Natural England has finally, after many months of delay, published its formal review of the Hen Harrier Brood Management (Meddling) trial that ran from 2018-2024.
For new blog readers, the Hen Harrier Brood Meddling trial was a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England between 2018 – 2024, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involved the removal of Hen Harrier chicks from grouse moors, they were reared in captivity, then released back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where many were illegally killed. It was plainly bonkers. For more background see here and here.
Male Hen Harrier (photo by Pete Walkden)
In March 2025, Natural England announced the end of the Hen Harrier brood meddling sham and noted that the so-called ‘partnership’ had now closed, although NE also said that no decision had yet been made about the potential annual roll-out of brood meddling (here).
In April 2025, Natural England announced that it had turned down a licence application from the Moorland Association for a brood meddling licence for 2025, mainly because the Moorland Association wanted to remove the licensing requirement that all brood meddled Hen Harriers must be satellite tagged (hmm, can’t think why), and also because the MA wanted a single release site for brood meddled Hen Harriers, presumably to get around the problem of there not being sufficient receptor sites/estates willing to take the young brood meddled birds on their release (see here).
This afternoon, Natural England has published three final reports as part of its review of the brood meddling trial. These are:
Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial Evaluation: The effectiveness of brood management as a mechanism for supporting Hen Harrier recovery.
Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial: Interim social science evaluation.
Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial: Findings from the social science survey of moorland managers Authors: National Centre for Social Research.
The three reports are available for download at the end of this blog. I haven’t read them yet – and probably won’t have time to do that until next week at the earliest, so will comment further once I’ve read them, if I find anything of interest.
Natural England has published a blog today, to accompany the publication of the three reports. Here’s the most relevant part:
This suggests that NE will consider brood meddling in the future, on the basis the same licence conditions used during the trial are in place (i.e. sat tagging, release site must be within the SPA from where the Hen Harriers are brood meddled etc).
Two of these paragraphs don’t make sense to me, as one contradicts the other. NE says that, “Such projects [i.e. brood meddling] should be for the explicit aim of increasing Hen Harrier numbers by reducing illegal killing and disturbance” but then in the next paragraph, it says, “It [brood meddling] is not a substitute for tackling wildlife crime“.
Eh?
The final sentence of NE’s blog is also relevant – “These views….will be kept under review as new evidence emerges“.
I don’t know if Natural England is aware, but significant new evidence on the extent of Hen Harrier persecution on UK grouse moors is on its way shortly, and if that doesn’t put an end to any idea about continuing the ludicrous brood meddling sham, I don’t know what will.
Meanwhile, here are NE’s three final reports on the Hen Harrier brood meddling trial:
In April this year, James ‘Jimmy’ Kempster, 39, was found guilty of being in possession at some point of a Kestrel and a Barn Owl that had been found impaled on the door handle of a community shop in Broughton, Hampshire, in March 2024. DNA found on the birds was linked to Kempster.
He was found not guilty of criminal damage in relation to the dumping of 50 dead Hares that were strewn around the shop’s courtyard, with blood smeared on the shop windows, as the prosecution could not show beyond reasonable doubt that Kempster was present at the crime scene.
Sentencing was deferred until 23 June 2026 to allow for background reports to be prepared.
Screen grab from the CCTV footage outside Broughton Community Shop on 15 March 2024, showing one of three unidentified individuals throwing dead Hares from a vehicle onto the shop forecourt. (Image via Crown Prosecution Service)
Kemspter, who has a string of at least 13 prior convictions, was given a 15-month community order including 30 days of rehabilitation activity and made subject to being monitored by an electronic tag for six months.
He was also fined £120 and ordered to pay costs of £650 with a £114 court surcharge.
Press release from Hampshire Constabulary (23 June 2026):
MAN SENTENCED FOR WILDLIFE OFFENCES IN BROUGHTON
A man has been sentenced for wildlife offences relating to handling the carcasses of two protected species of bird.
On 15 March 2024, police received multiple reports that a large pile of approximately 50 dead hares had been strewn across the floor outside Broughton Community Shop, and the bodies of a dead barn owl and kestrel were stuffed on to the shop’s door handle.
Local villagers turned up to help clean up the mess prior to police arriving.
Following a number of enquiries, 39-year-old James ‘Jimmy’ Kempster was arrested and subsequently charged with offences, after forensic testing of the carcasses showed that his DNA was present on the owl and the kestrel.
He denied any involvement, and the case went to trial at Southampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday 21 April 2026.
During the trial, the court heard how CCTV showed a Suzuki Grand Vitara turn up at the shop in the early hours of the morning on 15 March 2024. Two men exited the vehicle and began throwing the animal carcasses on the floor, and one of the men attached the dead birds to the shop’s door handle.
The following day, officers were out on patrol in rural Test Valley when they discovered a car similar to that captured on the CCTV burnt out approximately three and a half miles from Broughton.
Magistrates determined that, whilst the evidence was insufficient to place Kempster at the scene when the bodies were dumped, they accepted he had handled the dead birds at some point. Kempster was found guilty of possession of a dead schedule 1 wild bird, and possession of a dead non schedule 1 wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
A second man, aged 29 years, was interviewed under caution by police as part of this investigation, but he was later released with no further action being taken.
Kempster, of Marchwood Road in Eling, appeared at Southampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday 23 June where he was sentenced to a community order, rehabilitation activity, and ordered to pay £884 in costs.
ENDS
There’s a bit more detail provided in this article on the BBC News website.
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 revised to reflect updates revealed in this morning’s blog (here) about two more ‘disappearing’ Hen Harriers on Ruabon Moor in North Wales whose satellite tags were found and assessments concluded they’d been ‘deliberately cut off’.
