food source as the population develops, and is one of the key reasons we considered the Isle of Wight and the South Coast suitable for a reintroduction.”

“A project like this relies upon the involvement and support of many, many people. I would like to thank everyone who has helped us again this year including the local organisations and individuals on our steering group. We look forward to the day when these amazing birds become a regular feature in the skies above us.”

[One of this year’s juvenile eagles at the release pen. Photo via Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation]

Steve Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Officer, Forestry England, said: “We are now a year on from the release of the first white-tailed eagles and it’s very encouraging to see them doing well. We have been following their movements closely using the satellite monitoring, field visits and reports from members of the public.”

“It will be fascinating to see how the young birds released this summer explore and how they interact with the slightly older birds released in 2019. Thank you to everyone who continues to support us by reporting observations and photos of the birds as they travel around the country, we are always keen to hear about your amazing sightings.”

The reintroduction of Britain’s largest bird of prey is being conducted under licence from Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority. All of the young birds involved in the project are collected under a Scottish Natural Heritage licence from the wild in Scotland and brought to the Isle of Wight.

Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper, said: “Today is an important landmark for the conservation of these spectacular birds, and I am delighted that we have played our part by licensing this trailblazing project. A key condition of our licence was the involvement of stakeholders and ongoing monitoring, and Roy Dennis and his team have worked hard to involve local groups which has been critical to the success of this project.”

“It’s been thrilling to see last year’s birds travel across England. I hope this project sets a blueprint for further successful species re-introductions in England, which are a vital part of achieving our overarching goal for nature conservation and recovery.”

The Isle of Wight was chosen as the location to reintroduce the white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles, as it offers an ideal habitat for these coastal loving birds with plentiful sources of food in the surrounding waters. It also offers a central position on the south coast allowing the birds to disperse and link with other populations in Scotland, Ireland and on the continent.

The project is also expected to make a significant contribution to the local economy. A similar scheme on The Isle of Mull was found to have boosted its local economy by up to £5 million a year, demonstrating the interest in this iconic bird.

A comprehensive feasibility study and public surveys were conducted prior to reintroduction and a steering group made up of local organisations and members of the community are helping to guide the project.

ENDS

Wild Justice in conversation with Jimmi Hill (new video)

A couple of weeks ago the three members of Wild Justice (Chris Packham, Mark Avery, Ruth Tingay) were interviewed by Jimmi Hill, the founder of the charity Raptor Aid.

It was a wide-ranging interview including questions about the origins of Wild Justice, ‘hidden agendas’, BBC impartiality, the different roles of the Wild Justice directors, hen harrier brood meddling, satellite tagging, licensing or banning driven grouse shooting, Natural England, future plans, and the big one – what music would be played if all three were in a car together, who would be navigating and what snacks would be eaten?

The 36 minute video is available to watch here:

10 year old boy tells First Minister he’s worried about golden eagles ‘going missing’

Last year, a nine-year-old boy called Freddie Blackman was so upset about the suspicious disappearance of two satellite-tagged golden eagles (Adam & Charlie) that vanished on a grouse moor in Strathbraan (see here) that he, and many others, wrote to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urging her and her Government to do more to protect Scotland’s eagles (see here, here, here, here).

Here’s the letter Freddie wrote to Nicola Sturgeon last year:

The First Minister eventually responded to Freddie and wrote him a letter (here) telling him, ‘I believe that the Scottish Government must do everything it can to look after our eagles’ and then going on to fob him off telling him she was waiting for the Werritty review to be delivered.

Fast forward 12 months and Freddie is now a year older, another satellite-tagged golden eagle (Tom – see here) has gone ‘missing’ in suspicious circumstances on a Scottish grouse moor, in the same raptor persecution hotspot as where Adam and Charlie disappeared, and we’re still waiting for the Scottish Government to respond to the Werritty review, which cost taxpayers £86,000 and which has been sitting on Ministers’ desks since November 2019 (nine months ago).

Ten-year-old Freddie has just sent another card to the First Minister:

How will the First Minister respond this time?

How embarrassing must it be to have a nine and now ten-year-old calling you out on your failure to protect one of your country’s most iconic species?

How many more letters will Freddie have to write and how old will he be when the Scottish Government finally takes effective action against those who continue to kill these eagles?

YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

If you’re sick to the back teeth of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors, please consider participating in this quick and easy e-action to send a letter to your local Parliamentary representative (MSP/MP/MS) urging action. Launched just nine days ago by Wild Justice, RSPB and Hen Harrier Action, over 53,000 people have signed up so far.

