The RSPB has issued a press release this morning announcing the suspicious disappearance of two more satellite-tagged hen harriers over a two week period in May.
One of them, called ‘Rush’, is the harrier whose suspicious disappearance Lancashire Police mentioned on their Facebook page a couple of weeks ago (here).
The suspicious disappearance of a second harrier, called ‘Wayland’, has not previously been reported.
Here is the RSPB’s press release:
MORE HEN HARRIERS DISAPPEAR IN SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
*Two satellite tagged birds disappeared over two weeks in May, in Lancashire and North Yorkshire: the latest in a succession of similar incidents.
*The RSPB recently reported that 21 Hen Harriers had been either killed or disappeared in the North of England in the past year.
*Hen Harriers are rare birds on the red list of conservation concern, with illegal killing the key factor limiting their recovery.
Two Hen Harriers have vanished in suspicious circumstances in just two weeks within the Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and nearby North Yorkshire.
The birds were fitted with satellite tags, which are fitted to gather information about this rare and persecuted species.
Rush, an adult male bird, had been spending time in Mallowdale, in the Forest of Bowland, throughout the spring until his tag unexpectedly stopped transmitting on 4 May. The tag’s last fix put him over a grouse moor. Lancashire Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit carried out a search of the area but found no sign of the bird or its tag.
Hen harrier ‘Rush’. Photo: RSPB
On 17 May, another tagged bird, Wayland, vanished in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB, where the land is a mix of farmland with gamebird shooting. Its tag had also been functioning normally until that point.
Hen harrier ‘Wayland’. Photo: RSPB
These two birds are in addition to the 21 Hen Harriers that were reported as either killed or missing across Northern England in the last year, including one found dead in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with its head pulled off.
Hen Harriers are rare breeding birds in the UK, known for their acrobatic ‘skydancing’ courtship display which they perform above upland moors in spring. In England there were 34 successful nests in 2022, despite a previous independent government report finding that there is enough habitat and food to support over 300 pairs. Illegal killing continues to be the main factor limiting the recovery of the UK Hen Harrier population.
A scientific study published in the journal Biological Conservation found that survival rates of Hen Harriers were ‘unusually low’, and illegal killing was identified as a major cause. Using data from the largest GPS tracking programme for Hen Harriers globally, the authors discovered that individuals tracked by the project were typically living just 121 days after fledging. The risk of dying as a result of illegal killing increased significantly as Hen Harriers spent more time on areas managed for grouse shooting. Previously, a 2019 Government study concluded that Hen Harriers suffer elevated levels of mortality on grouse moors, most likely as a result of illegal killing.
The RSPB’s Birdcrime report found that, of the 108 confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution in 2021, 71% were in connection with gamebird shooting and, since 1990, 67% of those convicted of raptor persecution offences were gamekeepers.
Howard Jones, RSPB Senior Investigations Officer, said:
“To have two more Hen Harriers disappear this spring is a huge blow for a struggling species where every nest counts. These latest disappearances are being treated as suspicious by the police. From Wayland’s tag data, it appears that the tag stopped mid-transmission – cutting out abruptly as it was sending data through to us – which strongly suggests human interference.
“We hope the otherwise tragic news of these birds sends a clear message that licensing of driven grouse shooting estates must be implemented to ensure all are operating within the law, and to protect birds like Hen Harriers from persistent persecution. Clearly self-regulation has failed, as evidenced by this spate of disappearances. How many more birds must vanish from the breeding population before action is taken?”
ENDS
Hen harrier ‘Wayland’ is the 9th hen harrier to ‘vanish’ this year and the 95th hen harrier to have been either illegally killed or gone ‘missing’ in suspicious circumstances since Natural England’s insane brood meddling trial began in 2018. I understand there are more, still to be publicised.
I’ll be updating and publishing the running tally of illegally killed / ‘missing’ hen harriers shortly…
Keep an eye out for BBC’s Springwatch programme this week.
Starting this evening, there’ll be a feature film from the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria introduced by the BBC’s Frank Gardner, who takes a closer look at hen harrier persecution on driven grouse moors.
You’ll recall that last month, the RSPB reported that two hen harrier nests on Geltsdale had yet again been abandoned after the breeding males ‘vanished’ whilst away hunting on nearby moors (see here).