There isn’t a one-stop shop (apart from this list) where you can find information about ‘missing’ or illegally killed Hen Harriers – the information for this list is sourced and cross-referenced from various places, including Natural England’s database, the RSPB’s database, the HSE’s database, police reports, RSPB Birdcrime reports and FoIs to various agencies. This list doesn’t include any Hen Harriers that have been listed as having a natural cause of death (e.g. known/suspected predation), or listed as ‘likely tag failure’, or known to have been lost abroad, or where the cause of death is inconclusive, unless there is additional information (e.g. from satellite tag data) which indicates suspicious or illegal activity. It is painstaking work that takes a lot of time to complete, but I consider it to be as accurate and comprehensive as it can be at the time of writing.
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). 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 was 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. In 2024 the brood meddling trial appeared to collapse for reasons which are not yet clear (see here) and the licence for the so-called ‘scientific trial’ expired. In March 2025 Natural England announced the end of the brood meddling trial (here) and in April 2025 announced that a licence application to continue brood meddling, submitted by the Moorland Association, had been refused (here).
Brood meddling was earlier 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 149 Hen Harriers gone since 2018, and 28 of those being brood meddled birds, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry was simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretended that ‘partnership working’ was the way to go and consecutive Tory DEFRA Ministers remained silent for all those years.
*n/a – no Hen Harriers were brood meddled in 2018.
‘Partnership working’ according to Natural England appeared 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 with a contract clause that prevented Natural England from criticising them or the sham brood meddling trial (see here). This was in addition to a further £10k ‘donation’ that Natural England accepted, under the same terms, in 2021 (here).
Thankfully, the Scottish Government finally decided to act by introducing a grouse moor licensing scheme under the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. The intention behind this new legislation is that grouse shooting estates could have their licences suspended/revoked if, on the balance of probability, it is shown that any raptor persecution crimes (& some other associated offences) are linked with grouse moor management on that estate. There were, however, ongoing issues with the licence as it was significantly watered-down after an intervention from the grouse shooting industry (see here). The loophole was eventually closed off via an amendment in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 (see here).
In England a new Hen Harrier Taskforce was established in 2024, led by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, to use innovative techniques to target Hen Harrier persecution hotspots (locations where Hen Harriers repeatedly ‘disappear’ or are found illegally killed). It’s too early to judge the Taskforce’s success/failure and it’s been met with considerable resistance from the Moorland Association, the grouse moor owners’ lobby group (e.g. see here). So far though, it’s quite clear that the the illegal killing continues.
So here’s the latest gruesome list of ‘missing’/illegally killed Hen Harriers since 2018. Note that the majority of these birds (but not all) were fitted with satellite tags. How many more [untagged] harriers have been killed? We now have evidence that gamekeepers are specifically targeting untagged Hen Harriers, precisely to avoid detection (see here for extraordinary footage/audio captured by the RSPB’s Investigations Team as featured on Channel 4 News in October 2024).
2018
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). Tagged by RSPB.
5 February 2018: Hen Harrier Marc ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Durham (here). Tagged by RSPB.
9 February 2018: Hen Harrier Aalin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here). Tagged by RSPB.
March 2018: Hen Harrier Blue ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
March 2018: Hen Harrier Finn ‘disappeared’ near Moffat in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
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). Tagged by RSPB.
8 August 2018: Hen Harrier Hilma ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Northumberland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
16 August 2018: Hen Harrier Athena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
26 August 2018: Hen Harrier Octavia ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Margot ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Heulwen ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here). Tagged by RSPB.
3 September 2018: Hen Harrier Stelmaria ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
24 September 2018: Hen Harrier Heather ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
2 October 2018: Hen Harrier Mabel (Tag ID 34342) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY851059. Tagged by NE.
3 October 2018: Hen Harrier Thor ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Bowland, Lanacashire (here). Tagged by RSPB.
23 October 2018: Hen Harrier Tom (Tag ID 161144) ‘disappeared’ in South Wales (here). Grid ref SS906698. Tagged by NE.
26 October 2018: Hen Harrier Arthur ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
1 November 2018: Hen Harrier Barney (Tag ID 34343) ‘disappeared’ on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall (here). Grid ref SX140720. Tagged by NE.
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). Tagged by RSPB.
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). Tagged by RSPB.
2019
16 January 2019: Hen Harrier Vulcan ‘disappeared’ in Wiltshire close to Natural England’s proposed reintroduction site (here). Tagged by RSPB.
28 January 2019: Hen Harrier DeeCee ‘disappeared’ in Glen Esk, a grouse moor area of the Angus Glens (see here). Tagged by RSPB.
7 February 2019: Hen Harrier Skylar ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire (here). Tagged by RSPB.
22 April 2019: Hen Harrier Marci ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
26 April 2019: Hen Harrier Rain ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire (here). Tagged by RSPB.
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). Tagged by Wildlands.
11 September 2019: Hen Harrier Romario ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
14 September 2019: Hen Harrier R1-M2-19 (Brood meddled in 2019, Tag ID 183704) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here). Grid ref SD920943. Tagged by NE.
23 September 2019: Hen Harrier R1-M4-19 (Brood meddled in 2019, Tag ID 55149) ‘disappeared’ in North Pennines (here). Grid ref NY952103. Tagged by NE.
24 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 2 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Invercauld in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by Wildlands.
24 September 2019: Hen Harrier Bronwyn ‘disappeared’ near a grouse moor in North Wales (here). Tagged by RSPB.
10 October 2019: Hen Harrier Ada ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North Pennines AONB (here). Tagged by RSPB.
12 October 2019: Hen Harrier Thistle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Sutherland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
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). Tagged by RSPB.
November 2019: Hen Harrier Artemis ‘disappeared’ near Long Formacus in south Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
December 2019: Hen Harrier Ingmar ‘disappeared’ in the Strathbraan grouse moor area of Perthshire (here). Tagged by RSPB.
Unknown date in 2019: Hen Harrier Erin tagged on Isle of Man ‘disappeared’ (Stop No Malfunction) – location unknown (see here). Tagged by RSPB.
2020
27 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).
