Persecution Incidents in England – Raptor Persecution UK

Satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ on Snilesworth Estate, North York Moors National Park

Further to the news earlier this week that a young satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle (known as G834) had ‘disappeared’ on 1st May in what the police describe as suspicious circumstances, on a grouse-shooting estate in the North York Moors National Park (see here), one of five satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles to have vanished in recent months (here), it has now been revealed that his last known location was on the Snilesworth Estate.

This news didn’t come from the appeal for information issued by North Yorkshire Police last Monday – that vague appeal just gave the location as, ‘the western side of the North York Moors‘. Instead, the information has come from a lengthy feature article in this morning’s Guardian newspaper, written by Chief Reporter Daniel Boffey.

Daniel Boffey visited the estate this week and was given short shrift by gamekeeper Charles Woof, who, when asked about the missing eagle, reportedly said:

“I don’t know anything about it” and “It’s private property, I am going to have to ask you to leave“.

The article refers to Woof’s 2008 conviction, where he admitted to using a baited trap to catch birds of prey. That’s interesting. I thought the shooting industry claimed to have a zero tolerance policy to raptor persecution and that anyone convicted would be kicked out of the profession? Apparently not.

Mark Thomas, Head of the RSPB’s Investigations Team is also quoted in the article, having been asked for his opinion about what might have happened to White-tailed Eagle G834:

“I think something has happened in the middle of the night whilst this eagle was at roost. Now, these things don’t fly around in the dark. They will wait till first light.

“If you’re asking me to look at the probability … it’s most likely the bird has been shot. And if the bird is shot whilst it’s roosting, then it’s being shot at night, potentially with thermal imaging gear“.

The article also reports that ‘Snilesworth estate management declined to comment‘. I don’t know who manages the estate these days but for many years it was managed by ‘grouse guru’ Mark Osborne’s company, starting in 2000, according to an earlier version of the company’s website:

One of Osborne’s other companies, William Powell Sporting, currently sells shooting days (Grouse, Pheasant & Red-legged Partridge) at Snilesworth:

Here is a review from one happy Snilesworth customer, featured on a William Powell Sporting publicity brochure:

The Guardian article is careful to emphasise that there is nothing to suggest that gamekeeper Mr Woof or his team may have been involved in the eagle’s disappearance. Boffey writes:

‘The range of possible suspects is huge, including local farmers and others connected to nearby grouse lands, of which there are many‘.

The article also mentions that on the day the Guardian reporter visited, Mr Woof was ‘busy preparing for a charity clay pigeon shoot‘.

That’ll be this one, happening today, organised by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).

Hopefully the charity shoot guests won’t be causing any disturbance to the local wildlife as they shoot their way around the six clay pigeon stands across the estate and they can keep an eye out for the missing eagle…

Raven shot in Essex: Police appeal for information

Press release from Essex Police (4 June 2026):

COLCHESTER: APPEAL AFTER RAVEN SHOT IN SUSPECTED WILDLIFE CRIME

We are appealing for information after a raven was shot dead in West Bergholt.

It was reported the bird was shot in Nayland Road on 1 June and later died.

Shooting wild birds without lawful reason is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

We want to hear from anyone who was in the area on 1 June, or the night before, and may have seen anything suspicious or has doorbell, CCTV or dashcam footage which could help our enquiries.

PC Jed Raven said:

“This was a distressing incident and we are carrying out enquiries to establish exactly what happened.

“Intentionally harming defenceless wildlife and birds is not just illegal, it is cruel and can lead to the animal suffering before death.

“If you were in the area and saw anything, or have any footage which may help, please get in touch with us“.

Please contact us quoting investigation 42/85306/26.

You can contact us by submitting a report on our website or by using our online Live Chat service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Visit our website to find out more about our online reporting services.

Alternatively, you can call 101.

If you would prefer to report anonymously, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers by visiting their website or by calling 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Young White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ from grouse shooting estate in North York Moors National Park

Press statement from North Yorkshire Police (1st June 2026):

INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER DISAPPEARANCE OF EAGLE

We are appealing for information after the disappearance of a white-tailed eagle.

The satellite-tagged juvenile white-tailed eagle (G834) was born in the wild in Dorset in 2025 and travelled widely across England this spring. On 30 April 2026, it arrived in the western side of the North York Moors.

Overnight into 1 May, the tag device did not communicate. There have been no further transmissions since then.

Following analysis by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the eagle’s disappearance is being treated as suspicious, and an investigation is underway by North Yorkshire Police.

Anyone with any information is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12260086274.

ENDS

Young White-tailed Eagle (not the one that’s vanished). Photo by Pete Walkden

This press statement from North Yorkshire Police couldn’t be more vague.

Given the location, and the details of this young eagle’s final hours (as revealed by its satellite tag), there’s an awful lot of information that’s missing from this appeal.

I’ll be writing more about it shortly…

UPDATE 3 June 2026: More news on the satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle that ‘disappeared’ on a grouse shooting estate in the North York Moors National Park (here)

UPDATE 6 June 2026: Satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ on Snilesworth Estate, North York Moors National Park (here)

Shot Buzzard found in Bransdale area of North York Moors National Park – Police appeal for information

Press statement from North Yorkshire Police (19 May 2026):

APPEAL FOR INFORMATION AFTER SHOT BUZZARD FOUND IN NORTH YORK MOORS

We’re appealing for information after a buzzard was found with shotgun pellets in its wing.

The buzzard was located in the Bransdale area on 4 May 2026 with a broken leg, and taken to a vet. Sadly, it had to be euthanised due to its injuries.