Then on Tuesday evening Frank will introduce another film, this time from the RSPB’s Lakenheath Fen Reserve, where he’ll chat with Mark Thomas from the RSPB’s Investigations Team about the wider issue of raptor persecution.
Well done to the producers at Springwatch who made the decision to make these films. After years of carefully avoiding the raptor persecution scandal, it’ll be great to finally see it featured and discussed on the country’s premier TV nature programme, reaching millions of new viewers.
BBC 2, 8pm and available on iPlayer afterwards.
UPDATE: The episode is now available on iPlayer – well worth a watch here
Yesterday I blogged about the recent appearance of a mannequin (a sort of scarecrow) that had been placed on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park where a pair of hen harriers had been seen nest prospecting in April (see here).
Today, another blog reader has provided information about another eight mannequins (at least), and an active gas gun (a bird-scaring device designed to ‘boom’ intermittently), that have been placed out on another grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
These photographs of one of those prominently-placed mannequins and the gas gun were taken this morning:
The blog reader will be reporting these to Natural England; it’s believed the same estate was reported for using a gas gun last year and was forced to remove it.
The presence of at least eight mannequins (the fieldworker believes there may be more over the hill) will, in my view, obviously deter hen harriers from settling to breed on this grouse moor, although it’d be difficult to prove the landowner/gamekeeper’s intent. There was another case of this happening at a peregrine nest site on a Northumberland grouse moor a few years ago (see here) but the gamekeeper in that case claimed he’d installed scarecrows to try to reduce predation of red grouse chicks by large gulls. His story wasn’t believed but the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to secure a conviction so the landowner was just issued with a warning by Natural England and the scarecrows were removed.
If the use of these ‘scarecrows’ is as common as it seems, it’s no wonder that so few grouse-shooting estates have so far actively participated in the hen harrier brood meddling trial. Natural England hasn’t yet released the actual number of estates involved, they’ve just provided an overview of the number of brood meddled nests in each year of the trial. However, the most number of nests brood meddled in one year was four (in 2022), so assuming each brood was on a separate estate, that’s a grand total of four estates involved, out of a total of approximately 150 grouse moors in England. After five years, it’s hardly a resounding success, is it?
Data provided by Natural England in March 2023: Hen Harrier brood meddling ‘overview’
Potential criminality aside, the presence of these additional eight mannequins and the gas gun on another grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park is, in my view, a 16-fingered salute to Natural England’s ludicrous hen harrier brood meddling trial.
With these mannequins, in addition to the 94 hen harriers confirmed illegally killed or ‘missing’ on or close to grouse moors since the trial began, how on earth can Natural England still claim to have ‘insufficient evidence’ to ‘test attitudes’ towards hen harriers amongst members of the grouse shooting industry that aren’t yet participating in the trial (i.e. most of them)?
It’s blatantly obvious to everyone and Natural England just looks more ridiculous by the day.
UPDATE 19th June 2013: Another mannequin (hen harrier scarer), this time on a grouse moor in Peak District National Park (here)
UPDATE 19th June 2013: More gas guns positioned on another grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park (here)
In April this year, a blog reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) was watching a pair of hen harriers showing great interest in a moorland hillside in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The harriers’ behaviour, as well as the time of year, was indicative that this pair was nest prospecting. Our harrier-watcher also noted that someone else was watching the hillside from inside a white pick-up truck.
The blog reader returned to the moorland a few days ago to check on the status of the harriers and found that ‘somebody’ has installed a mannequin on the same hillside:
It’s not even subtle.
Stand by for claims from the grouse shooting industry that this is a welcoming committee, rather than yet another tactic for deliberately disturbing hen harriers and preventing them from breeding, in a so-called National Park.
Meanwhile, Natural England has extended the insane hen harrier brood meddling trial while it pretends it doesn’t have sufficient evidence to ‘test attitudes’ towards hen harriers amongst members of the grouse shooting industry that aren’t yet participating in the trial (i.e. most of them).
Police Scotland has issued the following press statement:
RAVEN FOUND DEAD IN ABERDEENSHIRE
An investigation is under way after a raven was found dead in an area of the Invercauld Estate in Aberdeenshire.
On Friday, 12 May 2023, game keepers at the Estate contacted police after they found a dead raven next to a number of broken eggs. Officers attended and removed the bird and the egg shells.
The egg shell and matter has been analysed and has tested positive for pesticide. Officers are awaiting toxicology results for the raven.
