Category: 2025 persecution incidents

147 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors

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 in various reports since I last updated the list in July 2025. 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 147 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.
**There are a number of suspected Hen Harrier persecution incidents from 2025 not yet in the public domain & currently subject to ongoing police investigation. These are not included here.

‘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). Efforts to close this loophole are included in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, currently making its way through the Scottish Parliament (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.

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).

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.

I’m aware of other tagged birds that went missing in 2025 and are not yet listed here as the incidents haven’t been made public as they’re the subject of active police investigations.

To be continued…

Of these 147 incidents, only one has resulted in an arrest and a subsequent prosecution (ongoing – after a ‘not guilty plea’ a gamekeeper is due in court again in January 2026, 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 SEVEN 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 not happening” (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 will be giving a live online presentation on 27 January 2026 about the work being undertaken to tackle the ongoing illegal killing of Hen Harriers in the UK. More details 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:

RSPB reports six of its satellite-tagged Hen Harriers ‘disappeared’ on or close to grouse moors in England in 2025 & another was illegally poisoned

The RSPB has today issued a press release documenting the suspicious disappearance of six of its satellite-tagged Hen Harriers in 2025, as well as one that had been illegally poisoned. All seven incidents were either on, or close to, grouse moors in England.

These seven birds are in addition to the Hen Harriers that had been satellite-tagged by Natural England and had ‘disappeared’ or were illegally killed in 2025. I’ll publish the updated combined tally list later today.

Hen Harrier (photo by Pete Walkden)

Here is the RSPB’s press release:

SIX MORE RARE HEN HARRIERS VANISH ON OR NEAR GROUSE MOORS WITH ANOTHER CONFIRMED POISONED

  • Seven RSPB satellite tagged Hen Harriers are suspected or confirmed to have been illegally killed in England on or near land managed for grouse shooting in 2025 – with three in just thirteen days.
  • Hen Harriers are a protected, Red-listed species of high conservation concern with illegal killing widely recognised as the main cause for their vulnerable status.
  • To prevent and deter these crimes and ensure the recovery of Hen Harriers in England the RSPB is urgently calling for the introduction of licensing of all gamebird shooting across the UK.

In 2025, it is suspected that a total of seven RSPB satellite-tagged Hen Harriers were illegally killed on or near grouse moors in northern England, with one Hen Harrier confirmed poisoned and six more disappearing in suspicious circumstances – all sending their final transmission on or near land managed for grouse shooting.

All incidents were quickly reported to the police and National Wildlife Crime Unit’s Hen Harrier Taskforce. Obtaining evidence of Hen Harrier killing and bringing prosecutions is extremely difficult but Police investigations continue.

To monitor Hen Harrier movements and survival, RSPB and Natural England have been tagging Hen Harrier chicks for over 15 years. These highly reliable satellite tags normally continue to transmit even when a bird dies. However, as multiple incidents have shown, many tags have suddenly and suspiciously stopped transmitting on or near grouse moors without sign of malfunction.

Evidence – including peer reviewed data, intelligence reports and forensic analysis – indicate that it is highly likely that in these circumstances the Hen Harrier’s tag has been intentionally damaged or destroyed after the bird has been illegally killed. Despite strong indication that a crime has been committed, in the absence of substantive evidence the perpetrator cannot be brought to justice.

In England, in the last 10 years (2016-2025), 72 satellite tagged Hen Harriers – monitored by the RSPB and Natural England – have suddenly and suspiciously disappeared. With 85% of these vanishing on or near land managed for grouse shooting. These incidents indicate a much wider scale of killing as only a fraction of the total Hen Harrier population is fitted with tags.

All six of the satellite tagged Hen Harriers that suddenly disappeared in 2025 sent their final transmission from hotspots – these being areas with previous bird of prey incidents in northern England, all dominated by grouse moors. Intelligence suggests that these crimes are committed in an attempt to maximise the number of grouse available to be commercially shot for profit during the grouse shooting season.

Tragically, three of the six sat-tagged Hen Harriers which disappeared in 2025 all sent their final transmissions in September – just weeks after fledging the nests and within thirteen days of each other. Recent scientific research has shown that human persecution – the main cause for Hen Harriers vulnerable status – has reduced the lifespan of this rare species, with young birds surviving on average for only four months after leaving the nest.

