Category: News

Following on from the publication of the RSPB’s latest report on the illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK (Patterns of Persecution, published last week), the BBC has released an eight minute film documenting the issue.

The BBC’s Climate Editor, Justin Rowlatt, joined members of the RSPB’s Investigations team in the field and in the office.

The RSPB repeats its calls for a licensing system for gamebird shooting, whilst Dr Marnie Lovejoy from BASC argues against it because, er, ‘it’s all so unfair’ (I’m paraphrasing, of course).

Available to watch on YouTube:

In a typically desperate attempt to undermine and deflect from the stark findings published by the RSPB in its excellent Patterns of Persecution report earlier this week, the shooting industry has apparently rolled out its genius division to try to pick apart the statistics presented in the report.

The following statement has appeared on various social media pages in recent days, apparently attributed to Scotland’s Regional Moorland Groups but bearing a striking similarity to the official statement published by Scottish Land & Estates on its website. As ever, the lines are blurred between the so-called ‘grassroots’ organisations and those who present themselves as official representatives of the industry:

On the face of it, the RSPB data presented are portrayed as being misleading – this is exactly what the shooting industry wants you to believe, but as ever, it’s always worth a closer look…

It appears that whoever did this ‘analysis’ found what they call the “official” figures in the raptor persecution section of the Scottish Government’s latest report, Wildlife Crime in Scotland, published in February this year, to compare with the RSPB’s data.

This government report states that there were 117 recorded raptor persecution offences in Scotland over the 6-year period 2019-20 to 2024-25:

25 recorded offences in 2019-20;

11 recorded offences in 2020-21;

24 recorded offences in 2021-22;

22 recorded offences in 2022-23;

14 recorded offences in 2023-4 ;

21 recorded offences in 2024-25.

But wait a minute…

If you look at the Ministerial foreword to the Scottish Government’s 2020 wildlife crime report it clearly says that it uses “recorded statistical data from the 2019-2020 financial year”. In other words, 6 April 2019 – 5 April 2020.

The 2021 report makes a similar statement about the data used in that report being based on the financial year, and although I’ve not been able to find similar statements in the Scottish Government’s subsequent reports, it’s reasonable to assume they follow the same method because they’d have said if the method had changed.

The RSPB didn’t include the original source data in its Patterns of Persecution report, and nor did it mention annual figures, so it’s not clear to me where SLE/the Scottish Regional Moorland Groups found the RSPB figures they cite for 2019-2020 (65 incidents), 2020-2021 (50 incidents), and 2016-2017 (31 incidents), but perhaps these stats are from previous RSPB annual BirdCrime reports? If so, why present them now as a critique of the RSPB’s latest report, Patterns of Persecution?

Anyway, regardless of that, the best source to look at for these figures is the RSPB’s online Bird of Prey Persecution Map Hub which currently details confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents in the UK from 2007-2024.

If you use the filters on this persecution map hub, you can select a country and/or years, so I looked at ‘Scotland’ and ‘2019’ and ‘2020’. That came up with a count of 32 and 33 confirmed incidents, respectively. Add them together and you get 65 confirmed incidents, the same figure quoted by SLE/the Scottish Regional Moorland Groups, although SLE and the SRMG are presenting the data as only covering one year (2019-2020), not two separate years worth of data (2019 AND 2020).

Then I looked at ‘2020’ and ‘2021’, which showed 33 and 17 confirmed incidents respectively, which when combined makes 50 confirmed incidents, again the same figure cited by SLE and the Scottish Regional Moorland Groups.

And a search for ‘2016’ and ‘2017’ gave 14 and 17 confirmed incidents respectively, which when combined gives 31 confirmed incidents, again, the same number cited by SLE and the Scottish Regional Moorland Groups.

Bingo.

So whoever did this ‘analysis’ for SLE and the Scottish Regional Moorland Groups has compared two full calendar years worth of RSPB data, with one financial year’s worth of data from the Scottish Government. Surprise, surprise, the numbers are quite different! And not because the RSPB are trying to mislead anyone, it’s entirely down to SLE/Scottish Regional Moorland Groups misinterpretation of the data and not having an understanding of how those data are collected and subsequently reported.

As those who came up with this completely irrelevant, flawed comparison said in the Regional Moorland Group’s Facebook post, “the discrepancies are impossible to ignore”. Aren’t they just!

Can we now expect a full retraction and apology from SLE and the Scottish Regional Moorland Groups for their error? No, thought not.