Constable Hannah Corbett said: “We take wildlife crime extremely seriously and a number of lines of inquiry are being followed up. However, I would like to appeal to the local community for any information they may have about this matter. Did you see anything suspicious, have you overheard anyone talking about this? Any small piece of information could prove significant in investigating the cruel and callous death of the raven. Please do contact us.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 1307 of 12 May 2023. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
ENDS
Many of you will know that one part of Invercauld Estate is currently serving a three-year General Licence restriction, imposed by NatureScot after the discovery of an illegally poisoned golden eagle and illegal poisoned baits on an estate grouse moor in March 2021 (see here).
It’s not yet clear on which area of Invercauld Estate the latest poisoned baits were discovered – it’s a massive grouse-shooting estate that covers a large area of the Cairngorms National Park. It’ll be interesting to find out if these baits were found on the same shooting ‘beat’ as before or on another shooting ‘beat’ managed by a different party on a different part of the estate.
I applaud Police Scotland’s decision to publicise the discovery of the poisoned baits – not least to warn members of the public who might venture into the National Park and on to the estate with children and dogs, putting them at potential risk of great harm.
The early publicity is a welcome change to what had become a standard practice of complete silence from Police Scotland on raptor poisoning crimes (e.g. here, here, here).
Earlier this month, Natural England announced its decision (here) to extend the insane hen harrier brood meddling trial beyond the five years (2018-2022 inclusive) it was originally intended to run.
For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling is a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involves the removal of hen harrier chicks and eggs from grouse moors, rear them in captivity, then release them back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where they’ll be illegally killed. It’s plainly bonkers. For more background see here.
An un-meddled hen harrier being reared in the wild. Photo: Laurie Campbell
Following Natural England’s decision to extend the brood meddling trial, Natalie Bennett (Life peer, Green party) raised a number of pertinent questions in the House of Lords, as follows:
DEFRA Minister and grouse moor owner Lord Benyon responded last week with these answers:
The ‘overview’ of Natural England’s Scientific and Advisory Committee’s (NESAC) decision that Benyon points to is this blog, posted by Natural England on 16th March 2023. This ‘overview’ was already out of date when it was published because NE conveniently decided not to include the 2022 cohort of brood meddled hen harrier chicks – several of which were already confirmed as ‘missing’ by December 2022 (see here). Had they been included, NE’s graphs in that ‘overview’ blog wouldn’t look quite as favourable. Funny that.
You’ll note that what NE published was just an ‘overview’, and regular blog readers will know that in February 2023 I submitted an FoI request asking for a copy of the full NESAC report, only to be told by NE that there apparently wasn’t one (see here).
I’ve since submitted a further FoI request to determine if anybody at NE has produced a report, and if so, where is it? Surely someone has produced an assessment report, otherwise how on earth has NE assessed the application to extend the trial?! NE’s FoI response is due on 7th June 2023, although judging by NE’s continued obfuscation and lack of transparency (on which, more soon), I fully expect them to respond by telling me my information request is ‘complex’ and therefore they require a further 20 working days to complete the task. Let’s see.
I was pleased to see Benyon’s remark that ‘… all hen harriers are part of the trial…’. Good – that means that whoever is assessing the trial (assuming somebody is) will have to take in to account all of the 94 hen harriers (so far) that are confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed, most of them on or close to grouse moors, since the brood meddling trial began in 2018.
It was also interesting to note that Benyon admitted that of the 32 hen harrier chicks that have been brood meddled since the trial began, at least 16 of them are confirmed as ‘missing’. That’s half of them.
The brood meddling sham doesn’t sound quite as ‘successful’ now, does it?
And given the recent spate of vanishing hen harriers (see here, here and here), in addition to the publication of yet another scientific paper that confirms the ongoing and widespread illegal persecution of this species on many driven grouse moors (see here), I’d say Natural England looks to be in some trouble with its justification to extend the brood meddling trial.
Police Scotland has issued the following press statement:
Two men have been arrested following a report of an eagle’s nest being disturbed in the Strathspey area.
On Thursday 23 March 2023, officers received information of activity that could be detrimental to the breeding eagles.
Enquiries were carried out and a 28-year-old man was arrested and charged in relation with the incident. A 33-year-old man was also arrested and reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Wildlife Crime Officer, Police Constable Jon Clarke, said: “Police Scotland takes all wildlife crime seriously and reports made to us will always be investigated. Anyone with information should contact us on 101 or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111“.