In addition to the six, one Hen Harrier named Ataksak, was confirmed poisoned after its body was recovered close to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire in early January 2025. Toxicological testing revealed that it had died after being exposed to a lethal pesticide mixture, known as the ‘Nidderdale Cocktail’. Since 2011 this poison has been connected to the deaths of 15 birds of prey and one dog, all in North Yorkshire.

Mark Thomas, RSPB UK Head of Investigations said: “Although the suspected persecution of six of our satellite tagged Hen Harriers in one year is extremely concerning, these birds are sadly just the latest in a long trend. Since 2010 over one hundred satellite tagged Hen Harriers are suspected to have been illegally killed in the UK, with the majority disappearing on or near land managed for grouse shooting. As satellite tagged Hen Harriers represent a small proportion of the UK’s total Hen Harrier population the true number of Hen Harriers that are being illegally killed across the uplands of the UK is likely to be significantly greater. What we’re seeing is just the tip of the iceberg“.

The RSPB has been continuously calling for the introduction of a robust licensing system for all gamebird shooting in the UK. Introduced in Scotland for grouse shooting in 2024, this proportionate, low-cost measure would only penalise those shooting estates where crimes are being committed and help ensure that this rare and vulnerable species receives the protection it so urgently needs.

James Robinson, RSPB Chief Operating Officer said: “These latest incidents paint a desperate picture for Hen Harrier recovery in England. To prevent this pattern of killing, and give this vulnerable species a realistic hope of recovery, we urgently need licensing of all gamebird shooting to be introduced in England.

“Under this proportionate legislation if a crime is suspected to have taken place, based on a civil burden of proof, the shooting estate can have their licence to shoot revoked – creating a meaningful deterrent against this type of wildlife crime. Scotland took this welcome step in 2024 when it introduced licensing for grouse shooting. We need to follow their lead and give Hen Harriers in England the safety they desperately need“.

Members of the public are urged to report any suspected incidents of bird of prey persecution by contacting the police on 101 and by submitting a report to the RSPB. This can be done via the RSPB’s online reporting form at 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 Raptor Crime Hotline can be made anonymously.

ENDS

The RSPB also provided the following additional detail as footnotes to the press release:

Of the 85 confirmed and suspected satellite tagged Hen Harrier persecution incidents recorded in England in the last ten years (2016-2025), 79 (93%) occurred in the area of Northern England shown in the map below.

In total, these include 35 RSPB satellite-tagged Hen Harriers and 44 Natural England satellite-tagged Hen Harriers. All were either confirmed to have been illegally killed or disappeared in suspicious circumstances.

The number in each square on the map is the total number of confirmed and suspected persecution incidents involving RSPB and Natural England satellite tagged Hen Harriers recorded in that area alone. 

The RSPB also provided details of the seven tagged Hen Harriers either missing or illegally poisoned in 2025. I blogged about a number of these individuals in 2025 although the RSPB’s new commentary provides additional context. For those individual Harriers previously reported on this blog, I’ve marked them with an asterisk and provided a link to the specific blog.

