Press release from South Yorkshire Police (25 January 2024)
APPEAL FOLLOWING PEREGRINE FALCON FOUND SHOT IN DONCASTER
We are appealing for information alongside the RSPB for information after a juvenile Peregrine Falcon was found with life-threatening injuries in Doncaster.
The shot peregrine. Photo via South Yorkshire Police
On 11 December 2023, an injured Peregrine Falcon was found on a school playing field at Littlemoor Infant Academy in Askern – a school which backs onto open countryside.
The bird, which had suffered shotgun injuries, was taken to a rehabilitation centre, where it received expert veterinary care at the Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
X-rays revealed that the bird had two shotgun pellets embedded in its leg and a dislocated coracoid bone, which prevented the bird from flying. The location of the pellets and the nature of the injuries sustained suggest that the bird was probably flying when it was shot.
We are urging anyone with information to come forward and speak to us.
Peregrine Falcons are the fastest animal on the planet, capable of speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. Pairs will nest on coastal cliff-edges, in quarries and in urban areas on buildings and industrial sites.
Although fully protected and recovering across the UK, illegal persecution is impacting Peregrine numbers. In the UK, the RSPB has recorded 173 incidents of Peregrine persecution over the last 20 years, with a minimum of 195 Peregrines either dying or sustaining injuries as a result of these criminal activities.
In the last five years alone, 29 Peregrines have been illegally persecuted in England with almost a quarter of these incidents taking place in Yorkshire. Data shows that nationally a significant proportion of raptor persecution incidents are linked to land managed for gamebird shooting.
Having suffered injuries which prevented sustained flight, the Peregrine was taken to Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in North Malton, where it received expert care with the support of Battle Flatts Veterinary Clinic. After a month of rehabilitative care the Peregrine was released back into the wild on 13 January 2023.
Jean Thorpe, Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre: “When a bird has suffered in this way it’s difficult to know if they’ll survive. The stress alone can be too much for them, and rehabilitation can be really challenging.
“We were lucky with this one. It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to encounter one of these incredible birds but I just wish it was under different circumstances.
“This isn’t the first shot Peregrine I’ve had to care for, and I doubt it will be the last. These crimes are happening right under our noses, it’s unforgivable.”
Inspector Peter Heginbotham, from South Yorkshire Police Wildlife and Rural Crime Team, said: “To know that a protected Peregrine Falcon has been intentionally shot with a shotgun and found in Doncaster is extremely concerning, but unfortunately not unique. Sadly, Peregrine Falcons are still being shot, trapped and poisoned in northern England.
“We will thoroughly investigate this crime and would encourage anyone who can assist us with our investigation to please come forward and help us tackle and prevent these crimes from happening.”
If you have any information, please contact us online, via live chat or by calling 101 quoting incident number 576 of 13 December 2023.
Alternatively, to get in touch anonymously, call the RSPB’s dedicated Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
There’s an article about the rehabilitation and a video showing the release of this peregrine on BBC news website (here).
The story is apparently going to feature on BBC Look North this evening. Perhaps South Yorkshire Police will explain why it took six weeks to publish an appeal for information.
Well done and thanks, yet again, to the remarkable Jean Thorpe and her colleagues at Battle Flatts Vets.
Derbyshire man caught on camera raiding peregrine falcon nest given custodial prison sentence.
At Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court on 15 January 2023, Christopher Wheeldonof Darley Dale, Matlock pleaded guilty to intentionally disturbing Peregrine Falcons and taking Peregrine Falcon eggs and was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for these offences. His total sentence, including additional charges unrelated to this case is 18 weeks.
Covert footage taken by the RSPB’s Investigations Team helped secure this conviction.
The Peregrine eggs are believed to have been hatched and then laundered into the illegal falconry trade.