ENDS
It’s not clear whether the second man has been charged. However, as one man has been charged, this case is now live and so comments on this blog post aren’t permitted. Thanks for your understanding.
Further to the news from the RSPB earlier this month that 20 hen harriers had ‘disappeared’ on English grouse moors between April 2022 and April 2023 (see here), leading to my updated tally of illegally killed/missing hen harriers since 2018 (n = 92), I’ve since realised that I forgot to add one of the brood-meddled hen harriers that ‘disappeared’ in Dec 2022 (a female, #R2-F2-20, who vanished in Cumbria). She has now been added to the list, below.
And further to the news yesterday that another satellite-tagged hen harrier has ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Bowland AONB (see here), I also need to add this harrier to the list.
So now the running tally is 94 illegally killed / ‘missing’ hen harriers since 2018.
Here’s the blog I always write after every reported killing or suspicious disappearance…
For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of hen harriers on grouse moors across the UK, here’s the latest catalogue of crime that suggests otherwise.
This male hen harrier 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
“They disappear in the same way political dissidents in authoritarian dictatorships have disappeared” (Stephen Barlow, 22 January 2021).
I’ve been compiling this list only since 2018 because that is the year that the grouse shooting industry ‘leaders’ would have us believe that the criminal persecution of hen harriers had stopped and that these birds were being welcomed back on to the UK’s grouse moors (see here).
This assertion was made shortly before the publication of a devastating new scientific paper that demonstrated that 72% of satellite-tagged hen harriers were confirmed or considered likely to have been illegally killed, and this was ten times more likely to occur over areas of land managed for grouse shooting relative to other land uses (see here). Incidentally, a further scientific paper published in 2023 by scientists at the RSPB, utilising even more recent data, echoed these results – see here).
2018 was also the year that Natural England issued a licence to begin a hen harrier brood meddling trial on grouse moors in northern England. For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling is a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England (NE), in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. For more background see here.
Brood meddling has been described as a sort of ‘gentleman’s agreement’ by commentator Stephen Welch:
“I don’t get it, I thought the idea of that scheme was some kind of trade off – a gentleman’s agreement that the birds would be left in peace if they were moved from grouse moors at a certain density. It seems that one party is not keeping their side of the bargain“.
With at least 94 hen harriers gone since 2018, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry is simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretends that ‘partnership working’ is the way to go and DEFRA Ministers remain silent.
‘Partnership working’ according to Natural England appears to include authorising the removal of hen harrier chicks from a grouse moor already under investigation by the police for suspected raptor persecution (here) and accepting a £75k ‘donation’ from representatives of the grouse shooting industry that prevents Natural England from criticising them or the sham brood meddling trial (see here). This is in addition to a £10k ‘donation’ that Natural England accepted, under the same terms, in 2021 (here).
Cartoon by Gerard Hobley
So here’s the latest gruesome list. Note that the majority of these birds (but not all) were fitted with satellite tags. How many more [untagged] harriers have been killed?
February 2018: Hen harrier Saorsa ‘disappeared’ in the Angus Glens in Scotland (here). The Scottish Gamekeepers Association later published wholly inaccurate information claiming the bird had been re-sighted. The RSPB dismissed this as “completely false” (here).
5 February 2018: Hen harrier Marc ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Durham (here).
9 February 2018: Hen harrier Aalin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).
March 2018: Hen harrier Blue ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park (here).
March 2018: Hen harrier Finn ‘disappeared’ near Moffat in Scotland (here).
18 April 2018: Hen harrier Lia ‘disappeared’ in Wales and her corpse was retrieved in a field in May 2018. Cause of death was unconfirmed but police treating death as suspicious (here).
8 August 2018: Hen harrier Hilma ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Northumberland (here).
16 August 2018: Hen harrier Athena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
26 August 2018: Hen Harrier Octavia ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
29 August 2018: Hen harrier Margot ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Heulwen ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).
3 September 2018: Hen harrier Stelmaria ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
24 September 2018: Hen harrier Heather ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
2 October 2018: Hen harrier Mabel ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
3 October 2018: Hen Harrier Thor ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Bowland, Lanacashire (here).
23 October 2018: Hen harrier Tom ‘disappeared’ in South Wales (here).
26 October 2018: Hen harrier Arthur ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here).
1 November 2018: Hen harrier Barney ‘disappeared’ on Bodmin Moor (here).
10 November 2018: Hen harrier Rannoch ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Her corpse was found nearby in May 2019 – she’d been killed in an illegally-set spring trap (here).