5 April 2020: Hen Harrier Hoolie ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
8 April 2020: Hen Harrier Marlin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
19 May 2020: Hen Harrier Fingal ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Lowther Hills, Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
21 May 2020: Hen Harrier R1-M1-19 (Brood meddled in 2019, Tag ID 183701) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria shortly after returning from wintering in France (here). Grid ref SD770877. Tagged by NE.
27 May 2020: Hen Harrier Silver ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on Leadhills Estate, Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
2020: day/month unknown: Unnamed male Hen Harrier breeding on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria ‘disappeared’ while away hunting (here).
14 August 2020: Hen Harrier Solo (Tag ID 201119) ‘disappeared’ in confidential nest area in Lancashire (here). Tagged by NE.
7 September 2020: Hen Harrier Dryad ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
16 September 2020: Hen Harrier Fortune (Tag ID 162150a) ‘disappeared’ from a confidential roost site in Northumberland (here). Tagged by NE.
19 September 2020: Hen Harrier Harold (Tag ID 57272) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY830036. Tagged by NE.
20 September 2020: Hen Harrier R1-M4-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55152) ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here). Grid ref SE103956. Tagged by NE.
19 December 2020: Hen Harrier Lagertha (Tag ID 201126a) ‘disappeared’ in Christchurch, Dorset close to winter roost. Not to be confused with RSPB-tagged bird also called Lagertha (2023). Grid ref SZ161924. Tagged by NE.
2021
24 February 2021: Hen Harrier Tarras ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Northumberland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
12th April 2021: Hen Harrier Yarrow ‘disappeared’ near Stockton, County Durham (here). Tagged by RSPB.
18 May 2021: Untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 1) ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
18 May 2021: Another untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 2) ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
24 July 2021: Hen Harrier Asta (Tag ID 201117) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines after establishing a home range around Gilmonby Moor (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). Grid ref SE206937. Tagged by NE.
14th August 2021: Hen Harrier Josephine (Tag ID 213850) ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY592841. Tagged by NE.
17 September 2021: Hen Harrier Reiver ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated region of Northumberland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
24 September 2021: Hen Harrier R2-F1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 213918) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NZ022667. Tagged by NE.
15 November 2021: Hen Harrier R2-F1-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 203003) ‘disappeared’ at the edge of a grouse moor on Arkengarthdale Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY959039. Tagged by NE.
12 December 2021: Hen Harrier Jasmine (Tag ID 213848) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (High Rigg Moor on the Middlesmoor Estate) in the Nidderdale AONB in North Yorkshire (here). Grid ref SE034733. Tagged by NE.
Unknown date in 2021: Hen Harrier Maiden, tagged in Lancashire in 2021, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.
Unknown date in 2021: Hen Harrier Awyr, tagged in Conwy in 2021, ‘disappeared’ on Ruabon grouse moor. Her tag/harness was recovered and an expert assessment concluded it had been cut off (here). Tagged by the RSPB.
2022
9 January 2022: Hen Harrier Ethel (Tag ID 213852) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY936632. Tagged by NE.
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). Tagged by RSPB.
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 (ringed) leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here). Tagged by NE.
April 2022: Hen Harrier Pegasus ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
May 2022: An untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Peak District 1) ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
May 2022: Another untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Peak District 2) ‘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’ in the North Pennines (here). Grid ref NY918019. Tagged by NE.
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 R1-M1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 232637) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD804893. Tagged by NE.
September 2022: Hen Harrier Sullis ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria (here). Tagged by RSPB.
5 October 2022: Hen Harrier R3-M2-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213920a) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY791016. Tagged by NE.
10 October 2022: Hen Harrier Sia ‘disappeared’ near Hamsterley Forest in the North Pennines (here). Tagged by RSPB.
October 2022: Hen Harrier R1-F1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 213919) ‘disappeared’ in the North Sea off the North York Moors National Park (here). Tagged by NE.
1 December 2022: Hen Harrier R1-M1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 55145a) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD917620. Tagged by NE.
7 December 2022: Hen Harrier R2-F2-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55144) ‘disappeared’ from winter roost (same as R3-F1-22) on moorland in North Pennines AONB. Later found dead on 26 June 2023 with 3 shotgun pellets in corpse (here). Grid ref NY730372. Tagged by NE.
14 December 2022: Hen Harrier R3-F1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213921a) ‘disappeared’ from winter roost (same as R2-F2-20) on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here). Later found dead on 10 April 2023 with two shotgun pellets in corpse (here). Grid ref NY708423. Tagged by NE.
15 December 2022: Hen Harrier R2-F1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213931) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD847831. Tagged by NE.
Unknown date in 2022: Hen Harrier Heath, tagged in Lancashire in 2019, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.
Unknown date in 2022: Hen Harrier Syrcas, tagged in Conwy in 2021, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.
2023
30 March 2023: Hen Harrier R1-F3-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID NY823039) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Grid ref NY823039. Tagged by NE.
March 2023: Hen Harrier (tagged), last transmission/sighting in Lancashire. No tag number provided. Reported in RSPB Birdcrime 2023, Appendix 4 (here).
1 April 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID NY846027) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Grid ref NY846027. Tagged by NE.
April 2023: Hen Harrier Lagertha ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here). Tagged by RSPB. Not to be confused with Lagertha tagged by NE & disappeared in 2020).
April 2023: Hen Harrier Nicola (Tag ID 234078) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here). Grid ref SD831860. Tagged by NE.
April 2023: Untagged male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 3) ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Another untagged male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 4) ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Untagged male Hen Harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest in Co Durham (here).
4/5 May 2023: Hen Harrier Rush ‘disappeared’ from a grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here). Tagged by RSPB.
9/10 May 2023: Hen Harrier Dagda tagged in Lancashire in June 2022 and who was breeding on the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in 2023 until he ‘disappeared’, only to be found dead on the neighbouring Knarsdale grouse moor in May 2023 – a post mortem revealed he had been shot (here). Tagged by RSPB.