Christopher Wheeldon caught on RSPB camera stealing the peregrine eggs
In April 2023, officers from RSPB Investigations installed a surveillance camera to monitor a Peregrine Falcon nest in a limestone quarry near Bolsover, Derbyshire. The falcons were incubating a clutch of eggs when on 23 April 2023 video footage showed a rope being dropped from above, causing the parent bird to abandon the nest. The Peregrines can be heard sounding distress calls as a man abseils down to the nest and steals three eggs from the cliff-ledge nest, before climbing back to the cliff top. Derbyshire Police were alerted, and enquiries soon identified Christopher Wheeldon as the individual involved. Search warrants were executed at two addresses, resulting in the discovery of items of clothing seen in the video at Wheeldon’s address.
Sadly, no eggs or Peregrines were recovered. It is considered likely that the eggs were destined to be laundered by being artificially incubated, and when hatched, the chicks passed off as ‘legal’ captive-reared birds. Unfortunately, once in the system, and following the removal of the Government registration scheme, it is now virtually impossible to trace these wild birds. It is likely these wild Peregrines were stolen to order and are now in the overseas falconry trade, where wild British Peregrine Falcons are regarded as being of genetically superior stock and command high prices.
On Monday 15 January Wheeldon, who pleaded guilty to disturbing these protected birds and taking their eggs, received an eight-week prison sentence for these crimes and a further 10 weeks for unrelated shop-lifting charges.
District Judge Stephen Flint said on sentencing: “Even the birds are not beyond you’re thieving grasp. You may conceive these as just eggs but they are protected. This was a deplorable thing to do.”
Although Peregrine Falcons are specially protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, these magnificent birds of prey have sadly been subjected to a diverse range of persecution over the years. Over the years the RSPB Investigations team has documented many incidents of shot and poisoned Peregrines on land managed for driven grouse shooting in the UK, including Derbyshire.
In other parts of the county, Peregrines face a different sort of persecution, with nests in quarries being targeted for their highly prized chicks and eggs, to be intended for the illegal falconry industry. Previously, in May 2020, RSPB managed to film another Peregrine nest robbery in Derbyshire but unfortunately this did not lead to a conviction in court.
This latest case highlights the ongoing demand for wild Peregrine eggs from the UK to furnish the overseas market. With the laundering of wild Peregrine Falcons fetching tens of thousands of pounds, this crime will continue to be worth the risk to some.
Without the reinstatement of full registration controls for captive bred birds this illegal activity will continue to threaten wild Peregrine populations across the UK. The RSPB Investigations Team will continue to monitor nests in Derbyshire and the wider area, and as this case shows, hope to secure more convictions in the future.
The RSPB would like to thank Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team for their thorough investigation and diligent work which has resulted in this successful outcome, the South Peak Raptor Study Group for their continued efforts in monitoring these birds and Tarmac for their assistance throughout.
Thomas Grose, RSPB Investigations Officer: “Peregrine Falcons represent the epitome of being wild and free and it is this very characteristic that makes them such a target for criminals involved in the illegal falconry trade, earning money from the laundering and trading of these birds overseas. The theft of Peregrine eggs and chicks has been a persistent threat to these birds in Derbyshire. This case is a great example of organisations working together to bring those responsible to justice. Without dedicated volunteers and the efforts of Derbyshire Police this would have been just another failed nest. I hope this sends the message that we are watching and will continue our efforts to protect these amazing birds of prey.”
Chris Wilkinson, Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team: “The nesting sites of these beautiful birds of prey are protected in law for a reason. Peregrines are an endangered species and groups, including the RSPB, have been working hard to ensure they are free from persecution and able thrive in Derbyshire. The efforts made by the RSPB, Derbyshire Police, NWCU and the Animal and Plant Health Agency to secure the conviction and subsequent sentence handed down by the courts, goes to show that we will go above and beyond to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.”
If you have information about anyone killing birds of prey which you wish to report anonymously, call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.
ENDS
This is an interesting case in that the culprit received a custodial sentence for the persecution of birds of prey. As regular blog readers will know, custodial sentences are rare in this area of wildlife crime – there have been a handful, the most notorious in 2014 when a gamekeeper who was caught on camera by the RSPB trapping and killing goshawks on an Aberdeenshire shooting estate in 2012, received a four month custodial sentence (here).