  1. *Ataksak was found poisoned close to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire – poisoned with the Nidderdale Cocktail (January 2025). The area where Ataksak’s body was found is recognised as a bird of prey persecution hotspot. In the last ten years 25 confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents have been recorded in this area, including Ataksak. These included four Hen Harriers, 13 Red Kites and five Buzzards. A satellite tagged Hen Harrier also disappeared in this area in 2024. [Previous RPUK blog on Ataksak, here].
  2. *Sita disappeared on 27 February 2025. Her tag sent its final transmission from a moor south of Reeth, in the northeastern area of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. [Previous RPUK blog on Sita, here].
  3. *Dynamo was a six-year-old RSPB satellite tagged Hen Harrier which suspiciously disappeared whilst provisioning a nest in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire in May 2025. He was one of four breeding male Hen Harriers that disappeared in northern England over a period of eight days – two from RSPB Geltsdale Nature Reserve in Cumbria, and a further two from the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.  All of these birds vanished whilst foraging for food away from their nest. [Previous RPUK blog on Dynamo, here].
  4. Wadrew was one of three chicks that successfully fledged from RSPB Geltsdale in the summer of 2025, raised with the assistance of RSPB staff and volunteers. When the male parent suddenly disappeared whilst foraging off the reserve (suspected to have been illegally killed) reserve staff and volunteers provided emergency supplementary food under licence. On 27 September 2025, just weeks after fledging, Wadrew disappeared whilst on a grouse moor near Birkdale, in the north-west of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Based on incident data, this area – dominated by grouse moors – is the epicentre for Hen Harrier persecution in the UK. Since 2016, in this area four confirmed persecution incidents involving RSPB and Natural England satellite tagged Hen Harriers have taken place and 13 satellite tagged Hen Harriers have suspiciously disappeared (including Wadrew) – all suspected to have been persecuted (2016-2025).
  5. Morrigan suddenly disappeared on 30 September 2025 just three days after Wadrew’s final transmission and 17 km away, in the southern area of the North Pennines National Landscape – a notorious bird of prey persecution hotspot. In the same area in 2022, concerns were raised when irregular tag data was sent from a satellite tagged Hen Harrier named Asta. A search of the area led to the discovery of Asta’s satellite tag, found fitted to a dead Carrion Crow. The harness was intact. As a tag harness cannot be removed intact without inflicting significant harm to the bird it was clear that Asta had been illegally killed. In the last ten years 13 confirmed and suspected bird of prey persecution incidents have been recorded in this area including one confirmed incident (the sat-tagged Hen Harrier Asta) and the suspicious disappearance of 10 satellite tagged Hen Harriers, including Morrigan, between 2016 and 2025.
  6. Beatrix: Just 10 days before Wadrew and Morrigan disappeared, another young RSPB satellite tagged Hen Harrier, Beatrix, also vanished. Beatrix fledged from the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in Scotland in the summer and dispersed south into the North Pennines, settling in an area dominated by grouse moor near Allendale. Her sat-tag sent its final transmission from this location on 17 September 2025. This area is another recognised persecution hotspot for Hen Harriers with four satellite tagged Hen Harriers confirmed to have been persecuted and six satellite tagged birds (including Beatrix) suspiciously disappearing in the area (2016-2025).
  7. *Red: In January 2025, eight months earlier, a one-year-old Scottish Hen Harrier that had also fledged from the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, named Red, disappeared in another part of the North Pennines in County Durham. Another satellite tagged Hen Harrier, named Sia, disappeared in the same area in 2022. [Previous RPUK blog on Red, here].

The RSPB has provided a good amount of detail here, although I note that grid references have not been provided, which is disappointing.

However, the persecution hotspot map covering part of northern England is of particular interest to me. It’s striking that the RSPB has recorded ‘repeat’ incidents in certain areas, whereas Detective Inspector Mark Harrison from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), who leads the National Hen Harrier Taskforce, is on record (several times) saying that since the Taskforce began its work in 2024, there hasn’t been a single ‘repeat’ incident in any of the Taskforce’s persecution hotspots.

This discrepancy demands more scrutiny and I’ll blog about it soon.

In the meantime, I’ll update the rolling list of missing/dead Hen Harriers since 2018…

UPDATE 21 January 2026: 147 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors (here).

Satellite-tagged Hen Harrier ‘Pete’ disappears in Cumbria

A satellite-tagged Hen Harrier named ‘Pete’ has ‘disappeared’ in Cumbria, according to a Natural England spreadsheet.

Pete was tagged as a nestling in Cumbria in 2021 (Tag #213843). He established a home range in SW Scotland and returned there each spring after wintering in France.

Male Hen Harrier (Photo by Pete Walkden)

His tag stopped transmitting on 1st May 2025 after returning once again from France, with the last known transmission given at grid ref NY309418.

As usual, I haven’t seen any publicity about the disappearance of this tagged Hen Harrier. His details were quietly added to the Natural England spreadsheet when last updated in October 2025. In the notes section it states, ‘ground search unsuccessful ongoing‘.

I’ll be writing about another tagged Hen Harrier shortly and then I really must update the list of missing/killed Hen Harriers, because it’s been a while…

Appeal for information about the shot Peregrine in Leicestershire

Further to this morning’s blog about a Peregrine being euthanised after being found with gunshot injuries in Leicestershire (see here), the Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital has released more details and has issued an appeal for information, as follows:

APPEAL FOR INFORMATION

Yesterday we admitted a peregrine falcon that was found grounded in a garden on Smeeton Road, Kibworth.