This means that over 53,000 pre-written letters complaining about illegal raptor persecution and the environmental damage caused by intensive grouse moor management, are winging their way to politicians of all parties across the UK. If you want your local politician to receive one, Please join in HERE

Thank you

 

Shot peregrine euthanised in Gloucestershire

A critically-injured peregrine has been euthanised after an x-ray revealed a shotgun pellet lodged in its wing, causing a catastrophic break.

[All photographs from Vale Wildlife Hospital]

The wounded bird was taken to Vale Wildlife Hospital near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire today. There are no further details yet about where this illegally-shot peregrine was picked up.

Anyone with information please contact the Police on Tel: 101, or the RSPB Raptor Crime Hotline on Tel: 0300 999 0101 or anonymously Crimestoppers on Tel: 0800 555 111.

 

New owners to ban gamebird shooting on infamous Kildrummy Estate

In June it was reported that Kildrummy Estate in Aberdeenshire had been sold to an American couple with a track record in supporting environmental and animal welfare projects (see here).

Kildrummy Estate is infamous because its gamekeeper became the UK’s first (and so far, only gamekeeper) to receive a custodial sentence for raptor persecution in 2014 after his conviction on four counts, including the illegal killing of a trapped goshawk which he clubbed to death on the estate in 2012 (see here and here).

It’s been reported in today’s Sunday Times that the new owners, Chris and Camille Bently, have a much greater vision for Kildrummy and that vision doesn’t include grouse, pheasant or partridge shooting.

The mapping report referred to in this article was one of two published on Thursday (see here) by the League Against Cruel Sports, as part of the Revive Coalition for grouse moor reform. The study suggested that every year, up to a quarter of a million animals are killed in traps and snares on Scottish grouse moors, and many of them in the most hideously brutal circumstances, as evidenced by one of the reports’ front covers:

The progressive-thinking Bentlys join a growing number of decent, intelligent landowners who are prepared to ditch the Victorian dystopia and instead invest in a bold vision of regeneration and restoration. It’ll be good in future to be able to recognise Kildrummy Estate as being at the forefront of something so positive.

The times they are a-changin’.

TAKE ACTION

If you’re sick to the back teeth of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors, please consider participating in this quick and easy e-action to send a letter to your local Parliamentary representative (MSP/MP/MS) urging action. Launched just a week ago by Wild Justice, RSPB and Hen Harrier Action, over 44,000 people have signed up so far.

This means that over 44,000 pre-written letters complaining about illegal raptor persecution and the environmental damage caused by intensive grouse moor management, are winging their way to politicians of all parties across the UK. If you want your local politician to receive one, Please join in HERE

Thank you

‘Everywhere we go there are dead animals’ – local residents detest grouse moor management

There’s a very interesting article in The Times today, debunking the picture often painted by the grouse shooting industry of moorland community harmony – a rural idyll where local residents are deliriously enthralled by the activities of the local grouse moor managers and thankful for the boost that grouse shooting brings to the local economy, without which the local community would apparently collapse. Oh, and it’s where unicorns live, too.

If the Campaign for the Protection of Moorland Communities (C4PMC) wasn’t so busy astroturfing for the grouse shooting industry, this story (below) is the one it should be telling, instead of spending thousands of pounds on Facebook to promote abusive and personal attacks on decent, hardworking conservationists who are simply seeking grouse moor reform (e.g. see here).

Today’s article in The Times comes on the back of last week’s news (here) that Police Scotland are investigating alleged wildlife crimes on the Leadhills Estate in South Lanarkshire (yes, that place again), including the suspicious disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier and the shooting of a(nother) short-eared owl. The estate has denied all responsibility, obvs.

Written by journalist Lucy Bannerman, it takes a slightly different angle and focuses on the impact on local residents of having to live in the shadow of an estate as notorious as Leadhills.

Bannerman writes:

‘The estate has a notorious reputation as an alleged wildlife crime hotspot, where local monitors claim that at least 50 protected birds of prey have vanished or been found dead or dying in traps or by poisoned bait. One villager claims that even her cat has been poisoned.

The brazen manner of the latest killing, of the short-eared owl, has enraged residents, who are so sick of finding poisoned carcasses on the grouse moors around their homes that they have another name for the area: Deadhills.

