Police in Northern Ireland are appealing for information following the discovery of two dead peregrines.
The birds were found on Sunday 17th May close to Thornyforde Bridge in the Waringstown area, Co. Armagh. A post mortem revealed they had been shot.
Anyone with information please contact the police in Lurgan on 101, quoting ref: 817-170515.
Peregrine photo by Steve Waterhouse
There are plenty of ways to get involved with this year’s Hen Harrier Day.
Celebrate hen harriers with an evening at The Palace (Buxton, not Buckingham!) – details here
Attend one of the Hen Harrier Day rallies taking place in England & Scotland – details here
Download this poster and take a selfie and get it posted here
Find a grouse butt, occupy it and send in your photo here
Join in with the social media thunderclap – here
Sign this e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting – here
We’ve always been big fans of Private Eye. Now even more so. From the current edition (#1397):
Millden is one of three big grouse-shooting estates in Glen Esk in the Angus Glens.
Here’s what’s been happening in and around the Angus Glens over the last decade:
2004 May, near Edzell: long-eared owl and two short-eared owls starved to death in crow cage trap. No prosecution.
2004 May, Invermark Estate: peregrine nest destroyed. No prosecution.
2006 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2006 April, Easter Ogil: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.
2006 April, Easter Ogil: poisoned tawny owl (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.
2006 May, Glenogil Estate: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2006 June, Glenogil Estate: poisoned woodpigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2006 June, Glenogil Estate: Traces of Carbofuran found in estate vehicles & on equipment during police search. No prosecution. Estate owner had £107k withdrawn from his farm subsidy payments. This was being appealed, but it is not known how this was resolved.
2006 July, Millden Estate; poisoned sheepdog (Lindane). No prosecution.
2007 November, Glenogil Estate: Disappearance of radio-tagged white-tailed eagle ‘Bird N’ coincides with tip off to police that bird allegedly been shot. No further transmissions or sightings of the bird.
2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned white-tailed eagle ‘White G’ (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.
2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned buzzard (Bendiocarb). No prosecution.
2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned mountain hare bait (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.
2008 May, Glenogil Estate: 32 x poisoned meat baits on fenceposts (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.
2008 October, ‘Glenogil Estate: poisoned meat bait on fencepost (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2009 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2009 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2009 April, Millden Estate: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.
2009 July, Millden Estate: poisoned golden eagle ‘Alma’ (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2009 August, Glenogil Estate: poisoned white-tailed eagle “89” (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2010 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned red kite (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2010 September, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Chloralose). No prosecution.
2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.
2011 February, Airlie Estate: buzzard caught in illegal crow trap. (see below)
2011 March, Airlie Estate: 3 x buzzard caught in illegal crow trap. Prosecution (!) but dropped after statement from suspect given to SSPCA deemed inadmissible.
2011 April, Millden Estate: shot buzzard. No prosecution.
2012 April, ‘Nr Noranside’: Remains of buzzard found beside pheasant pen. Suspicious death.
2011 June, Rottal & Tarabuckle Estate: dead kestrel inside crow cage trap. No prosecution.
2012 February, ‘Nr Edzell’: spring-trapped buzzard. No prosecution.
2012 February, ‘Nr Bridgend’: remains of buzzard found under a rock. Suspicious death.
2012 May, Millden Estate: satellite-tagged golden eagle seemingly caught in spring trap, then apparently uplifted overnight and dumped on Deeside with two broken legs & left to die. No prosecution.
2012 May, Glen Esk: disappearance of sat-tagged red kite. No further transmissions or sightings of bird.
2013 January, Invermark Estate: white-tailed eagle nest tree felled. No prosecution.
2013 November, Glen Lethnot: poisoned golden eagle ‘Fearnan’. No prosecution.
2014 October, Nathro: shot buzzard. Prosecution? Unknown.
It’s great to see there’ll be at least two Hen Harrier Day events in Scotland this year!
There’ll be one in Perthshire, co-organised by Tayside Raptor Study Group and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club and another one on the Isle of Mull, co-organised by Rachel French and Inspire Wild. Well done to all involved!
Details of both events can be found HERE, as well as information about other Hen Harrier Day events taking place in England.
If you can’t make it to an event you can still show your support by signing up to the Hen Harrier Day thunderclap on social media – see here.