17 May 2023: Hen Harrier Wayland ‘disappeared’ in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB (here). Tagged by RSPB.
31 May 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M3-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213932) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY765687. Tagged by NE.
11 June 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 213922) ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY757000. Tagged by NE.
12 June 2023: Hen Harrier R1-M2-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 203004) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (here). Grid ref NY976322. Tagged by NE.
6 July 2023: Hen Harrier Rubi (Tag ID 201124a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (here). Grid ref NY911151. Tagged by NE.
23 July 2023: Hen Harrier R1-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 55154a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (close to where Rubi disappeared) (here). Grid ref NY910126. Tagged by NE.
9 August 2023: Hen Harrier Martha ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Westburnhope Moor) near Hexham in the North Pennines (here). Tagged by RSPB.
11 August 2023: Hen Harrier Selena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Mossdale Moor) in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
11 August 2023: Hen Harrier R3-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 201118a) ‘disappeared’ in Co. Durham (here). Grid ref NZ072136. Tagged by NE.
15 August 2023: Hen Harrier Hepit ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Birkdale Common) near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
24 August 2023: Hen Harrier R1-F2-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 55155a) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY679863. Tagged by NE.
August-Sept 2023: Hen Harrier Harmonia ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). ‘Stop No Malfunction’. Tagged by RSPB.
September 2023: Hen Harrier Saranyu, tagged in Cumbria in June 2023, ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (here). Tagged by RSPB.
September 2023: Hen Harrier Inger, tagged in Perthshire in July 2022, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September 2023 (here). Tagged by RSPB.
15 September 2023: Hen Harrier Rhys (Tag ID 213847a), tagged in Cumbria on 1st August 2023, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD798896. Tagged by NE.
24 September 2023: Hen Harrier R2-F2-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213929) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here). Grid ref NY888062. Tagged by NE.
26 September 2023: Hen Harrier Hope, tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD801926. Tagged by NE.
4 October 2023: Hen Harrier R1-M3-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55153) ‘disappeared’ in Co Durham (here). Grid ref NY935192. Tagged by NE.
4 October 2023: Hen Harrier R4-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213925a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SE003981. Tagged by NE.
15 November 2023: Hen Harrier Hazel’ (Tag ID 240292) tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ on the Isle of Man (here). Grid ref SC251803. Tagged by NE.
7 December 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M1-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55146a) ‘disappeared’ in Co Durham. Grid ref NY963211. Tagged by NE.
Unknown date in 2023: Hen Harrier Aurora, tagged in Dumfries & Galloway in 2022, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.
2024
12 February 2024: Hen Harrier Susie (Tag ID 201122), found dead in Northumberland. Later revealed to have been the victim of shooting (here). Grid ref NY759585. Tagged by NE. Susie’s chicks were stamped to death at nest on moor at Whernside in 2022 (here).
15 February 2024: Hen Harrier Shalimar, tagged on the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate in 2023, ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in the notorious Angus Glens (here). Tagged by RSPB.
24 April 2024: Hen Harrier Ken (Tag ID 213849a) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances close to a grouse moor in Bowland (here). Grid ref SD684601. Tagged by NE.
17 May 2024: Hen Harrier R2-M2-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213928) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances next to Middlesmoor grouse moor in Nidderdale (here). Grid ref SE043754. Tagged by NE.
7 June 2024: Hen Harrier Edna (Tag ID 161143a). Decomposed corpse found next to a wind farm nr Otterburn, Northumberland. Listed as ‘suspected illegally killed’. There has been a suggestion she was killed elsewhere & dumped at the wind farm as a ploy to cover up the crime (here). Grid ref NY910827. Tagged by NE.
25 June 2024: Hen Harrier R2-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213923) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY985082. Tagged by NE.
July 2024: Hen Harrier Helius, tagged in Lancashire in 2023, ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances in Bowland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
29 July 2024: Hen Harrier (Tag ID 254843) tagged in Northumberland on 5 July 2024, decomposed corpse not suitable for post mortem but forensics work on her satellite tag showed shot damage (here). Grid ref NY824937. Tagged by NE.
October 2024: An un-tagged Hen Harrier was apparently shot on a grouse moor at Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by one of three gamekeepers being secretly filmed by the RSPB (here).
1 October 2024: Hen Harrier Dreich (Tag ID 254842) ‘disappeared’ in Lanarkshire (here). Grid ref NS826020. Tagged by NE.
15 October 2024: Hen Harrier Baldur (Tag ID 240291) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NZ038961. Tagged by NE.
19 October 2024: Hen Harrier Margaret (Tag ID 254844) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). It was later reported that her tag had been found (‘removed’) but no sign of the carcass (here). Grid ref NY878497. Tagged by NE.
2025
15 January 2025: Hen Harrier Red, hatched on the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in 2024, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in County Durham in the North Pennines, in the same area another tagged Hen Harrier (Sia) vanished in 2022 (here). Tagged by RSPB.
January 2025: Hen Harrier Ataksak was found poisoned close to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here). Apparently a police investigation is ongoing. Tagged by RSPB.
3 February 2025: Hen Harrier R3-F2-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213924) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here). Grid ref SE759996. Tagged by NE.
27 February 2025: Hen Harrier Sita, tagged on behalf of Hen Harrier Action in Bowland in 2024 ‘disappeared’ from a roost site on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.
4 April 2025: Hen Harrier Bonnie (Tag ID 254841) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Moorfoots, Scotland (here). Grid ref NT415575. Tagged by NE.
10 April 2025: Hen Harrier Gill (Tag ID 240294) ‘disappeared’ in south Scotland (here). Grid ref NT440344. Tagged by NE.
1 May 2025: Hen Harrier Pete (Tag ID 213843) ‘disappeared’ in Cumbria (see here). Grid ref NY309418. Tagged by NE.
May 2025: Untagged Hen Harrier male (Geltsdale 5) with an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on nearby grouse moor (here).