There have been plenty of other convictions for raptor persecution since then, mostly gamekeepers, with many of the cases reaching/passing the custodial threshold but sentences have been consistently and disappointingly weak, typically consisting of paltry fines, community orders and/or suspended sentences.
So what made Wheeldon’s offences so different as to warrant an immediate custodial sentence?
Well, I’d argue that the fact Wheeldon didn’t have an expensive barrister to represent him, unlike many gamekeepers who appear before the courts charged with raptor persecution, was probably a crucial factor. The majority of those given a custodial sentence for raptor persecution offences have been individuals stealing eggs/chicks for the falconry trade or for private egg collections, and who haven’t had top barristers standing up for them in court.
I’d also guess that Wheeldon’s criminal history influenced the magistrate’s decision. Wheeldon, 34, previously of Lime Grove, Matlock but now of Wheatley Gardens, Two Dales, is described on the Derbyshire Livewebsite as a ‘drug-addicted tree surgeon’, and he has a bit of a record.
He reportedly lost his driving licence for ‘driving with excess drugs’ in 2021 (here) and was charged with attempted robbery of a takeaway in Matlock in January 2023 (here – I don’t know the outcome of that case). In addition, during sentencing yesterday, it emerged that Wheeldon was also convicted of five counts of shop lifting, four of which took place during the first week of January this year.
He actually received a longer sentence for the shoplifting offences (10 weeks) than he did for disturbing the peregrine nest (8 weeks) and stealing the peregrine eggs (another 8 weeks, to run concurrently). So whilst a custodial sentence is to be welcomed, it still doesn’t act as a deterrent for others who may be considering committing an offence; and an offence that is supposedly a national police wildlife crime priority, especially when this offence can theoretically attract a custodial sentence of up to six months in England.
A report on wildlife crime in the UK, published in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) recommended improved sentencing guidelines to provide consistency on tackling wildlife crime.
Following the report’s publication, Green peer Natalie Bennett asked the UK government what plans it had to produce sentencing guidelines for raptor persecution (and other wildlife offences). DEFRA Minister Lord Benyon said the report’s recommendations “will be considered by the relevant agencies“.
No plans, then.
Nevertheless, Wheeldon’s prosecution and conviction is a good result – and especially as it was led by Derbyshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team, who previously have been less than impressive on some raptor persecution investigations (e.g. here, here, here). So well done to Derbyshire Police, to the RSPB’s Investigations Team and also to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Part-time gamekeeper Timothy Hall, 48, and his son Lewis Hall, 23, of Lamberton Holdings, Berwickshire will appear for sentencing on Monday 15th January 2024 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court after the pair pleaded guilty in December 2023 to numerous offences relating to the illegal laundering of peregrines, which were stolen from the wild and sold on to clients in the Middle East.
Peregrine photo by Ben Hall, RSPB Images
This is the culmination of a long-running and complex investigation by Police Scotland and the Scottish SPCA, code named Operation Tantallon, which began with a raid at the Halls’ home in May 2021.
Sentencing will take place following background reports on the pair. I’m expecting the full details of this case will be made available after sentencing.
Also appearing in court tomorrow (Chesterfield Magistrates Court in Derbyshire) is Christopher Wheeldon, 34, of Lime Grove, Darley Dale, Matlock who faces charges relating to the alleged disturbance of a peregrine nest and theft of peregrine eggs at a nest site in Bolsover in April 2023. See here for previous blog on this case.
UPDATE 15 January 2024: Sentencing of part-time gamekeeper & son deferred in international peregrine laundering case (here)
UPDATE 15 January 2024: More detail revealed about international peregrine laundering case in Scotland (here)
UPDATE 16 January 2024: Derbyshire ‘drug addict’ jailed for stealing peregrine eggs (here)
Essex Police is appealing for information after the discovery of a shot buzzard found injured in a field near to Layer Wood /Layer Marney on 29th December 2023.
An x-ray shows the buzzard’s humerus bone had been shattered with a shotgun pellet, suggesting it was shot close to where it was found:
Photos from Essex Police
The buzzard is still alive and is being cared for by a local wildlife rescue centre.