Press release from University of Leeds and the RSPB (19 May 2026)

MOORLAND BURNING FOR UPLAND MANAGEMENT IS EXPOSING MILLIONS TO UNSAFE AIR POLLUTION LEVELS

• In the UK, moorland burning, which is widely used to support recreational shooting, releases small particles of pollution, known as ‘particulate pollution’, which pose a serious health risk when inhaled.
• New research shows prescribed burning led to on average more than half a million additional people being exposed to unsafe levels of particulate pollution, with peak exposure affecting up to 2.3 million people.
• Particulate matter exposure was highest in Northern England, North and East Scotland.
• Particulate pollution (PM2.5) emissions from moorland burning were equivalent to one third of that from road transport.

When moorland is burned, toxic air pollutants are released which can travel far from their source into nearby towns and cities. Inhaling these small particles of pollution increases the risk of heart and health problems in people repeatedly exposed to unsafe levels.

New research from the University of Leeds and the RSPB shows the deliberate burning of moorland for recreational shooting leads to an additional 0.55 million people, on average, being exposed to unsafe levels of this particulate pollution, with areas in the North of England and North and East Scotland most affected. Across the months analysed, these deliberate burns led to almost one in five people in affected areas being exposed to unsafe levels of pollution.

Each year, large areas of moorland across Northern England and Scotland are burned, some from wildfires, but most a result of intentional, ‘prescribed’, burning. Prescribed burning is done primarily to maintain a mosaic of heather-dominated moorland for Red Grouse, a popular gamebird, which feed on the young shoots and nest amongst older plants.

Building upon previous work by the RSPB which estimated the area of prescribed burning carried out each year in the UK, new research by the University of Leeds and RSPB translates the area of moorland, which is intentionally burnt, into the impacts on air quality for surrounding communities. The paper is published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

In addition to negative environmental impacts such as carbon storage and water quality, moorland burning also produces a range of toxic air pollutants including particulate matter (PM). Even short-term, exposure to particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5) can cause increased risks for heart and lung health. Scientists estimated the daily emissions of PM2.5 from moorland burning from 2017-2022, covering mostly prescribed burning but also wildfires. They then modelled how emissions from these burns would spread due to weather and atmospheric conditions.

The results revealed the emissions of fine particulate matter generated by moorland burning were equivalent to almost a third of those produced by road transport across the UK (30%). Between 2017/18 and 2021/22, moorland burning generated 1,300 tonnes of particulate matter per year, around 1.5% of the total British anthropogenic primary PM2.5 emissions. The areas where PM2.5 emissions were highest were Yorkshire and Humber, North-East England, East Scotland and North Scotland.

Scientists then identified the impacts specifically attributable to prescribed burning by focussing on a period where wildfires accounted for less than 5% of the area burned (Oct 2017- Apr 2018). They combined satellite data and a regional air quality model to estimate the impacts of prescribed burning on air pollution and to calculate the regions of the UK where people were exposed to pollution. On days where prescribed burning occurred, on average, an additional 0.55 million people were exposed to PM2.5 levels above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limit. Across the whole period, an estimated 2.3 million people were exposed to PM2.5 concentrations above the threshold due to prescribed moorland burning. This is almost 1 in 5 people in the affected regions (19%).

To create ideal conditions for Red Grouse, gamekeepers can use prescribed burning as a means of forming mosaics of heather of different ages and structures, which collectively are on such a large scale that they are visible from space. This burning often occurs on internationally important peatland habitat, leading to the loss of stored carbon into the atmosphere, water pollution and increased flood risk, as well as the loss and degradation of habitats for wildlife.

Those undertaking prescribed burning for management of Red Grouse also often claim that it reduces the risk of wildfires, however, this is not fully supported by evidence. Whilst many international landscapes use prescribed burning to manage their vegetation, British landscapes are not naturally fire adapted. This means alternative approaches such as rewetting peatlands can reduce wildfire risk without releasing damaging PM2.5 particles through burning. It is clear prescribed burning represents a significant contributor to particulate matter pollution in areas of Northern England and Scotland. Reducing this pollution will involve updating our approaches to upland management and restoring our peatlands to their natural, fire-resistant state. This will be particularly important as warmer springs and longer dry spells due to climate change increase the risk of prescribed fires turning into wildfires.

Dr Ailish Graham, University of Leeds, lead author said: “Until now, prescribed moorland burning has been seen as a local air quality issue. Our results show that prescribed burning can increase PM2.5 concentrations across much larger regions impacting towns and cities across northern England and Scotland. On days burning occurs, millions of people are exposed to increased pollution with PM2.5 concentrations exceeding World Health Organization air quality guidelines. Discussion continues around UK moorland management, wildfire risk, and peatland restoration. Moorland managers need to consider the air quality impacts of prescribed burning and seek alternative approaches where possible“.

Tom Aspinall, Uplands Senior Policy Officer at RSPB, said: “The environmental impacts that burning has on our precious upland peatland habitats are well-documented and can lead to the devastation of peatland landscapes which are vital both for wildlife and carbon storage. This new research reinforces the need to restrict peatland burning and take steps to restore our uplands.