May 2025: Another untagged Hen Harrier male (Geltsdale 6) with another active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on nearby grouse moor (here).
May 2025: Hen Harrier Dynamo with an active nest on United Utilities-owned land in Bowland, Lancashire, ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on a nearby grouse moor (here). Tagged by RSPB.
May 2025: Untagged Hen Harrier with an active nest on United Utilities-owned land in Bowland, Lancashire, ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on a nearby grouse moor (here).
31 August 2025: An unnamed Hen Harrier, hatched and tagged on National Trust-owned moorland in the peak District National Park in 2025, ‘disappeared’ from Ruabon grouse moor, north Wales after arriving there three days earlier. Her tag data indicated she was dead on 31 August. Her tag/harness were recovered on 2 September and an expert assessment concluded it had been “intentionally severed” (here). Tagged by RSPB on behalf of National Trust.
9 September 2025: Hen Harrier Maria (Tag ID 281718) tagged in Northumberland on 25 July 2025, ‘disappeared’ near Belford in Northumberland. Grid ref NU125340. Tagged by NE.
17 September 2025: Hen Harrier Beatrix, who fledged from the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in summer 2025, ‘disappeared’ from an area dominated by grouse moors near Allendale in the North Pennines (here). Tagged by RSPB.
27 September 2025: Hen Harrier Wadrew, who fledged from the RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria in summer 2025, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor near Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (see here). Tagged by the RSPB.
30 September 2025: Hen Harrier Morrigan ‘disappeared’ in the southern area of the North Pennines National Landscape (here). Tagged by RSPB.
14 October 2025: Hen Harrier Circe, hatched on the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in 2025 and tagged on behalf of charity Hen Harrier Action, ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoots, south Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.
To be continued…
Of these 149 incidents, only one has resulted in a conviction – Head gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty at York Magistrates Court in January 2026 to conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on the Conistone & Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in October 2024 (see here).
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 at least ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE Hen Harriers, and still Govt ministers remain silent on the illegal persecution issue. 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 (now former) Moorland Association Chair (and owner of Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire) Mark Cunliffe-Lister, who told BBC Radio 4 in August 2023 that, “Clearly any illegal [Hen Harrier] persecution is nothappening” (here), in the year when a record 32 Hen Harriers had been confirmed ‘missing’ and/or illegally killed.
Nor should we forget the response from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) Director of Policy Dr Alistair Leake who wrote a letter to the Guardian newspaper in November 2023 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“ (I kid you not – here).
Detective Inspector Mark Harrison of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) who leads on the national Hen Harrier Taskforce gave a live online presentation on 27 January 2026 for the charity Friends of the Dales, about the work being undertaken to tackle the ongoing illegal killing of Hen Harriers in the UK. You can watch it on YouTube, here.
For new blog readers, an RSPB report Hen Harriers in the Firing Line, published last year provides a good overview of the illegal persecution of Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors, as does this news reel from Channel 4 News:
A man has been found not guilty of criminal damage in relation to the dumping of 50 dead Hares outside Broughton Community Shop in Hampshire, but has been found guilty of being in possession of two dead birds of prey, a Kestrel and a Barn Owl, that were found rammed up against the shop’s door handles.
James ‘Jimmy’ Kempster, 39, of Bury Brickfield Park in Totton, Southampton, had been accused of being one of three masked men involved with the shocking incident that was caught on CCTV in the early hours of 15th March 2024.
Screen grab from the CCTV footage outside Broughton Community Shop
The prosecution argued that DNA found on the dead birds was matched to Kempster and that he was also linked to the incident through his mobile phone location, his clothing and connections to the vehicle, which was found burnt out in a country lane.
However, after a two-day trial that concluded at Southampton Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the magistrates decided that there was insufficient evidence to show that Kempster was involved, or even at the scene, so declared him not guilty of criminal damage to the shop windows.
They did, however, accept the DNA evidence and determined that Kempster had been in possession of the dead raptors at some point, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was the individual seen on the footage ramming the birds’ corpses up against the shop’s door handles. He was found guilty of possession of a dead schedule 1 wild bird, and possession of a dead non-schedule 1 wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Sentencing was adjourned for background reports and Kempster was released on bail, to return to the same court on 23 June 2026.
Kempster has 13 previous convictions, including several relating to Hare coursing offences (e.g. see here in Wiltshire) and a conviction for possession of an offensive weapon (catapult) when he was involved in a mass brawl between feuding families at Wickham Horse Fair in Hampshire (see here).
UPDATE 30 June 2026: James Kempster sentenced for possession of dead raptors found impaled on community shop door handle in Broughton, Hampshire (here)
Following the news earlier today that Scottish gamekeeper and former convicted sex offender Russell Douglas Mason has been sentenced for beating a Goshawk to death with a stick on a Perthshire shooting estate (here), the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has published the following statement:
GAMEKEEPER FINED AFTER BEATING TO DEATH PROTECTED BIRD OF PREY
A gamekeeper who clubbed a protected bird of prey to death has been sentenced
Hidden camera footage showed Russell Mason, 49, striking the goshawk with a cosh six times after it had been caught inside a crow cage trap on Cockrage Moor, Perthshire.
He then put the dead bird in a carrier bag before driving away from the scene at the Milton of Drummie Estate in a Polaris Ranger motor vehicle.
Mason, who worked on the estate, was sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to catching and killing the rare raptor on 12 February 2024.
He also admitted a charge of illegally storing ammunition at his home outwith the terms of his firearms licence.
Mason was handed a 200-hour community payback order for killing the goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.
Prosecutor Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said:
“It is highly important to preserve Scotland’s natural heritage, including the wildlife that forms part of it. As such, wild birds are given strict protection by our law.
“Russell Mason’s brutal and wholly unnecessary actions resulted in the suffering and death of a rare and magnificent bird of prey.