Our team collected the peregrine and her assessment found that she had been shot [suspected to have been an air rifle]. This could have happened any time between the 21st and 23rd December.

The shot Peregrine. Photo by Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital

Peregrine falcons are a schedule 1 bird in the UK. It is an illegal act to intentionally harm or kill them.

This crime has been reported to the police and we are now appealing for any information you may have.

Have you seen anything suspicious?

Have you heard any gunshots?

Did you see this crime take place?

If you have ANY information, please contact the police [call 101] on with reference number 25000748549.

The peregrine sadly had to be put to sleep as she was suffering from a severe break to her right humerus – likely as a result of the fall after being shot. She was this years young, from Leicester cathedral, known as X6F (her ring number).

Please share to help find the information needed!

ENDS

Peregrine euthanised after suffering gunshot injuries in Leicestershire

A young peregrine that fledged from Leicestershire Cathedral this summer has been euthanised after being found with gunshot injuries in nearby Kibworth.

A post on social media yesterday by the Leicestershire Peregrine Project, an initiative run by the Leicestershire & Rutland Ornithological Society in collaboration with Leicester City Council and Leicester Cathedral, reads as follows:

Juvenile female Peregrine X6F shown here with her sibling. Photo from the Leicester Peregrine Project website.

In happier news for Peregrines in Leicestershire, Market Harborough District Council’s planning committee has recently approved the installation of a Peregrine nest platform on the council’s Grade II listed Symington Building.

Leader of the council Phil Knowles said the Peregrines “are a much-loved feature of Market Harborough”, and added: “We are delivering what we believe our community wants.”

The work will take place in time for the 2026 breeding season and is being sponsored by WW Brown & Sons, the local building contractor carrying out restoration work on the historic landmark.

More detail on the BBC News website (here).

UPDATE 16.00hrs: Appeal for information about the shot Peregrine in Leicestershire (here)

Fourth White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ & RSPB offers £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction

Following the appalling news over the last couple of days about the highly suspicious, and almost certainly criminal, disappearance of three satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles here, here and here, there has, as usual, been complete silence from the land management sector, with the exception of Scottish Land & Estates, who commented that, “land managers in Moorfoots have been helping police with the search and will continue to provide whatever help they can as the investigation progresses“.

As for the other shooting organisations, who so often claim to have a zero tolerance stance against raptor persecution, there’s been no comment and no condemnation. Nix. Nada.

As a reminder, all of those organisations (except the Moorland Association, whose CEO was booted off for spreading misinformation) are members of the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) – a so-called ‘partnership’ whose function includes ‘awareness raising‘ and ‘raising the profile [of illegal raptor persecution] via media exposure‘. Not a single word.

In contrast, the often very reserved RSPB has not only expressed its disgust, but it has put its money where its mouth is and is offering a reward of £10,000 for information leading to a conviction of those involved. This is welcome news for all of us who have not only enjoyed seeing these birds occupying their rightful place in UK skies, but also for those of us who are sick to the back teeth of the relentless killing of protected birds of prey across our countryside.

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

However, it turns out that it hasn’t just been the three White-tailed Eagles from the England re-introduction project that have disappeared in recent months. The bottom of the RSPB article, linked above, reveals some new information:

‘Further to the suspicious disappearance of these three White-tailed Eagles, a fourth bird, fledged from a nest in Perthshire in 2024, disappeared on a grouse moor in Nairnshire in May this year. A police search took place but neither bird nor tag were found.

This was the latest of nine tagged birds of prey, including two other White-tailed Eagles, whose tags were functioning as expected, to suddenly disappear in the northern Monadhlaith area of Inverness-shire and Nairnshire since 2018. These disappearances have occurred in an area where multiple confirmed incidents of poisoning, shooting and illegal trap use have been recorded’.

FFS.

I can’t see why it’s taken seven months for this news to emerge, but it doesn’t make it any less appalling.

As the RSPB article suggests, this area of Inverness-shire and Nairnshire is horrific for bird of prey killings and for the suspicious disappearances of tagged raptors.

This latest White-tailed Eagle to vanish is the third in the area since 2019 (e.g. see here), adding to a long history of tagged Golden Eagle disappearances here dating back 15 years (and leading to the Scottish Government commissioning its review of the fates of satellite-tagged Golden Eagles back in 2016).