“This is one of the reasons why we’re calling on the UK Government to introduce a system of licensing to regulate grouse moor management practices across England in line with recent legislative changes in Scotland. Across much of Europe licensing is already in place, and evidence shows that shoots successfully operate whilst being properly regulated and environmentally sustainable. We believe this is a sensible and proportionate way to bring about the change required to allow upland landscapes to flourish and deliver their potential for nature and people“.

ENDS

Last year, the charity Friends of the Dales launched a new campaign calling for an end to the criminal killing of birds of prey in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The charity’s Eyes on the Skies campaign, which aims to raise awareness about raptor persecution, launched in October 2025 with a free webinar featuring Kate Jennings, UK Head of Site Conservation & Species Policy at the RSPB, who talked about the work of the RSPB’s Investigations Team and reiterated the RSPB’s stance on licensing for gamebird shooting due to its links to illegal raptor persecution.

Since then there have been two further webinars, one by Detective Inspector Mark Harrison from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) (available on YouTube, here), and another by Indy Kiemel Greene and Adrian Rowe from the charity Hen Harrier Action (available on YouTube, here).

I was due to give a presentation in this series in March this year, but due to unforeseen circumstances I had to postpone. My talk has been re-scheduled for this Wednesday (20 May), from 17.30hrs to 19.00hrs. I’m told a few hundred people have already signed up and spaces are still available to book here (it’s free!).

Friends of the Dales has been advertising my talk across social media:

Predictably, this has led to an avalanche of misogynistic personal abuse from some within the game shooting / hunting industry who seem to think (I’m being generous) this is acceptable behaviour. Here’s a small selection:

Given that they’ve openly posted these comments, under their own names, on the Facebook page of Friends of the Dales, they’re worth a closer look.

When seen collectively, it’s not difficult to spot their shared characteristics. Oh, and is that a National Gamekeepers Organisation tie and badge? And is that a Scottish Gamekeepers Association car sticker? Aren’t these the organisations that claim their members are the victims of so-called ‘hate speech’ from conservationists? Honestly, you couldn’t make it up!

I was at a conference recently where three separate people, whom I’d never met before, came up to say hello and the first question they each asked was along the lines of, ‘How do you deal with the abuse?’.

The answer isn’t straightforward because it’s very much dependent on the context, who it is, whether they’ve posted photographs of my house or car online, whether they’ve published my address and phone number, whether they turn up to events I’m attending, whether I feel threatened, whether it amounts to harassment and/or stalking, or whether it’s just a one-off abusive comment from someone I’ve never heard of and will never hear from again and so the comment is of no consequence to me because, frankly, why would it be?

What’s more sinister, in my view, is the targeted and coordinated attacks by organisations within the game shooting industry on the Chair and the Trustees of Friends of the Dales, simply for launching the Eyes on the Skies campaign to raise awareness of the illegal killing of birds of prey in what is a well-known hotspot for raptor persecution.

Some of the attacks amount to a nasty little smear campaign, undertaken routinely by an anonymous astroturf group which is clearly being funded by well-heeled members of the grouse shooting industry but who don’t want their names associated with the hate campaign, at least not publicly.

Other attacks, by other shooting industry organisations but still working as a coordinated overall attack, amounts to more formal threats like making a complaint to the Charity Commission. Again, a familiar tactic designed to warn off the campaigners. It looks to me like classic intimidation tactics from an industry that really doesn’t like the spotlight being aimed at the criminality within.

Kudos to Friends of the Dales, managed and governed by decent people who care about their local environment and who are, simply and legitimately, campaigning for an end to the illegal killing of birds of prey.

If you want to show your support for them, tune in to the live webinar on Wednesday (book here) and/or sign this petition from Friends of the Dales to the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mary Creagh MP) to bring in legal reform to help stop the illegal persecution of birds of prey.

Press release from Essex Police (13 May 2026):

BENFLEET: MAN CHARGED WITH OFFENCES RELATING TO THE COLLECTION OF WILD BIRDS’ EGGS

A Benfleet man has been charged in connection with an investigation by our Rural Engagement Team into the theft and illegal trade of wild birds’ eggs.

David Gordon, 64, is accused of having in his possession or control 114 wild birds’ eggs listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, having in his possession or control 970 wild birds’ eggs contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and possession of a large egg collection of approximately 2,707 birds’ eggs with the intention of using it to commit a wildlife crime.

Gordon, of HMP Highpoint, is due to appear at Southend Magistrates’ Court on 22 June 2026.

ENDS

I believe these charges are related to a major international police operation called Operation Pulka, where coordinated police raids were undertaken across the UK, Norway and Australia in 2023/24 as part of an investigation into an alleged international egg-trading network.

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