Category: News

During this year’s Hen Harrier Day broadcast, Wild Justice launched a new ‘e-action’ allowing members of the public to easily contact their local parliamentary representative and ask for reform in the uplands.

How does this e-action work?

Well, Wild Justice has written the text of a letter (see below), in this case asking for uplands that work for people, for climate and for wildlife. Members of the public can simply enter their postcode in to the search box and the software will identify the person’s elected member of parliament, whether that be in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

By clicking ‘continue’, you’ll get to read the letter and have the opportunity to click another button which will automatically send the letter to your local politician.

Wild Justice’s aim is for every single politician in all four parliaments to receive at least one letter on this subject. So far, over 14,000 letters have been sent and almost every single politician has received at least one from one of their constituents (see here).

Here is the text of the letter being sent:

I am writing to you to ask you to speak up for our uplands. 

In the face of a nature and climate emergency, we need uplands that work for people, for the climate and for wildlife.

Ahead of this autumn’s international meetings on climate and biodiversity, I would like to ask you to make a new commitment to the precious upland landscapes of Britain. 

As the person who speaks for me in parliament, can I ask you to stand up for uplands that work for:

People:  We need a better deal for residents, workers, landowners, visitors and taxpayers. Our hills should provide benefits for all. We need to see more sustainable economic activity, reduced flood risk and responsible land ownership. They should benefit our health and wellbeing, as beautiful places to relax and enjoy the scenery and wildlife.  

Climate: We need you to help uplands reach their potential as huge, natural carbon stores; they are key to helping us tackle climate change in a sustainable way. The return of natural woodlands and bogs in prime condition will deliver that vision and bring wildlife back. The uplands are our largest carbon bank – let’s invest in them.

Wildlife: We need to reverse decades of de-wilding and put the wildlife back into the uplands. We need to diversify landscapes, restore a mix of habitats and shift away from over-burning, over-draining and overgrazing.

At the heart of this, we must see an end to the persecution of our raptors. The brutal killing of Hen Harriers must stop. The killing of Golden Eagles, Peregrines, Buzzards and Goshawks must stop. Our uplands are not uplands without raptors thriving alongside a wealth of wildlife in a functioning ecosystem. 

The absence of Hen Harriers from so many of our upland landscapes, including many of our National Parks, symbolises how wrong the current situation is. Protected wildlife is being removed by criminals engaged in unsustainable land management. We cannot be proud of the uplands whilst wildlife crime is rife. 

I am asking you as my political representative to commit to this new vision for the uplands of Britain: for people, for the climate and for wildlife.

ENDS

If you haven’t yet signed the e-action and you’d like to do so, please CLICK HERE to send a strong message backed by thousands of others who think the same. Thank you.

The RSPB is recruiting a conservation scientist for a fixed-term (one year) position to assess the ecological impacts of releasing millions of non-native gamebirds in the UK countryside every year.

The exact number of gamebirds that are released in the UK for shooting every year is not known because, incredibly and unlike virtually every other European country, the game bird shooting industry in the UK has been astonishingly under-regulated. Nobody even knows how many game bird shoots there are because the people involved have not had to register anywhere, nor report on the number of birds released / shot each year, in order to get a licence (because there is no licence!). It’s been a great old wheeze for decades.

Although some new, limited, regulation has now been introduced, thanks to a legal challenge by Wild Justice, it will still be incredibly difficult to find out how many non-native birds are being let loose each year, (currently estimated at around 61.2 million per annum). The ecological impacts of releasing so many alien species in to the countryside has to be substantial.

The RSPB has been reviewing and developing its policy on gamebird shooting (e.g. here) and the findings of the newly-recruited scientist will feed in to that on-going policy review.

It’s interesting to note that one of the four main areas of focus for this post is ‘a spatial analysis to investigate to what extent raptor persecution incidents are associated with gamebird releasing’. I’ll look forward to seeing those results.

Here is an overview of what the job entails:

Recreational shooting of gamebirds in the UK is underpinned by a suite of management practices, including the annual large-scale release of non-native pheasants and red-legged partridges. With an estimated 57 million birds released into the UK countryside annually, there is much interest in identifying potential positive and negative ecological impacts of released gamebirds and of associated management on wildlife and habitats.  This 1 year fixed-term role will work on identified knowledge gaps, producing outputs to inform and support RSPB policy and research development regarding ecological impacts of non-native gamebird release.

This desk-based role will include work on four main areas, with the post holder:

– Organising, undertaking and analysing a survey of land managers to characterise potential and perceived impacts of gamebirds on protected sites and species.

– Leading a spatial analysis to investigate to what extent raptor persecution incidents are associated with gamebird releasing.

– Reviewing and critiquing current gamebird releasing sustainability guidance and synthesising the associated evidence.

– Contributing to the production of peer-reviewed publications in relation to ecological effects of gamebird release.

Essential skills, knowledge and experience:

• The ideal candidate for this role will have a proven scientific background (e.g. a PhD in a relevant subject or equivalent experience designing and conducting one or more research projects to a robust scientific standard).
• A track record of scientific writing and peer-reviewed publication.
• Experience of designing and implementing ethically-sound, ideally web-based, questionnaire surveys.
• Experience of collecting, collating, manipulating and analysing large and complex data sets, including knowledge of how to apply complex analytical procedures such as the quantitative analysis of qualitative data arising from questionnaire surveys, and analysis of spatially-reference data.
• Familiar with Microsoft Office applications and proficient in the use of R or similar statistical software for complex statistical analysis, and ability to learn new techniques and programmes.
• Experience of summarising and communicating complex scientific information both to colleagues/peers and external audiences.
• Self-motivated and able to work efficiently to plan and organise their work within a defined work plan to meet deadlines.