Numerous other incidents have been uncovered in this same area in recent years, close to the NW boundary of the Cairngorms National Park. These have included the shooting of a Sparrowhawk on Moy Estate (for which a gamekeeper was later convicted, here), the discovery of a poisoned Red Kite in the Moy area, here, and the discovery of a shot Red Kite on Lochindorb Estate, here.

Needless to say, the vast majority of those incidents, including the disappearance of the White-tailed Eagle in May, were on grouse moors.

Perhaps the local wildlife criminals were emboldened by NatureScot’s watering-down of the new grouse shoot licence last autumn?

At least that issue appears to have been sorted by a Government amendment to close the loophole, which recently passed Stage 2 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill…but I’ll write about that in another blog.

For now, we have four missing White-tailed Eagles (all vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting, whether that be lowland Pheasant & Partridge shooting or upland Grouse shooting), two missing Golden Eagles (also vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting), and I’ve lost count of the number of missing Hen Harriers, also vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting.

I’ll be updating the Hen Harrier Missing/Dead List over the Xmas period when I’ll have some time…there are still some more to add to the 143 Hen Harriers we already know about.

More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales

Further to the news on Thursday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Dyfed-Powys Police has issued a separate public appeal for information which includes a bit more detail about the Welsh case.

I’ve added some commentary below the police press release.

Dyfed-Powys Press Release:

Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for information regarding the suspicious disappearance of a satellite tagged white-tailed eagle in the Newtown area of mid Wales.

Dyfed-Powys Police and the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) are jointly investigating the disappearance of a white-tailed eagle and the theft and disposal of its satellite tag and harness.

The satellite tag has been recovered from remote moorland in this area and shows that it has been removed from the bird with a sharp instrument, most likely a knife, before being hidden in an attempt to dispose of it.  

Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful.

Police are appealing for anyone who was in the following areas at the specified times to contact police.

  • Between 11am and 1pm on Saturday 13th September 2025 at or around the Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon (W3W///visa.hoped.assess)
  • Between midday and 3pm on Saturday 13th September 2025 on access land near Bryn y Fawnog (W3W///portfolio.newsprint.eyelash)

Dyfed-Powys Police can be contacted either online by emailing 101@dyfed-powys.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting police Ref. 25000766626.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.

All potential lines of enquiry, including detailed forensics such as DNA and fingerprints, are being pursued. Dyfed-Powys Police and NWCU are working closely with the tag owners, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England, to analyse the data, and progress this investigation.

ENDS

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

My commentary:

This isn’t the first raptor persecution incident in this pheasant-shooting area.

In April 2020, a member of the public found the corpses of two Red Kites, which she thought was suspicious. She photographed them and posted the images on social media, intending to return the next day.

Wildlife TV presenter Iolo Williams saw the post and headed out to the location that evening. The two bodies had ‘disappeared’ but Iolo found the body of a third Red Kite, which was later x-rayed and found to contain shotgun pellets (see here).

A police investigation was launched but didn’t result in anyone being charged or prosecuted.

This area was also in the news in November 2018 when the League Against Cruel Sports revealed that 57,000 Pheasants had been released over a five-year period at Gregynog Hall, owned at the time by the University of Wales, with shooting reportedly leased to Bettws Hall Estates. The League launched a campaign to stop gamebird shooting on the estate.

In response, a spokesperson for the University of Wales told BBC News, “The University of Wales has received the correspondence from the League Against Cruel Sports regarding this matter, and is currently in the process of reviewing the structure and arrangements for Gregynog Hall” (see here).

The shooting lease for 2019 was not renewed whilst the review was undertaken (see here).

However, my research suggests that a Pheasant-shooting lease is still in operation, no longer run by Bettws Hall Estates, but apparently by the Ian Coley Sporting Agency, whose website lists the shoot as “beautiful valleys teeming with pheasants and partridge“.

However, according to a Trustees report (2022) of The Gregynog Trust, the new landowners, shooting leases have been terminated.

There’s no suggestion that anyone connected with the shoot was involved with the disappearance of the young White-tailed Eagle at Gwgia Reservoir (part of the Gregynog Estate) or the removal of his satellite tag, probably with a sharp knife, before a crude attempt to hide it on a nearby hillside, and I’m sure they’ll have been keen to assist the police with its investigation.