14 November 2018: Hen harrier River ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Nidderdale AONB (here). Her corpse was found nearby in April 2019 – she’d been illegally shot (here).
16 January 2019: Hen harrier Vulcan ‘disappeared’ in Wiltshire close to Natural England’s proposed reintroduction site (here).
7 February 2019: Hen harrier Skylar ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire (here).
22 April 2019: Hen harrier Marci ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
26 April 2019: Hen harrier Rain ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire (here).
11 May 2019: An untagged male hen harrier was caught in an illegally-set trap next to his nest on a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire. He didn’t survive (here).
7 June 2019: An untagged hen harrier was found dead on a grouse moor in Scotland. A post mortem stated the bird had died as a result of ‘penetrating trauma’ injuries and that this bird had previously been shot (here).
5 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 1 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor nr Dalnaspidal on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park (here).
11 September 2019: Hen harrier Romario ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
14 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183704) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here).
23 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #55149) ‘disappeared’ in North Pennines (here).
24 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 2 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Invercauld in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
24 September 2019: Hen harrier Bronwyn ‘disappeared’ near a grouse moor in North Wales (here).
10 October 2019: Hen harrier Ada ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North Pennines AONB (here).
12 October 2019: Hen harrier Thistle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Sutherland (here).
18 October 2019: Member of the public reports the witnessed shooting of an untagged male hen harrier on White Syke Hill in North Yorkshire (here).
November 2019: Hen harrier Mary found illegally poisoned on a pheasant shoot in Ireland (here).
14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here).
January 2020: Members of the public report the witnessed shooting of a male hen harrier on Threshfield Moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
23 March 2020: Hen harrier Rosie ‘disappeared’ at an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).
1 April 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183703) ‘disappeared’ in unnamed location, tag intermittent (here).
5 April 2020: Hen harrier Hoolie ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here)
8 April 2020: Hen harrier Marlin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
19 May 2020: Hen harrier Fingal ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Lowther Hills, Scotland (here).
21 May 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183701) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria shortly after returning from wintering in France (here).
27 May 2020: Hen harrier Silver ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on Leadhills Estate, Scotland (here).
2020: day/month unknown: Unnamed male hen harrier breeding on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria ‘disappeared’ while away hunting (here).
9 July 2020: Unnamed female hen harrier (#201118) ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed site in Northumberland (here).
25 July 2020: Hen harrier Harriet ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
14 August 2020: Hen harrier Solo ‘disappeared’ in confidential nest area in Lancashire (here).
7 September 2020: Hen harrier Dryad ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
16 September 2020: Hen harrier Fortune ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).
19 September 2020: Hen harrier Harold ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 September 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2020, #55152) ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here).
24 February 2021: Hen harrier Tarras ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Northumberland (here)
12th April 2021: Hen harrier Yarrow ‘disappeared’ near Stockton, County Durham (here).
18 May 2021: Adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
18 May 2021: Another adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
24 July 2021: Hen harrier Asta ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (here). We learned 18 months later that her wings had been ripped off so her tag could be fitted to a crow in an attempt to cover up her death (here).
14th August 2021: Hen harrier Josephine ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Northumberland (here).
17 September 2021: Hen harrier Reiver ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated region of Northumberland (here)
24 September 2021: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2021, R2-F-1-21) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).
15 November 2021: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F1-20) ‘disappeared’ at the edge of a grouse moor on Arkengarthdale Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
19 November 2021: Hen harrier Val ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria (here).
19 November 2021: Hen harrier Percy ‘disappeared’ in Lothian, Scotland (here).
12 December 2021: Hen harrier Jasmine ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (High Rigg Moor on the Middlesmoor Estate) in the Nidderdale AONB in North Yorkshire (here).
9 January 2022: Hen harrier Ethel ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).
26 January 2022: Hen harrier Amelia ‘disappeared’ in Bowland (here).
10 February 2022: An unnamed satellite-tagged hen harrier ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated area of the Peak District National Park (here). One year later it was revealed that the satellite tag/harness of this young male called ‘Anu’ had been deliberately cut off (see here).