“COPFS takes raptor persecution seriously and will prosecute individuals where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the public interest to do so.
“The result in this case is a testament to the collaborative working between COPFS, Police Scotland, and Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), who in this case were able to provide vital forensic evidence“.
Staff from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) had set up the static camera on public ground to monitor activity at the trap.
After reviewing the footage on February 14, they saw Mason had entered the trap two days earlier carrying a handheld net.
After catching the goshawk, he is then seen striking it six times with a cudgel or similar instrument.
RSPB officials alerted the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals (SSPCA) who, in turn, informed the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
An avian vet who subsequently reviewed the footage said the bird would have suffered several fractures and died a painful death.
Officers identified Mason from his gamekeeping duties and his vehicle registration.
DNA from the goshawk was found by officers from the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) on a cudgel found at his home.
During a police search of his home on the estate, officers also recovered a quantity of ammunition from his car and on top of set of bedroom drawers, which were not appropriately stored in accordance with his firearms licence.
Scottish gamekeeper and former convicted sex offender Russell Douglas Mason, 49, attended a sentencing hearing at Perth Sheriff Court this morning, after pleading guilty last month to the brutal killing of a Goshawk that he battered to death inside a Crow cage trap on a shooting estate in Perthshire (see here for previous blog with case details).
Screen grab from RSPB covert footage showing gamekeeper Mason beating the Goshawk to death inside a Crow cage trap on the Milton of Drimmie Estate, Perthshire
Here is a press release from the RSPB, following sentencing:
GAMEKEEPER FROM PERTHSHIRE SHOOTING ESTATE FINED FOR BEATING PROTECTED BIRD OF PREY TO DEATH
In February 2024, video footage gathered by the RSPB showed gamekeeper Russell Mason brutally killing a protected Goshawk whilst it was caught in a cage trap near Bridge of Cally, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
Mason pleaded guilty to the illegal killing of the Goshawk and a firearms offence on 17 March 2026 and was sentenced today, at Perth Sheriff Court. He was given a 200-hour Community Payback Order for killing the Goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.
Although cage traps can be legally operated under annual government licences, numerous investigations and convictions have demonstrated that these types of traps are frequently used unlawfully to catch and kill birds of prey on gamebird shooting estates in an effort to remove any potential threat to their gamebird stocks and to maximise gamebird numbers.
In early 2024, RSPB Investigations staff deployed a covert camera to monitor the use of a crow cage trap on the Milton of Drimmie Estate near Bridge of Cally, Perthshire. The footage recorded on 12 February 2024, showed a Goshawk, a specially protected bird of prey, enter the trap and fly around, unable to escape.
Later that day, Russell Mason, a gamekeeper employed by the estate, arrived at the trap in a vehicle. He then unlocked and entered the trap whilst carrying a large, long-handled net in one hand and a short stick in the other. He then captured the Goshawk in the net, pinning it against the ground, and began beating it with the stick. After striking the bird six times he can be seen prodding the bird’s body, then removing the now dead Goshawk from the net and placing it in a plastic bag. After picking up the net and stick, with the bird’s bagged remains held under his arm, he left the trap locking it behind him. He returned to the vehicle and left the scene.
The RSPB’s recording can be viewed below: WARNING, CONTAINS DISTRESSING FOOTAGE
Goshawks are a rare and elusive species. In the late 19th Century Goshawks became extinct in the UK as a result of persecution associated with gamebird shooting and widespread deforestation. Though their population has been recovering in recent decades, Goshawks are still relatively scarce, with an estimated 700-1,200 breeding pairs in the UK. Despite their scarcity, they are regularly illegally killed, with 49 confirmed incidents recorded between 2015 and 2024 in the UK. Two thirds of these incidents occurred on land managed for gamebird shooting where birds of prey continue to be targeted to remove any perceived threat of predation to gamebird stocks despite full legal protection across the UK.
Crow cage traps can be operated legally to control stipulated corvid species (such as Carrion Crows) under the conditions of general licences, issued annually by the UK countries statutory nature conservation agencies. Permitted target species can be legally controlled for specific purposes including the conservation of other wild birds, flora or fauna, the protection of crops/livestock, or public health. As multiple previous cases have revealed, including some resulting in successful prosecutions, on some gamebird shooting estates crow cage traps are often illegally used to intentionally trap birds of prey that are subsequently killed.
Functioning like a large lobster pot, birds enter these large live-capture traps by way of an opening in the roof, often like a funnel. Once inside, it is impossible for a bird to escape. Non-target species, including birds of prey, are regularly and routinely trapped in these types of cage traps.
While under the general licence conditions, it is not an offence to catch a non-target species, it must be released unharmed within 24 hours, and at the time of discovery. However, many trap operators do not adhere to these conditions and will either kill trapped birds of prey or bag and remove them from site, potentially to be killed in another location. Both killing and taking a bird of prey is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
On 17 March 2026 at Perth Sheriff Court, Mason pleaded guilty to the illegal killing of a Goshawk. Sentencing took place today (24 April 2026). He was given a 200-hour Community Payback Order for killing the Goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.
This case marks the sixth successful conviction for Goshawk persecution in the UK since 2015. In all of these cases the individuals convicted were associated with the gamebird shooting industry when the crime was committed.
Ian Thomson, RSPB’s Investigations Manager said:
“Crimes such as this give unequivocal proof that these types of traps are incredibly effective at catching non-target species such as birds of prey, which are then routinely killed.
“We welcome the conviction of Mr Mason and are pleased that our video evidence was again key in detecting a crime against one of our rarest raptors and in securing this result. We are, however, disappointed that the penalty imposed will have little in the way of a deterrent effect on others considering committing similar offences.
“There are hundreds of these traps in use across our countryside, and this case shows, yet again, that the indiscriminate nature of such traps encourages their misuse and deliberate abuse; this in turn poses a significant threat to protected species.