Essex Police has launched an investigation – any witnesses or anyone with information please contact Essex Police on Tel 101 and quote incident number 42/2817/24.
This latest raptor persecution victim is the 8th in Essex in recent years, following the shooting of another buzzard in January 2023 (here), the shooting of a red kite in September 2022 (here), the shooting of another red kite in November 2021 (here), another red kite found dead in suspicious circumstances in November 2021 (here), the shooting of another three buzzards in 2020, one in Dec (here), one in September (here) and one in June (here), and the suspected shooting of a Hobby in August 2020 (here).
Press statement from Norfolk Constabulary (2 January 2024):
APPEAL AFTER BIRD OF PREY POISONED
Police are appealing for information after further tests revealed a Red Kite discovered dead in North Creake had died from suspected insecticide poisoning.
Officers from Norfolk Police’s Op Randall team have been investigating the death of the protected bird of prey, which was found dead by a member of the public in a field in North Creake in August 2023, and had suffered no obvious physical injuries.
Further tests were ordered to establish the cause of death and a post-mortem examination carried out through the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) at the end of November has subsequently detected a number of pesticides and insecticides, including very high levels of Bendiocarb which has been concluded as the likely cause of death.
Searches carried out out by police alongside National Wildlife Crime Unit officers and the RSPB investigation team to find the source of the substance have so far proved negative and now officers are keen to speak to anyone with information that may help their investigation or who has witnessed anything similar in the area.
Wildlife officer PC Chris Shelley said: “We’ve been waiting for the results of the toxicological analysis, and now know the levels of Bendiocarb contained within the samples taken from the bird have not come from the approved use of such a product.
“I have to conclude that this product has been used illegally in very close proximity to where the bird was recovered.
“Bendiocarb has been the active ingredient in a number of insecticide products in the past approved to deal with wasps and ants. In more recent years the number of products including this ingredient has reduced and its approved use has been to tackle such species inside buildings. Products containing this ingredient can only be purchased and used by professional pesticide users, and only then can they use the product inside a building to reduce the risk to non-target species.
“Red Kites are listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We have a zero tolerance approach to the persecution of birds of prey and I’d appeal to anybody who knows anything that may help get to the bottom of what happened here or indeed has any information about anything similar happening, please get in touch with us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch via the following channels, quoting reference 38/82207/23:
In October 2023, Kelvin Birtles of Saffron Road, Wigston appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to three offences – the possession of two dead badgers (in breach of the Protection of Badgers Act), the possession of two dead otters (in breach of the Wildlife & Countryside Act) and the possession of nine dead birds including three buzzards, four tawny owls, one barn owl and one swan, which were all found in his freezer during a joint police and trading standards raid in April 2023. Sentencing was deferred for background reports (see blog here).
Birtle re-appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on 15th November 2023 where he told the court he didn’t know he needed a licence, that some of the items were for his taxidermy hobby, and that some had been roadkill that he’d removed from near a school because ‘he didn’t want kids to see them smashed up on the road’.
He received a 12 month community order requiring him to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £114 victim surcharge.
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]
This is the blog I now publish after every reported killing or suspicious disappearance.
“They disappear in the same way political dissidents in authoritarian dictatorships have disappeared” (Stephen Barlow, 22 January 2021).
Today the list has been updated to include the three most recently reported victims: ‘Dagda’ found shot dead on Knarsdale grouse moor in May 2023; ‘Saranyu’ who ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (no further details available yet from the RSPB), and ‘Inger’ who ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September 2023.
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 and for a critical evaluation of the trial after 5 years see this report by Wild Justice.
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 113 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.
Data compiled by RPUK. *No hen harriers brood meddled in 2018
‘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).
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).
28 January 2019: Hen harrier DeeCee ‘disappeared’ in Glen Esk, a grouse moor area of the Angus Glens (see 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).
November 2019: Hen harrier Artemis ‘disappeared’ near Long Formacus in south Scotland (RSPB pers comm).
14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here).
December 2019: Hen harrier Ingmar ‘disappeared’ in the Strathbraan grouse moor area of Perthshire (RSPB pers comm).