12 April 2022: Hen harrier ‘Free’ (Tag ID 201121) ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Cumbria (here). It later emerged he hadn’t disappeared, but his mutilated corpse was found on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. A post mortem revealed the cause of death was having his head twisted and pulled off. One leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here).
April 2022: Hen harrier ‘Pegasus’ (tagged by the RSPB) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
May 2022: A male breeding hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
May 2022: Another breeding male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
14 May 2022: Hen harrier ‘Harvey’ (Tag ID 213844) ‘disappeared’ from a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #1 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #2 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #3 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 June 2022: Hen harrier chick #4 stamped to death in nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
17 August 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
September 2022: Hen harrier ‘Sullis’ (tagged by the RSPB) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria (here).
5 October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-M2-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
10 October 2022: Hen harrier ‘Sia’ ‘disappeared’ near Hamsterley Forest in the North Pennines (here).
October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-F1-21) ‘disappeared’ in the North Sea off the North York Moors National Park (here).
December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in Cumbria (here).
1 December 2022: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
14 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here).
15 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
March 2023: Unnamed male hen harrier (tagged by Natural England – details not yet released) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Unnamed female hen harrier (tagged by Natural England – details not yet released) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Lagertha’ (tagged by RSPB) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Nicola’ (Tag ID 234078) ”disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Another untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest in Durham (see here).
4/5 May 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier (ID not yet released) ‘disappeared’ from grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here).
To be continued…….
Not one of these 94 incidents has resulted in an arrest, let alone a prosecution. I had thought that when we reached 30 dead/missing hen harriers then the authorities might pretend to be interested and at least say a few words about this national scandal. We’ve now reached NINETY FOUR hen harriers, and still Govt ministers remain silent. They appear not to give a monkey’s. And yes, there are other things going on in the world, as always. That is not reason enough to ignore this blatant, brazen and systematic destruction of a supposedly protected species, being undertaken to satisfy the greed and bloodlust of a minority of society.
Lancashire Police are appealing for information after the sudden ‘disappearance’ of a satellite-tagged hen harrier earlier this month.
This was posted on the Lancashire Rural Police Facebook page yesterday:
‘Following information being received that a sat tagged hen harrier had gone missing, and the tag suffering catastrophic failure, we have been working with our colleagues in the National Wildlife Crime Unit to try to locate the bird.
Today we have conducted a section 19 search, utilising tracking equipment, where the harrier was last known to be, this was in the Mallowdale area near to Kirkby Lonsdale.
Unfortunately we were not successful in locating the bird, which went missing over the 4th and 5th May, we are asking for anyone who has any information to contact Lancashire Police Rural Crime Task force via 101 or email RuralTaskForce@lancashire.police.uk and quote log number LC-20230516-0307‘.
There aren’t yet any further details about which hen harrier this is.
The harrier ‘disappeared’ the same day that the RSPB announced that 20 hen harriers had ‘vanished’ in the last year alone, most of them on grouse moors (here) and the day before Natural England described the mutilation of another hen harrier, whose leg and head had been ripped off whilst the bird was still alive (here).
The latest disappearance took place a week before the RSPB published a new scientific paper which confirms the ongoing and illegal killing of hen harriers on UK grouse moors (see here).
The latest ‘disappearance’ also coincided with Natural England’s announcement that the five-year hen harrier brood meddling ‘trial’ (conservation sham) is set to continue for a further five years (here), despite knowing that at least 92 hen harriers have been confirmed killed or have ‘disappeared’ since the ‘trial’ began in 2018 (here).
Now there’s yet another one to add to the list. This is the 8th hen harrier to ‘vanish’ since the start of this year, and it’s still only May.
How many more?
UPDATE 19th May 2023: The Forest of Bowland AONB posted the following on its website yesterday:
Yesterday, Lancashire Police’s Rural Crime Taskforce reported the disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier in the Forest of Bowland AONB.
The bird went missing, with the tag suffering catastrophic failure, over 4th/ 5th May in Mallowdale, an area of moorland to the south of the village of Wray. The Rural Taskforce and National Wildlife Crime Unit have since carried out a search of the area but have been unsuccessful in locating the missing bird.
Lancashire Police have issued an appeal to the public for information. Please contact the Rural Crime Taskforce via 101 or email RuralTaskForce@lancashire.police.uk and quote log number LC-20230516-0307.