Since 2019, Gregynog Hall and estate has been run by a charitable trust (The Gregynog Trust) and I’m sure the Trustees are appalled that this young White-tailed Eagle was apparently targeted on its estate.

UPDATE 16.00hrs: I’ve received communication from a representative of The Gregynog Trust who says the incident is not on their land, and “We do not condone or allow any form of hunting or blood sports on our estate, this is not negotiable“. This information conflicts with the published information I’ve found during my research, but until I can clarify that, please do not contact The Gregynog Trust about this incident.

More detail on the ‘missing’ White-tailed Eagle in south Scotland

Further to the news yesterday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Police Scotland has issued a separate public appeal for information which includes a bit more detail about the Scottish case:

Police Scotland are appealing for information after a satellite-tagged white-tailed eagle disappeared in the vicinity of the Moorfoot hills.

The bird was four years old and had been translocated as a chick from Scotland to the Isle of White as part of a licenced reintroduction programme run by the Roy Dennis Foundation.

In March 2025 the bird flew back to Scotland and held a territory in the Moorfoot Hills spending most of its time in the hills between Peebles and Heriot.

In early November it expanded its range and spent the majority of its time on the lower ground to the North of the Moorfoots by Gladhouse Reservoir but after four days its satellite tag then suddenly stopped working in circumstances that give rise to suspicion.

A full search of the area where the tag last transmitted and the areas it had been frequenting has been carried out by Police Scotland Wildlife Crime officers accompanied by colleagues from the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit and a bird ecology expert however neither the bird nor the satellite tag have been recovered.

Police Constable Ali Whitby, Wildlife Crime Officer for the Lothian and Scottish Borders division said:

“This is a huge iconic bird of prey that chose to fly hundreds of miles north and settle in the Moorfoot Hills. Being so big its presence was known to people working and living in the area and it thrived for 8 months; the fact it has now gone missing in suspicious circumstances is extremely disappointing.

“I would urge anyone with any information that may assist to contact us.”

Anyone with any information should call 101, quoting reference number PS-20251215-1347. Alternatively, please contact Crimestoppers though 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.

ENDS

White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

Three satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles disappear in suspicious circumstances in England, Wales & Scotland – two tags had been cut off

Press release from Forestry England (17 December 2025)

THREE WHITE-TAILED EAGLES DISAPPEAR IN SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

The public are being asked to help the police investigate the suspicious disappearance of three white-tailed eagles. The cases include a chick born in the wild earlier this year in Sussex, one of the first white-tailed eagles to fledge in England for hundreds of years.

White-tailed Eagle G842 on the nest with its sibling in Sussex prior to fledging earlier this year (Photo: Forestry England)

The missing birds are part of a project led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to reintroduce this lost species to England. Their disappearance is being investigated by several police forces and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

The return of white-tailed eagles to England is one of the country’s key conservation successes over recent years. Since 2019, 45 white- tailed eagles have been released. Several breeding pairs have formed with six chicks being born in the wild for the first time since the 1780’s. Any targeting of the birds will potentially impact the long-term success of the project.

All of the released birds are tagged with satellite trackers allowing the team to closely follow their location and movements. In September the trackers of two eagles were found dumped close to the birds’ last recorded location. Both had been cut off the birds using a sharp instrument. In the case of another eagle, its tag has stopped sending data. The last message received from the device was on 8 November and no sightings of the bird have been recorded since then.

 Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: “We monitor the satellite data, showing the bird’s minute-by-minute movements, on a daily basis and always investigate any suspicious or unusual data. It was devastating to find the stolen and dumped tags, particularly for the chick in Sussex who fledged this summer and had only just begun its life. So many people in the area had shared the joy of seeing these birds breed again after hundreds of years and our ongoing monitoring has shown how well they were fitting into the landscape. To have that destroyed just a few months later is deeply shocking“.

Steve Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Officer for Forestry England, said: “We are returning this lost species to the English landscape and have had so much support from the public. These special birds are helping people connect with natural world and showing how with a little bit of help nature can thrive. We are asking the public to show this support again by encouraging anyone who has information that may help the police investigation to come forward“.

There was tremendous public support and local pride this summer when two white-tailed eagle chicks fledged from a nest in Sussex. Both were the offspring of eagles released by the project in 2020 and the first pair to successfully breed in England for over 240 years. The two chicks had spent the first few months of their lives exploring the local West Sussex area.