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).
30 March 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-F3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.
1 April 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.
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 (here).
4/5 May 2023: Satellite-tagged male hen harrier called ‘Rush’ ‘disappeared’ from a grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here).
17 May 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Wayland’ ‘disappeared’ in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB (here).
31 May 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, tag #213932, name: R2-M3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (grid ref: NY765687) (here).
xx May 2023: Hen harrier male called ‘Dagda’, tagged by the RSPB in Lancashire in June 2022 and who was breeding on the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in 2023 until he ‘vanished’, only to be found dead on the neighbouring Knarsdale grouse moor in May 2023 – a post mortem revealed he had been shot (here).
11 June 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, tag #213922, name: R2-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).
12 June 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2020, tag #203004, name: R1-M2-20) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (grid ref: NY976322) (here).
6 July 2023: Satellite-tagged female hen harrier named ‘Rubi’ (tag #201124a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (grid ref: NY911151) (here).
23 July 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #55154a, name: R1-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (close to where ‘Rubi’ vanished), grid ref: NY910126 (here).
29 July 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, tag #55144, name: R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in the North Pennines. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Dead. Recovered – awaiting PM results. Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).
9 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Martha’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Westburnhope Moor) near Hexham in the North Pennines (here).
11 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Selena’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Mossdale Moor) in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
11 August 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #201118a, name: R3-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ in Co. Durham (grid ref: NZ072136) (here).
15 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Hepit’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Birkdale Common) near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
24 August 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #55155a, name: R1-F2-23) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in Northumberland. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).
August-Sept 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Harmonia’ ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
September 2023: Hen harrier female ‘Saranyu’, tagged by the RSPB in Cumbria in June 2023, ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (no further details available yet – just outline info provided in 2022 Birdcrime report) (here).
September 2023: Hen harrier female ‘Inger’, a female tagged by the RSPB in Perthshire in July 2022, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September 2023 (here).
To be continued…….
Not one of these 113 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 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN 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.
And let’s not forget the response from the Moorland Association Chair (and owner of Swinton Estate) Mark Cunliffe-Lister, who told BBC Radio 4 last month that, “Clearly any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (here).
With 24 hen harriers known to be ‘missing’/killed so far in 2023, this has already been the worst year for hen harrier persecution since brood meddling began in 2018. The persecution figure is expected to rise further when Natural England decides to publish its hen harrier persecution data from October, November and December 2023, probably in the new year (see here).
2023 has been the worst year for the illegal killing of hen harriers on grouse moors since the ludicrous DEFRA / Natural England hen harrier brood meddling trial was given the green light in 2018.
Photo by Pete Morris/RSPB Images
By September this year, the number of confirmed ‘missing’/dead hen harriers in 2023 stood at 21 birds. However, the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime Report, which was published a couple of weeks ago (here), included previously withheld information about three more satellite-tagged hen harriers that have gone this year:
Hen harrier Saranyu, a female tagged by the RSPB in Cumbria in June 2023, who ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (no further details available yet).
Hen harrier Inger, a female tagged by the RSPB in Perthshire in July 2022, who ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September 2023 (here).
Hen harrier Dagda, a male tagged by the RSPB in Lancashire in June 2022 and who was breeding on the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in 2023 until he ‘vanished’, only to be found dead on the neighbouring Knarsdale grouse moor in May 2023 – a post mortem revealed he had been shot (here).
So that takes this year’s total (so far) to 24 ‘missing’/dead hen harriers and this number is expected to rise as I understand there are other incidents that haven’t yet been publicised. This is the highest number of (known) persecuted hen harriers in six years and includes nine of Natural England’s brood meddled harriers:
*No brood meddling took place in 2018, the year Natural England issued the first licence
Do these disgraceful figures indicate to you that Natural England’s brood meddling scheme is working? (Remember, one of the objectives of this ‘trial’ is to test whether grouse moor managers would stop illegally killing hen harriers if nestlings were removed from grouse moors, under licence, reared in captivity and released elsewhere).