Salary: £27,574.00 – £30,590.00 Per Annum

Benefits: Pension, annual leave

Duration: 12 months

Location: Flexible

Closing date: 30th August 2021

For more information and to apply for this position, please click here.

Press release from charity Rewilding Britain (5th August 2021)

Nature-impoverished intensively-managed grouse moors cover over three-quarters of a million acres of Britain’s national parks, Rewilding Britain reveals.

More than three-quarters of a million acres of Britain’s national parks are covered by intensively-managed grouse moors which leave nature impoverished and contribute to climate breakdown, new research by Rewilding Britain reveals.

With the annual grouse shooting season recommencing on 12 August, the charity says its findings highlight the need for government action to ensure wilder national parks that can lead the way in tackling the nature and climate crises.

A total of 852,000 acres – an area more than twice the size of Greater London – of Britain’s national parks are devoted to intensively-managed grouse shoots, known as driven grouse shooting, according to figures released today by the environmental charity.

Of the six national parks that contain grouse moors – which are found only in Scotland and northern England – almost a third of their combined land area (27%) is devoted to driven grouse shoots, which keep the land in a degraded state, contribute to climate breakdown, and prevent significant recovery of wildlife.

“With over three quarters of a million acres of our national parks devoted to driven grouse moors, the parks are being held back from tackling Britain’s collapsing biodiversity and the climate emergency,” said Rewilding Britain’s policy and campaigns coordinator Guy Shrubsole.

“The Prime Minister’s pledge to protect 30% of Britain’s land for nature – and count national parks towards this total – rings hollow when you realise that vast areas of our national parks are dominated by these nature-impoverished and heavily-managed areas.

“We’re urging ministers to show real leadership by creating wilder national parks and setting up core rewilding areas in each of them – in which driven grouse shoots are phased out, and our precious moors brought back to health.”

Grouse moors are often intensively managed, with heather regularly burned to produce fresh shoots for young grouse. This burning often damages underlying peat soils – the UK’s single largest carbon sink – releasing carbon and worsening the climate crisis. It also prevents the growth of trees and a wide range of other vegetation by suppressing natural regeneration, and kills other wildlife including large numbers of insects, preventing the recovery of biodiversity.

[An example of a shockingly intensively managed grouse moor in northern England. Photo by Ruth Tingay]

Illegal persecution of birds of prey also still occurs on some intensively-managed grouse moors, with killing of goshawks, hen harriers and eagles – and trapping of stoats, foxes and mountain hares – to maximise grouse numbers.

A staggering 44% of the Cairngorms National Park comprises driven grouse moors, as does almost a third (28%) of the North York Moors, a quarter of the Yorkshire Dales and a fifth (21%) of the Peak District. Driven grouse moors also cover 15% of Northumberland National Park and 2% of the Lake District.

Driven grouse shooting, which only occurs in the UK, involves intensive management of moorland to maximise the numbers of grouse, enabling people to shoot large numbers of red grouse flushed out by rows of walkers called beaters. The country’s other form of grouse shooting – known as ‘walked up’ shooting – is much less intensive in its management of the land, does not seek to maximise grouse numbers in the same way, and is generally seen as more environmentally sustainable.

Rewilding Britain is calling for government action to create wilder national parks – with a tenth of the parks’ land forming core rewilding areas and nature recovery across another 50%. This would allow the parks to set the pace for ensuring a healthier, more nature-rich Britain, with fresh opportunities for communities and local economies.

The UK has been ranked 189th out of 218 countries for nature, with some 56% species in decline and 15% threatened with extinction. Rewilding Britain says rewilding – large-scale restoration of nature to the point where it can take care of itself – will help reverse this collapse in biodiversity.

The charity’s research shows rewilding can also significantly boost green job creation and volunteering opportunities. Data from Rewilding Britain’s analysis of 23 large-scale rewilding sites in England – including some former driven grouse areas – shows a 47% increase in jobs overall as a result of rewilding.

“Britain’s nature would be in an even worse state were it not for the national parks, which have protected their landscapes from urbanisation and done a lot for conservation. But with the nature and climate crises outpacing us, the parks’ wildlife and habitats are badly depleted. We need bold action for nature recovery to match the scale of the threats,” said Guy Shrubsole.

Rewilding 10% of the parks would see peatlands, moorlands, woods, rivers and seas restored, with no loss of productive farmland. Nature recovery areas across a further 50% of the parks would involve a mix of habitats, wildlife corridors and land uses, with Government financial support for nature-friendly agriculture.

The Government can create rewilding areas across 10% of the parks regardless of action by private landowners. Public bodies – along with water companies, which are legally obliged to help the parks meet their purpose – own 738,000 acres or 13% of the total 5.7m acres covered by Britain’s 15 national parks.

Rewilding Britain’s petition calling on the UK and devolved governments to create wilder national parks can be signed at https://act.rewildingbritain.org.uk/demand-wilder-national-parks

ENDS

The Guardian has an article on this today (here) including a fatuous quote from Amanda Anderson of the Moorland Association about grouse moor owners apparently being ‘wild at heart’ (eh?) and a link to Wild Justice’s legal challenge against the burning of peatlands in the English uplands (here).

Hen Harrier Day 2021 takes place this Saturday (7th August) and there’ll be plenty of discussion in the live online broadcast about the devastating environmental impacts of grouse moor management. Sign up here for notification about the event.