Elliott Lorimer, Forest of Bowland AONB Partnership Manager commented:
“The disappearance and failure of this satellite tagged Hen harrier is very concerning. The Forest of Bowland is often considered a stronghold for this protected species, with conservation efforts in the area aiding the recovery of this threatened bird. So, any loss in such circumstances is particularly upsetting. I would strongly urge members of the public to contact Lancashire Police if they have any information that could relate to the disappearance of this bird.”
ENDS
UPDATE 6th June 2023: The RSPB has just issued a press release about this hen harrier, which was named ‘Rush’ – see here.
As many of you will know, DEFRA’s highly controversial (I would argue insane) hen harrier brood meddling scheme was initially approved to run for five years between 2018-2022, facilitated by Natural England.
For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling is a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involves the removal of hen harrier chicks and eggs from grouse moors, rear them in captivity, then release them back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where they’ll be illegally killed. It’s plainly bonkers. For more background see here.
An un-meddled hen harrier being reared in the wild. Photo: Laurie Campbell
The brood meddling sham has been hailed by those involved (e.g. Natural England and the Moorland Association) as delivering ‘real’ and ‘great’ progress because the number of breeding hen harriers has risen since the trial began.
However, the number of breeding hen harriers isn’t really the issue – its the ongoing illegal killing of hen harriers that’s the issue. It’s pointless pumping out more hen harrier chicks if they’re just going to get shot/trapped/have their wings ripped off/have their heads twisted and torn off by criminals within the grouse shooting industry once the young birds have been released.
The participants in the trial have been congratulating each other on the trial’s so-called ‘success’, whilst conveniently ignoring the fact that illegal persecution remains rampant – e.g. we know that at least 92 hen harriers are likely to have been killed since this ridiculous pantomime began in 2018 (see here).
One of the grouse-shooting estates involved in the brood meddling trial was even under police investigation for suspected raptor persecution during the trial (see here) and another grouse-shooting estate should have been under police investigation during the brood meddling trial following the discovery of a poisoned red kite on the estate but, shockingly, North Yorkshire Police refused to investigate (see here).
But instead of bringing this sham to an end last year, at the end of the initial five-year trial period, Natural England has announced that a new brood meddling licence has just been issued to extend the sham for at least a further two years (2023 and 2024 breeding seasons).
The announcement was made by Natural England here on 4th May 2023 and I’ve reproduced it below in case it disappears from the Govt website:
I find this decision to extend the brood meddling trial utterly beyond comprehension and earlier this year, when I knew an extension to the licence was being considered, I submitted an FoI to Natural England to try and understand the logic/rationale for continuing with an expensive trial that simply hasn’t delivered in terms of getting the grouse shooting industry to stop illegally killing hen harriers.
I asked three simple things:
For a copy of the most recent assessment report on the hen harrier brood meddling trial from Natural England’s Scientific Advisory Committee (NESAC);
For confirmation of the end date of the brood meddling trial;
For confirmation of when a final assessment report about the trial would be submitted to the NE Board.
Here’s the response from Natural England on 16th March 2023:
In relation to Q1, I was somewhat surprised to learn that NE ‘does not hold the NESAC report on the hen harrier brood management trial‘.
Eh? Does that mean the NESAC hasn’t produced an assessment/evaluation report? If it hasn’t, who has? I’ve since submitted a further FoI request to determine if anybody at NE has produced a report, and if so, where is it? Surely someone has produced an assessment report, otherwise how on earth has NE assessed the application to extend the trial?!
In lieu of not having an NESAC assessment report, NE did provide ‘a summary of the Natural England Scientific Advisory Committee decision on the brood management trial of hen harriers‘. That summary document, dated 18th January 2023, is provided here:
According to this document, the NESAC has advised the Natural England Board that a five-year extension to the hen harrier brood meddling trial ‘would be appropriate‘. Notably, the ‘full note’ mentioned at the beginning of the document (called Annex 1) was not released as part of NE’s response to my FoI.
In addition to asking NE for a copy of any assessment report on the hen harrier brood meddling trial, I have also submitted FoIs requesting a copy of the licence application for the 2023/24 licence extension and a copy of the actual licence.
Further information about the brood meddling trial has emerged through a separate FoI request I made about NE’s senior management team’s day trip to Swinton Estate (one of the brood meddling estates) in February this year (see here). I’ll be writing about those revelations shortly.
Raptor Persecution UK 