If you listen to the spin of the grouse shooting industry, the brood meddling trial is being declared a pure and unmitigated triumph for hen harriers. The Moorland Association (Natural England’s main ‘partner’ in the trial which brings with it a level of perceived credibility to those who don’t know any better) issued a press release in mid- November to announce that the (short term) survival rate of brood meddled hen harriers was greater than the (short term) survival rate of un-meddled harriers, but conveniently forgot to mention the persecution figures and that 56% of all the brood meddled chicks had since ‘disappeared’ / been illegally killed (see here). The Moorland Association’s horseshit propaganda was recently regurgitated in the national press, including the Daily Mail (obvs) and as far as I can see, Natural England did nothing to challenge the narrative.
The chairman of the Moorland Association even told BBC Radio 4 in August this year that, “Clearly, any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (here) when clearly, it so obviously is.
Then in late November, Dr Alistair Leake, GWCT’s Director of Policy wrote a letter to the Guardian (and a copy was posted on GWCT’s website) stating that the hen harrier brood management [meddling] scheme “is surely a shining example of human / wildlife conflict resolution that would be the envy of other countries trying to find similar solutions“.
It is quite obvious to anyone with functioning eyesight that not only has the illegal killing of hen harriers continued since the brood meddling trial began, but that the extent of the (known) killing has got worse.
The hen harrier killers are now so brazen and out of control that they don’t even care if they take out brood meddled harriers – birds that they initially mostly left alone in the early years of the trial.
They can afford to be so audacious about their crimes because they know that (a) they’re NEVER caught, (b) never prosecuted, (c) never convicted, (d) the grouse shooting industry’s representative bodies will shamelessly deny the criminality even exists and (e) the industry will still get a brood meddling licence from Natural England to keep the harriers off their grouse moors, even in Special Protection Areas specifically designated to protect hen harriers, because Natural England doesn’t have the balls to call them out and won’t pull the plug on the trial because it doesn’t want to lose face and admit it’s been taken for a mug for all these years.
It’ll be interesting to see Natural England’s next update on the fates of its tagged hen harriers (last update was September 2023 – next one will be due in the new year) to see what this year’s final tally of hen harrier killing has been and whether that figure, the highest in the six years since brood meddling began, will influence Natural England’s decision to continue with its brood meddling licence in 2024.
Press release from Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (1st December 2023)
Reaction to the RSPB Birdcrime Report
The RSPB recently published its latest ‘Birdcrime’ report.
David Butterworth, Chief Executive Officer of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said: “It is yet again hugely embarrassing that this part of the country has been shamed as being the worst for proven and suspected bird of prey persecution in the UK.
“An end to the illegal killing of birds cannot come soon enough. Some of the instances of criminality this year beggar belief. The stamping to death of 4 young Harrier chicks and one Harrier having its head pulled from its body while still alive. Truly shocking levels of depravity.
Hen harrier ‘Free’, found on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and whose post mortem revealed that the cause of death was the head being twisted and pulled off while the body was held tightly. His leg had also been ripped off whilst he was alive. Photo by Natural England via RSPB’s 2022 Birdcrime report.
“It’s all the more galling because there are signs of positive change. Some local land managers are doing great work to conserve birds of prey in the National Park.
“We are currently preparing a new evidence report on bird of prey populations in the National Park on behalf of the Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey Partnership. We hope this report will be published in the coming weeks. Sadly all of this will count for little whilst the persecution of Birds of Prey continues“.
ENDS
Bravo, David Butterworth, for this very public and unequivocal condemnation of the ongoing raptor persecution in this so-called National Park.
But isn’t it time the pretend Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey ‘Partnership’ was closed down? The RSPB has already left because it recognised the futility of trying to ‘partner’ with the likes of the Moorland Association – how much more time, money and effort is going to be pumped into this pseudo-union, whilst the crimes against birds of prey just carry on and on and on?
Partnerships and coalitions only work when objectives are shared. In the case of the Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey ‘Partnership’, the Chair of the Moorland Association doesn’t even accept that hen harrier persecution is happening (see here), let alone that it’s an issue that needs to be addressed. What’s the point of continuing this ‘partnership’ charade?