And if you’re in the mood for signing, then this new petition to ban driven grouse shooting is worth a few seconds of your time and a couple of keyboard clicks.
Here’s Henry with Mark and some friends from the Tayside & Central Raptor Study Groups, and with Ian Thomson, Vice President of the SOC.
A new study led by the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science has revealed the extent of moorland burning across Britain’s upland areas. Burning on moorlands, a mixture of bog and heath habitats, is widely used to increase the numbers of red grouse that are available for recreational shooting.
Burning was detected in 55 per cent of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and 63 per cent of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) assessed in the study, and significantly more burning took place within them than on comparable moorlands outside. These sites are designated under EU legislation for their conservation importance and in Scotland include important places for blanket bog and golden eagles. Governments are charged with protecting them from damage and ensuring that they are restored to the best condition. However, many SACs and SPAs are in unfavourable condition, with burning identified by governments and statutory agencies as a primary reason for this poor status. In Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is reviewing the scientific evidence which underpins its policies towards upland management through their Scientific Advisory Committee, and this new research will make a valuable contribution to such reviews.
Dr David Douglas, Senior Conservation Scientist at RSPB Scotland and lead author of the study said: “Upland ecosystems are highly sensitive to burning practices. Knowing how much burning takes place and where is crucial to developing sustainable land management policies for these precious environments.”
This study, published in Biological Conservation, is the first time upland burning has been mapped in detail across mainland Britain. Using aerial photography and satellite images, 45,000 1-km squares were mapped across Scotland, England and Wales, and revealed that burning occurred across 8551 of these squares, including 5245 squares in Scotland. In the ten year period covered by the study from 2001 to 2011, the number of burns recorded increased rapidly by 11 per cent each year. Other studies have found that the potential number of red grouse shooting days in some areas of Britain has risen over a similar period, and moorland management has also intensified.
In Scotland and England, a third of burning took place on deep peat soils, an important carbon store. The UK has 10-15 per cent of the world’s blanket bog peatlands. Locking in 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon, upland deep peat is the largest carbon store in the UK. Eighty per cent of the UK’s blanket bog is in Scotland and of the 1-km squares assessed in Scotland for the study, 28 per cent of those with burning present were classified as overlying deep peat.
Upland areas are also a vital water source, supplying around 70 per cent of our drinking water. Burning has been linked to poor water quality in these areas, requiring large sums of money to treat the water.
Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management at RSPB Scotland said: “The Scottish Government is in the process of reviewing the Muirburn Code, its advice to landowners and farmers in connection with burning practice. As 28 per cent of the current moorland burning in Scotland overlies deep peat , and the Scottish Government has rightly set challenging targets to reduce climate change emissions, it is essential that new burning guidance provides clear direction to sporting interests and farmers as to where burning can be damaging to peatlands and may now be inappropriate.”
The paper is available here
There was an amusing radio debate on this subject yesterday between Duncan Orr-Ewing (RSPB Scotland) and Tim (Kim) Baynes (Scottish Land & Estates). Tim (Kim) Baynes tried the usual obfuscation and spin tactics but failed miserably whereas Duncan Orr-Ewing nailed it. Listen here (starts at 1:09:34) and is available for a further 29 days.
So, yet another reason to ban driven grouse shooting, then. Sign the new petition HERE.
Last year, Mark Avery had an e-petition running on the Westminster Government’s website calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting – it attracted over 22,000 signatures.
Today he’s launched another one, which is open to British citizens and UK residents.
As before, the petition needs to attract a minimum of 100,000 signatures to trigger consideration for a Parliamentary debate. However, this time the petition is only available for 6 months (instead of the previous 12-month period) thanks to changes brought in by the thoughtful, caring Westminster Government.
Looks like we’ll all have to work twice as hard to publicise this one.
PLEASE SIGN IT (HERE) AND SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, COLLEAGUES ETC.
Last year, Marks & Spencer decided to ban the sale of red grouse in their stores because they feared a consumer boycott – it was a welcome move (see here).
This year, rumour has it that they might be thinking of putting red grouse back on their shelves, although this has not been confirmed.
It’d be an odd thing to do because the chances of a consumer boycott are probably higher this year as more and more people learn exactly just what is involved in the procurement of those grouse.