“For those wanting to undertake licensed control of species such as crows, other more selective options are available, posing considerably less risk to non-target species such as protected birds of prey. We have been raising these concerns with the licensing authorities for over 30 years, and cases such as this again pose significant questions about the legitimacy of using indiscriminate cage traps in our countryside“.
The RSPB would like to thank Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Wildlife Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for their roles in investigating and prosecuting this case.
Members of the public are urged to report any suspected incidents of bird of prey persecution to the police by calling 101 and by submitting a report to the RSPB by visiting www.rspb.org.uk/report-crimes or by calling the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101. Reports via the RSPB’s reporting form and RSPB Raptor Crime Hotline can be made anonymously.
ENDS
My commentary:
First of all, congratulations and thanks are due to the RSPB’s Investigations Team. This is the third successful prosecution for raptor persecution offences so far this year where covert video evidence provided by the RSPB has been pivotal to securing a conviction.
The other two cases were:
12 January 2026, Scarborough Magistrates’ Court: gamekeeper Thomas Munday pleaded guilty to battering to death a Buzzard that had been caught inside a Crow cage trap on a Pheasant shoot at Hovingham, North Yorkshire (here)
and
29 January 2026, York Magistrates’ Court: gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a Hen Harrier as it came in to roost on a grouse moor on the Conistone & Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
Secondly, congratulations and thanks are due to Police Scotland, RSPB, Scottish SPCA, National Wildlife Crime Unit, Wildlife Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit at the Crown Office & Fiscal Service for an exemplary investigation and prosecution. This is what effective partnership-working looks like.
However, congratulations and thanks are not due to the sentencing Sheriff. Mason’s sentence can only be described as derisory, given the circumstances of his offences. Trapping and then battering to death a supposedly protected species meets the threshold for a custodial sentence (e.g. see here for a similar case in Scotland where a gamekeeper was filmed trapping and then beating a Goshawk to death with a stick). Mason’s additional firearms offences should have seen him imprisoned.
Mitigation provided to the court by Mason’s defence agent included the fact that he’d lost his job, his home and his guns.
Some of us would argue that he should never have had a firearms and shotgun certificate anyway, given his previous conviction and placement on the sex offenders register. That’s hardly indicative of being of ‘good character’ and being entrusted to own guns.
As Ian Thomson pointed out in the RSPB press release, Mason’s sentence will be of no deterrent whatsoever. There will be other gamekeepers watching all this and who will decide that the risk is very much worth taking because the consequences are minimal. Mason may well have lost his job but I daresay he’ll find another one, in the same industry – there are plenty of examples of this.
If those committing raptor persecution offences continue to receive pitiful sentences, it shouldn’t be any surprise that these crimes will continue.
And what of the shooting industry itself? How will it respond? So far, all the shooting and gamekeeping organisations have remained silent about Mason’s conviction (see here), which is surprising given the industry’s repeated claims of having ‘zero tolerance’ for raptor persecution.
Where are their statements of condemnation?
Was Mason a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association? If so, has he now been expelled?
Was Mason a member of BASC? If so, has he now been expelled?
Was the Milton of Drimmie Estate a member of Scottish Land & Estates? If so, has it now been expelled?
It’ll be interesting to see whether there is now a prosecution for alleged vicarious liability against the estate. We’re also waiting to see whether NatureScot imposes a three-year General Licence restriction on the estate. It’s my understanding that consideration of this process was paused whilst the criminal prosecution against Mason was underway.
UPDATE 16.00hrs: Statement from Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on conviction of Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason (here)
A Scottish gamekeeper who last month pleaded guilty to bludgeoning to death a trapped Goshawk on a shooting estate in Perthshire, is due to be sentenced tomorrow at Perth Sheriff Court.
Russell Douglas Mason, 49, was filmed covertly by the RSPB, beating a Goshawk to death with a stick after it became trapped inside a Crow cage trap on Cochrage Muir (Moor), believed to be part of the Milton of Drimmie and Strone estate near Blairgowrie, on 12 February 2024.
On the opening day of his trial on 17 March 2026, Mason changed his plea to guilty and also admitted to various firearms offences. Sentencing was deferred for background reports and it emerged Mason had previously been added to the sex offenders register.
So far, the gamebird shooting industry, which unconvincingly claims to have a zero tolerance policy for raptor persecution and immediate expulsion policies for anyone convicted of those crimes, has remained silent about Mason’s guilty plea (see here).
UPDATE 24 April 2026: Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason receives derisory sentence for brutal killing of Goshawk (here)
A trial is underway at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this week for a man who is accused of several offences relating to the dumping of 50 hares and two raptors (a Barn Owl and a Kestrel) outside a community shop in Broughton, Hampshire, in March 2024.
James Kempster, 39, of Totton, Southampton, is charged with two counts of possessing a dead bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and a charge of criminal damage to the shop front.
Photo by Broughton Community Shop
The court heard that the alleged incident was caught on CCTV in the early hours of 15th March 2024.
Prosecutor Adam Cooper said: “This is a horror movie scene outside a Broughton village shop – it’s a small Hampshire village.
“In the middle of the night, at 3.23am, three men arrived outside the shop by car, the driver remains in the car, having manoeuvred it to a position so the boot is adjacent to the forecourt.
“Two men get out. They are both dressed in tracksuits, hoods up, balaclavas covering their faces so neither can be identified.
“They get out to discard the bodies of 50 dead hares over the forecourt, strewn about deliberately to maximise their coverage. The Crown says one of those two men is James Kempster.
Mr Cooper said one of the men then “tears or rips the body of one of the hares in half, blood is dripping on the floor, wipes the shop front, smearing the blood”.
He then takes two birds, a Barn owl and a Kestrel, from the car before wiping them in the blood and “stuffing” them under the door handles, the prosecutor said.
Mr Cooper added that the man “then beckons the car to show the driver their handiwork, gets into the car and leaves“.