As an aside, the RSPB’s 2022 Birdcrime report was published ten days ago and it contains a lot of material that I want to blog about. I’ve been distracted by events in Scotland (more golden eagle persecution, more peregrine persecution, and a landmark vote by the Scottish Parliament to agree to the general principles of a grouse moor licensing scheme) but I haven’t forgotten about the Birdcrime report and will come back to it shortly….
Yesterday it was announced that Robbie Douglas-Miller OBE has been appointed as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Eh? So an unelected billionaire who likes to wear a crown has conferred a Barony on some other bloke which then allows that other unelected bloke to be given a Ministerial role in DEFRA, which has been approved by the unelected billionaire who likes to wear a crown, and we’re all supposed to accept this is a functional democracy? Good grief.
That new unelected DEFRA Environment Minister, Baron Douglas-Miller, is believed to be the same Robbie Douglas-Miller who just happens to be the sole director of Moorfoot Capital Management Ltd which owns a grouse moor (Hopes Estate) in the Lammermuirs in south Scotland. Along with Lord Benyon, that’ll now be two grouse moor-owning Environment Ministers in DEFRA.
Douglas-Miller has, according to this article in the Guardian, been accused of ‘obstructing public access‘ by ‘apparently making it difficult for walkers to access a site East Lothian’s Lammermuir Hills, which is part of his Hopes Estate‘.
It’s not the first time access issues have been raised at Hopes Estate. In 2017, fieldworkers from the Scottish Raptor Study Group published two scientific papers about their long-term monitoring of merlins on grouse moors in the Lammermuirs and how that came to an abrupt end in 2015 after they were suddenly refused vehicular access, having previously enjoyed a good cooperative relationship with landowners and gamekeepers for many years. They believed that the relationship breakdown was a result of them highlighting some of the intensification of management practices on those grouse moors. Their study area covered several estates including the Hopes Estate (see here and here).
It’s worth noting that none of these grouse moor management practices were unlawful (at the time), and indeed the fieldworkers did not find any evidence of illegal raptor persecution, but their criticism of the increased use of bridge (rail) traps that were catching / killing non-target species such as dippers, merlin and ring ouzels, and the killing of mountain hares that were then dumped in stink pits was an issue of concern to them.
The Hopes Estate had achieved accreditation in 2013/14 under the Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES) scheme, which is administered by landowners’ lobby group Scottish Land & Estates and was chaired for several years by Robbie Douglas-Miller.
Estates that are awarded accreditation under the WES scheme have to meet certain criteria, including:
Commitment to best practice
Adoption of game and wildlife management plans that underpin best practice
Maintaining species and habitats records
Conservation and collaborative work
Integration with other land management activities (such as farming, forestry and tourism)
Social, economic and cultural aspects (such as employment, community engagement and communications)
The WES scheme was first piloted in 2011 and was believed to be in response to MSP Peter Peacock’s call in 2010 for an estate licensing scheme to combat ongoing raptor persecution (see here). The scheme was then rolled out fully in 2013 but not without some healthy scepticism of it being a greenwashing exercise (see here).
Since then, in general, I think it’s probably been a good thing for estates to aspire to, although a number of estates in the WES scheme have had wildlife crime incidents recorded on their land, e.g. Invercauld Estate (see here and pay attention to the letter written by the estate to the then Environment Minister where the estate quoted its membership of the WES scheme as an example of its apparently good stewardship. Of course, this estate is now currently serving a three-year General Licence restriction after further evidence of wildlife crime was uncovered there, including what Police Scotland described as the ‘deliberate’ poisoning of a golden eagle – here).
In addition, the WES-accredited Newlands Estate in Dumfriesshire saw one of its gamekeepers convicted for killing a buzzard after he threw rocks at it before repeatedly stamping on it (see here and here). To be fair, when challenged about the estate’s WES accreditation in light of the gamekeeper’s conviction, WES stated that the estate’s accreditation had been ‘suspended’ (note, not revoked, see here) although for how long, who knows?