As an example of widening public awareness, this year’s social media thundercap already has a social reach of over 3 million people. That means that every one of those 3 million+ people will be seeing a message on their social media timelines (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) at 10am on Sunday 9th August (Hen Harrier Day) calling for an end to the illegal killing of hen harriers on driven grouse moors. That’s more than 3 million potential M&S customers who may decide to take their business elsewhere if M&S decide to put red grouse back on sale.
If you want to join in and make sure even more people get the message, please sign up HERE. It’s also worth noting which organisations have not yet signed up (see here).
Simply food? Afraid not. M&S will need to show, by their own strong food sourcing policy, that their red grouse have been sourced ethically, sustainably and responsibly and that it isn’t full of poison (lead). Good luck with that.
On 1st October 2014, gamekeeper Allen Lambert from the Stody Estate in Norfolk was found guilty of poisoning 10 buzzards and one sparrowhawk, which had been found dead on the estate in April 2013. He was also convicted of storing banned pesticides & other items capable of preparing poisoned baits (a ‘poisoner’s kit’), and a firearms offence (see here and here).
On 6th November 2014, Lambert was sentenced. Even though the magistrate acknowledged that Lambert’s crimes passed the custody threshold, he only received a 10 week suspended sentence for poisoning 11 raptors (suspended for one year), a six week suspended sentence for possession of firearms and nine poisoned buzzards (suspended for one year), and was ordered to pay £930 prosecution costs and an £80 victim surcharge.
On 5th October 2014, we blogged about the millions of pounds worth of subsidies that had been awarded to Stody Estate in recent years (see here) and we encouraged blog readers to contact the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) to ask whether Stody Estate would receive a financial penalty in the form of subsidy withdrawal for being in breach of the terms & conditions of their subsidy-fest.
On 10th October 2014, the RPA responded by saying they would consider what action could be taken against Stody Estate (see here).
Then it all went quiet.
In December 2014, one of our blog readers submitted an FoI to the RPA to ask what was happening. In January 2015, the RPA responded by saying they ‘weren’t able to provide a meaningful response’ but said they would take action if it was found to be appropriate to do so (see here).
Six months on, we thought it was time for an update so an FoI was sent to the RPA to ask whether they had implemented a subsidy penalty. This is their response:
Dear XXXXX XXXXX
Thank you for your email dated 5 July 2015 regarding Stody Estate.
Cross Compliance rules only apply to recipients of Single Payment Scheme or certain Rural Development scheme payment in the year in which a cross compliance breach is found.
The person prosecuted for the offences mentioned in your e-mail is not a recipient of either of these types of payment. Therefore before RPA can take further action, it will be necessary to determine whether there [sic] a link between this person and a subsidy recipient and, if there is, whether that recipient can be considered liable for the actions of the person who committed the breaches.
Identifying whether the person prosecuted is linked to a subsidy recipient will form a key part of our investigations.
Should you have any further queries please contact us again quoting reference number XXXXX
Regards
Helen Hunter
Customer Service Centre, Operations
END
This is all very interesting. The mass illegal poisoning of birds of prey took place on Stody Estate and a Stody Estate employee, gamekeeper Allen Lambert, was convicted of these crimes and several others. But the Rural Payments Agency is still trying to determine whether there is a link between Lambert and the Stody Estate. Eh?
It’s not very convincing is it?
Perhaps the RPA should have a read of the judge’s comments about the relationship between Lambert and his (now former) employer – see here.
Hen Harrier Day takes place three weeks today, on Sunday 9th August 2015.
There are plenty of Hen Harrier Day events popping up all over the country – please see here to find one near you.
If you’re going to the event in the Peak District, you might also want to attend the special Hen Harrier Evening event in Buxton the night before (Saturday 8th August), featuring Chris Packham, Mark Avery, Henry the Hen Harrier, Harry the Hen Harrier, Jeremy Deller, Findlay Wilde, Mark Cocker and Birders Against Wildlife Crime – there’ll be some surprises! Tickets are selling fast so you’ll need to be quick – details here.
If you can’t attend one of the Hen Harrier Day events there are other ways you can show your support:
Send a selfie to the Hen Harrier Day website – see here
Buy a Hen Harrier Day t-shirt – see here
Join in the Hen Harrier Day ‘thunderclap’ on social media – see here
Think you can’t make a difference? You’re wrong! Get involved!
Raptor Persecution UK 