On 26 September, a satellite tag belonging to one of the chicks (G842) was recovered from the River Rother, near Petersfield. It had been removed from the bird using a sharp instrument. Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful.

Sussex Police are appealing for information from anyone who was in or around Harting Down and Petersfield on the evening of 20 September 2025. Any members of the public who may have seen the bird or any suspicious behaviour can contact them on 101 or 0800 555 111 quoting incident number 769.

Dyfed Powys Police are investigating a similar incident on 13 September, where a satellite tag belonging to white-tailed eagle G615 was recovered in remote moorland. The tag had been removed with a sharp instrument before being hidden in an attempt to dispose of it. Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful.

The force is interested in hearing from anyone who was at or around the Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon between 11am and 1pm or on access land near Bryn y Fawnog between 12 noon and 3pm on 13 September. Callers should quote crime reference number 137.

In a third incident, concerns are growing for G819 after its tag, which usually transmits the data daily, has stopped working. The last transmission was sent on 8 November in the Moorfoot Hills area. Police Scotland are treating the disappearance as suspicious and asking anyone with information to contact them on 101 or 0800 555 111 quoting incident number PS-20251215-1347.

The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles is conducted under licence from Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority. White-tailed eagles are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). Disturbing, destroying or interfering with them and their nests are criminal offences.

ENDS

My commentary:

Hands up, who’s surprised?

No, me neither.

These reports are so depressingly familiar these days, we’ve pretty much come to expect them. Although there’s something particularly sickening about killing a White-tailed Eagle. It’s no lesser crime, in the eyes of the law, than killing a more common species like a Buzzard or a Sparrowhawk – the offence is the same and the available penalty is the same. But these eagles, the UK’s largest raptor, have been brought back from the brink through intensive conservation efforts by many people over many decades. Progress has been hard-won, because these birds are slow to mature (between 4-6 yrs) and when they do eventually reproduce they generally only manage to rear one or two chicks per season, on rare occasions three, and they don’t necessarily breed every year, which means that population recovery is slow. Any illegal killing, on top of natural mortality, is obviously going to hamper that reestablishment.

And there’s no doubt whatsoever that at least two of these eagles were the victims of illegal persecution, given the clear evidence that their satellite tags had been cut off and crude attempts were made to hide them. Given the area in south Scotland where the third White-tailed Eagle has vanished, a well-known persecution hotspot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that that bird has also been killed illegally, most likely shot.

Kudos to the White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction team (Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation & Forestry England) for putting out an appeal for information after three months of silence from Dyfed-Powys Police and Sussex Police.

UPDATE 18 December 2025: More detail on the ‘missing’ White-tailed Eagle in south Scotland (here)

UPDATE 19 December 2025: More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales (here)

UPDATE 19 December 2025: Fourth White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ & RSPB offers £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction (here)

Alleged killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park – trial of two gamekeepers adjourned as Sheriff recuses himself due to RSPB membership

Following on from this morning’s blog about the start of a two-day trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court today for two gamekeepers accused of alleged offences relating to the illegal killing of Red Kites in the Cairngorms National Park earlier this year (here), it barely got going before being adjourned until next year.

Red Kite. Photo by Pete Walkden

The Sheriff made a declaration of being a monthly subscriber to the RSPB, which resulted in the two defence KCs (King’s Counsel) lodging a motion that the Sheriff should consider recusing himself because the ‘public might perceive some bias’.

After giving the motion some consideration, the Sheriff agreed to stand down because this case involves RSPB staff members as witnesses for the prosecution.

Unfortunately, no other Sheriff was available immediately to hear the case, so it has been adjourned.

We’ve seen this before, in the trial against another Aberdeenshire gamekeeper back in 2012, where the presiding Sheriff was a member of the RSPB and the defence counsel suggested she should stand down, which she did (see here).

It’s frustrating, and a colossally inefficient use of public money, (and presumably adds extra cost for the defence – KCs don’t come cheap) but inefficiency seems to be a hallmark of the judiciary and it is what it is.

The important issue is that the case is decided on the strength of the evidence, not the perceived bias of a presiding Sheriff.

The case will return to the court in April 2026, this time listed as a four-day trial.

NB: Comments are turned off as legal proceedings are still live.