And just this week, another WES-accredited estate is at the centre of a police investigation after a dead peregrine was found in a baited illegal pole trap in the Pentlands (see here). The Police Scotland appeal for information stated that the dead peregrine ‘was found around 100 yards from a public path on the edge of a small woodland south of Wester Bavelaw on Thursday, 23 November, 2023′.
According to Andy Wightman’s Who Owns Scotland website this ‘small woodland south of Wester Bavelaw’ appears to be on the Bavelaw Estate:
The Bavelaw Estate, according to its own website, is a WES-accredited estate and says this about it:
‘Over the last five years, The estate have enhanced habitat across the board, including planting over 50 ha of mixed native woodland, peatland restoration, the creation of wetland areas, including wader scrapes and ponds, restoration of riparian habitats and heather and bracken swiping as well as connecting wildlife corridors. Additionally, restoring 7,861 sq Km of public access paths.
The assessor was extremely impressed with the integrated management direction the Estate is taking and specifically referenced the undeniable passion and enthusiasm for nature that both the landowner and his employees have‘.
Photo by RPUK blog reader
Interestingly, and again according to Andy Wightman’s Who Owns Scotland website (data collected 10 July 2023), Bavelaw Estate is owned by Robert, Andrew, Robert and Edward Douglas-Miller as Trustees of Firm of Bavelaw Castle Farm:
Now, to be absolutely clear and for the avoidance of doubt, there is no suggestion whatsoever that Robbie Douglas-Miller, or his relatives, or indeed anyone associated with Bavelaw Estate is responsible for, or had any knowledge of, the setting and baiting of that illegal pole trap that killed the peregrine. The police investigation is ongoing and we’ll just have to wait and see whether the police appeal for information brings forward any witnesses and whether the forensic analysis identifies a suspect.
I genuinely expect Robbie Douglas-Miller will have been as horrified as the rest of us and will be eager to know who set that illegal trap, and who might also be responsible for other incidents of raptor persecution / wildlife crime in the area, e.g. the illegally poisoned peregrine found about half a mile away in 2018 (here), the suspicious disappearance of golden eagle Fred a few kilometres away in 2018 (here) the merlin nest that was shot out in 2017 (here) and the raven shot on its nest in 2016 (here).
Nevertheless, it appears that a heinous wildlife crime has been detected on another WES-accredited estate, and that the apparent new DEFRA Environment Minister is a co-Trustee of the company that owns the estate.
As an aside, I was interested to see the game-shooting lobby was very quick to deny that the pole-trapped peregrine had anything to do with grouse shooting – indeed, MSP Rachael Hamilton even stated as much in the Chamber during Thursday’s parliamentary debate on the Wildlife Management Bill (“…there is clearly no link to a grouse moor management…“, here). How does she know?!
There is driven grouse shooting on neighbouring land to Bavelaw and Bavelaw was once a prominent grouse shooting estate itself (the lines of grouse butts are marked on the OS map) but it is believed that Bavelaw is currently managed as a sheep farm, although there is evidence that muirburn takes place but it doesn’t look like the intensive muirburn typically associated with a driven grouse moor:
Bavelaw Estate. Photo by RPUK blog reader
What’s really interesting then, is why the Bavelaw Estate was a signatory on a recent letter sent to Environment Minister Gillian Martin where nearly 400 rural businesses expressed their concern that a grouse moor licensing scheme would be detrimental to their interests (see here). You can’t have it both ways – either there’s a link to grouse shooting or there isn’t.
I really don’t know what to make of Robbie Douglas-Miller’s appointment as an Environment Minister in DEFRA. What can a prominent grouse moor owner, member of Scottish Land & Estates and a former GWCT Director bring to the policy table? Perhaps he’ll use his experience of chairing the WES scheme in Scotland to try and impart some sense to the appalling and unregulated mismanagement of England’s grouse moors? Although given SLE’s open-mouthed hysteria about the proposed grouse moor licensing scheme in Scotland, that doesn’t seem likely.
UPDATE 7th December 2023: More information emerges on new, unelected DEFRA minister (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 