The prosecutor told the court that DNA found on the dead birds was matched to Kemspter. He was also linked to the incident through his mobile phone location, his clothing and connections to the car, which was found burnt out in a country lane.
Kempster denies the charges and the trial continues.
This trial had been originally scheduled to take place in May 2025. For previous blogs on the case see here, here, here, here, here and here.
NB: Comments are turned off as legal proceedings are still live.
UPDATE 25 April 2026: Man found not guilty of criminal damage relating to dumping of 50 dead Hares at Broughton Community Shop, but guilty of possession of dead Kestrel and Barn Owl (here)
Further to last week’s news that Scottish gamekeeper and convicted sex offender Russell Mason had pleaded guilty to battering a trapped Goshawk to death on a shooting estate in Perthshire, in addition to firearms offences (see here), I’ve been looking to see how the game-shooting industry has responded to this latest conviction of a member of its community.
Goshawk with Pheasant. Photo by Ronnie Gilbert
You’ll recall that this is the game-shooting industry whose organisations routinely state they have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards raptor persecution, and many of them are members of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Raptor Group, in which case you’d think they’d be quick to condemn this latest crime, and reassure the public that if Mason and/or the estate was a member of any of these organisations they’ve now been expelled, right?
Six days on from Mason’s conviction, here’s how those shooting organisations have responded to the news:
Scottish Gamekeepers Association – silence
Scottish Land & Estates – silence
Scottish Association for Country Sports – silence
British Association for Shooting & Conservation – silence
Countryside Alliance – silence
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust – silence
Perhaps they’re all waiting for Mason to be sentenced next month before they denounce his criminal activities? Although I can’t think of any reasonable argument for a delay.
Or perhaps they’ll wait for the inevitable public revulsion when the RSPB publishes the video nasty showing Mason bludgeoning the Goshawk to death, before they bother to comment?
Further to yesterday’s news that Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason, 49, had pleaded guilty to battering a trapped Goshawk to death on a shooting estate in Perthshire (see here), the Daily Record has published more detail about this case, which is quite disturbing.
The article is reproduced below in case this URL is broken/removed at a later date.
Russell Mason, 49, lured the protected goshawk into a baited trap before battering it several times with a cosh to cause its agonising death.
He was also found to have left nearly 200 rounds of live ammunition lying around in his bedroom and unsecured within his Polaris Ranger vehicle.
Fiscal depute Karon Rollo told Perth Sheriff Court: “Goshawks are rare birds of prey. They hunt birds and small animals. They have a wingspan of up to four feet and weigh between two and three pounds.
“They were persecuted to extinction in Scotland in the last century, but have been reintroduced, with now around 100 breeding pairs in existence.
“A crow cage trap was visited by RSPB staff on 9 January 2024. At the time this trap was set, it had a meat bait, and the door was chained and padlocked shut.
“It had a sign on the trap stating that the Scottish Government pays the estate to catch carrion crows from 1 March to 30 June to increase the chick survival rates for conservation-listed bird species.
“To continue observations and continue with this research, it was decided to install a continuous recording static camera covering this crow cage trap“.
She said RSPB staff visited the camera several times to review the captured footage and became aware of a male visiting the trap on 12 February 2024.
“At this time there was a goshawk and a crow in the trap,” Ms Rollo said. “The male opened and entered the trap. After entering he used a hand-held net to capture the goshawk and put it to the ground.
“He then struck the bird six times with a cosh. He placed the bird into a carrier bag, rolled it up and put the package under his arm.
“He left the trap, placed the net in the back of the vehicle and the bag in the cab. He locked the trap and drove off“.
The prosecutor said: “The male was identified from the footage by police officers, who knew him as being gamekeeper Russell Mason. The crow cage trap number related to the accused.
“Footage on other dates, including him putting a decoy bird in the trap, confirmed his identity. An avian vet specialising in raptors was shown the footage.
“He opined that the goshawk looked healthy and was exhibiting the normal behaviour of a captured raptor. Goshawks, in his experience, as ‘particularly flighty and stressy birds’ and this one was no exception.
“He describes it as showing a man beating a goshawk to death with a cudgel with the bird having been first netted within a crow cage trap.
“He states there were six blows to the body, which may have caused broken wings or rib fractures during the trauma, and that it was quite obviously not killed outright with one blow.
“He is of the view that it is extremely unlikely that it would have been lying passively in the net and therefore there is a high possibility that it would have sustained painful fractures and injuries before dying“.
A search of Mason’s cottage found unsecured ammunition, along with clothes matching those seen on the CCTV footage. A bag and cosh were found in his vehicle.
The bag was analysed and found to have goshawk DNA on it. The search team recovered 195 illegally stored rounds of ammunition.
Mason admitted intentionally or recklessly killing a goshawk on 12 February 2024 by seizing it with a net before repeatedly striking it with a cosh on Cochrage Moor, Bridge of Cally, Perthshire.
He also admitted breaching the terms of his firearms certificate by failing to store ammunition securely.
Sentence on Mason was deferred for the preparation of social work reports until next month by Sheriff Alison McKay and he was granted bail.
Mason was previously placed on the sex offenders register after being spotted carrying out a solo sex act in his car by a resident of a sheltered housing complex.
He was spotted by an elderly woman with his trousers down as he sat in the car beside a path used by children to walk to and from school.
When officers told Mason they were at the scene to investigate reports of someone masturbating in a car, he said: “That was me.”
Mason admitted carrying out an act of public indecency outside the sheltered housing complex in Harriet Court, Blairgowrie, and was placed on the register for a year.
ENDS
A reminder – sentencing for Mason’s latest convictions (wildlife crime & firearms offences) has been deferred until 24 April 2026 for background reports.
UPDATE 23 March 2026: Game-shooting industry’s response to the recent conviction of Perthshire gamekeeper Russell Mason (here)
UPDATE 24 April 2026: Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason receives derisory sentence for brutal killing of Goshawk (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 