“It’s devastating to lose another bird”, Steph Spode, 35, a local mother of four, said. “When you live here, you look around and at first you think, wow, look at those mountains. After a little while, you start to realise there’s nothing here. No trees. No wildlife. I can’t hear animals. I can’t see birds. When I go hiking there’s dead animals everywhere. What’s going on?“‘

It’s no surprise that there are ‘dead animals everywhere’ – a report published just yesterday (here) by the League Against Cruel Sports, as part of the Revive Coalition for Grouse Moor Reform, indicates that up to a quarter of a million animals are killed on Scottish grouse moors every year, many in the most gruesome and barbaric way imaginable.

Here’s a video we made last year with Chris Packham about the miserable death of a hen harrier, a supposedly protected species, that was found caught in an illegally-set trap at Leadhills last year:

The residents of Leadhills are not the only moorland community to speak out. Increasingly we’ve been hearing from local residents across the uplands who are finding their voices and speaking out against the damage this industry brings to their door. First we heard from local communities in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (see here and here), then from a community in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (see here), and then from a local community in the North York Moors National Park (here).

And then there are those local communities who want to buy the moors and transform and restore them in to something for the whole community, not just for those who come to kill birds for a bit of a laugh.

The Langholm community is currently attempting to buy part of Langholm Moor in Dumfries & Galloway from the Duke of Buccleuch (e.g. see here) and now the Wanlockhead Community Trust has voted (see here) to buy another part of Buccleuch’s moorland at Wanlockhead, the neighbouring village to Leadhills.

If you read the Wanlockhead Community Trust feasibility study you’ll see there’s not much interest in maintaining the moors for grouse shooting.

Download the report here: Wanlockhead Community Trust Buyout Feasibility Study April 2020

TAKE ACTION

If you’re sick to the back teeth of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors, please consider participating in this quick and easy e-action to send a letter to your local Parliamentary representative (MSP/MP/MS) urging action. Launched just a week ago by Wild Justice, RSPB and Hen Harrier Action, over 43,000 people have signed up so far.

This means that over 43,000 pre-written letters complaining about illegal raptor persecution and the environmental damage caused by intensive grouse moor management, are winging their way to politicians of all parties across the UK. If you want your local politician to receive one, Please join in HERE

Thank you

 

Disappearance of golden eagle Tom prompts Parliamentary motion

Earlier this week we blogged about the suspicious disappearance of Tom, a golden eagle we’d been satellite-tracking since last year with Chris Packham and who vanished in to thin air, along with his fully-functioning satellite tag, with his last known location being on a driven grouse moor in Strathbraan, a well-known raptor persecution hotspot (see here).

[Golden eagle Tom at approx 8 weeks old having his satellite tag fitted in 2019 under expert licence. Photo Raptor Persecution UK]

We produced a video about Tom’s suspicious disappearance and this, along with the RPUK blog on his disappearance, received good media coverage both online and in the printed media throughout the week, even though a journalist at The Times simply cut and pasted the text from the RPUK blog, regurgitated it in an article and attributed this to ‘a spokesman from RPUK‘. Ha!

Here’s the video for those who may have missed it:

And now Tom’s disappearance has prompted a Parliamentary motion, lodged by Labour MSP Alex Rowley as follows:

It’s not just Tom’s disappearance that has led to this. As you can see, Alex also mentions the suspicious disappearance of seven other satellite-tagged golden eagles in the same area, the disappearance of another satellite-tagged hen harrier on another Scottish driven grouse moor (here), the illegal poisoning of a satellite-tagged white-tailed eagle found dead on another Scottish grouse moor (here), and the 43 hen harriers that have either gone missing or have been killed in the UK in the last two years (here).

He’s done his homework.

For a Parliamentary Motion to be considered for debate, at least 30 MSPs from at least two different political parties need to support it. So far, Alex’s motion has attracted the support of 17 MSPs, representing Labour, SNP, Greens, Liberal Democrats and one independent.

If your MSP’s name isn’t on the list as a supporter, please email them and prompt them to sign up. If they refuse, ask them why. Put them on the spot and most importantly of all, let them know that this issue matters to you.

If you don’t know who your MSP is you can find out here

If you want to do more, and if you’re sick to the back teeth of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors, please consider participating in this quick and easy e-action to send a letter to your local Parliamentary representative (MSP/MP/MS) urging action. Launched last Saturday by Wild Justice, RSPB and Hen Harrier Action, over 41,000 people have signed up so far.

This means that over 41,000 pre-written letters complaining about illegal raptor persecution and the environmental damage caused by intensive grouse moor management, are winging their way to politicians of all parties across the UK. If you want your local politician to receive one, Please join in HERE

Thank you