The bird was x-rayed, and pellets from a shotgun were found in its wing. It is believed the broken leg occurred up to 48 hours before it was found, and may have been caused by a hard landing – so the buzzard could have been shot within that same 48-hour period.

Buzzards and other birds of prey are legally protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. To intentionally kill or injure one is a criminal offence.

Anyone with any information about how the bird came to be injured is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12260080894.

ENDS

There have been a number of persecution incidents reported from this area in the past. In 2010 a shot Goshawk was found at Bransdale (see here) and a post mortem reportedly revealed it had also been poisoned (see here). In 2012 a walker crossing the moorland in Bransdale found a dead Sparrowhawk, also reported to have been shot (see here). In 2019 a Buzzard was reportedly found shot on Bransdale Moor (see here) and in 2020, five dead Buzzards were found concealed in a hole on a Bransdale grouse moor – four were confirmed to have been shot and the fifth was suspected to have been shot (see here).

The Bransdale area of the North York Moors National Park

Update on prosecution of 87-year-old William Brian Chorlton, accused of 11 offences relating to alleged raptor persecution in Lincolnshire

In April 2025, retired farmer William Brian Chorlton, aged 87, of Morkery Lane, Castle Bytham in Lincolnshire was summoned to court following reports that birds of prey were being poisoned in the Castle Bytham area.

He faced eleven charges relating to the unapproved or unlawful storage of the chemical Aldicarb, possession of a poisoners kit, and possession and use of four pole traps on his Pheasant shoot (see here).

Mr Chorlton appeared at Lincolnshire Magistrates’ Court in May 2025 and pleaded not guilty to all charges and the case was set to proceed to trial in October 2025.

Lincolnshire Magistrates’ Court (Creative Commons DSCF1330)

However, at a pre-trial hearing in September 2025, Mr Chorlton’s lawyer submitted three separate legal arguments calling for the case to be dismissed. The District Judge rejected all three legal arguments and the application to dismiss the case was not upheld.

In a further pre-trial hearing a week later, and in a highly unusual move, Mr Chorlton’s lawyer announced that he intended to apply for a judicial review of the District Judge’s decision (see here), which meant that the original trial date of October 2025 was postponed until the judicial review application was heard.

A further case management hearing scheduled for January 2026 was also postponed as the application for judicial review was still underway (see here).

Since then, earlier this month Mr Chorlton’s application for judicial review was rejected by the High Court.

The rejection of the application for judicial review led to another case management hearing for the criminal case, and that took place this morning at Lincoln Magistrates Court in front of the same District Judge as before.

Mr Chorlton’s lawyer told the judge that, “You were right and we were wrong“, in relation to the judge’s earlier ruling that there were no grounds for the case to be dismissed. This means that Mr Chorlton’s defence team is not intending to challenge the High Court decision to reject the application for judicial review so the criminal prosecution is now back on track.

The defence stated that it would now instruct an expert witness and a new trial date has been set for October 2026. A further case management hearing will take place in July 2026, to look at areas of agreement / disagreement between the expert witness reports.

The papers from the judicial review application (Mr Chorlton’s statement of facts of grounds and the Crown Prosecution Service’s grounds of resistance) make for a fascinating read but I won’t publish those until criminal proceedings have concluded at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court so as not to jeopardise the prosecution.

NB: As proceedings are still live, comments have been turned off.

Trial underway for man accused of dumping 50 dead hares & two raptors outside Broughton village shop in Hampshire

A trial is underway at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this week for a man who is accused of several offences relating to the dumping of 50 hares and two raptors (a Barn Owl and a Kestrel) outside a community shop in Broughton, Hampshire, in March 2024.

James Kempster, 39, of Totton, Southampton, is charged with two counts of possessing a dead bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and a charge of criminal damage to the shop front.

The court heard that the alleged incident was caught on CCTV in the early hours of 15th March 2024.

Prosecutor Adam Cooper said: “This is a horror movie scene outside a Broughton village shop – it’s a small Hampshire village.

“In the middle of the night, at 3.23am, three men arrived outside the shop by car, the driver remains in the car, having manoeuvred it to a position so the boot is adjacent to the forecourt.

“Two men get out. They are both dressed in tracksuits, hoods up, balaclavas covering their faces so neither can be identified.

“They get out to discard the bodies of 50 dead hares over the forecourt, strewn about deliberately to maximise their coverage. The Crown says one of those two men is James Kempster.

Mr Cooper said one of the men then “tears or rips the body of one of the hares in half, blood is dripping on the floor, wipes the shop front, smearing the blood”.

He then takes two birds, a Barn owl and a Kestrel, from the car before wiping them in the blood and “stuffing” them under the door handles, the prosecutor said.

Mr Cooper added that the man “then beckons the car to show the driver their handiwork, gets into the car and leaves“.

The prosecutor told the court that DNA found on the dead birds was matched to Kemspter. He was also linked to the incident through his mobile phone location, his clothing and connections to the car, which was found burnt out in a country lane.

Kempster denies the charges and the trial continues.

This trial had been originally scheduled to take place in May 2025. For previous blogs on the case see here, here, here, here, here and here.

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

UPDATE 25 April 2026: Man found not guilty of criminal damage relating to dumping of 50 dead Hares at Broughton Community Shop, but guilty of possession of dead Kestrel and Barn Owl (here)

No prosecution after man crushed Peregrine eggs at St Albans Cathedral

No charges are to be brought against the individual seen trampling a clutch of Peregrine eggs on the roof of St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire last year, according to Hertfordshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The incident happened on 7th April 2025 and was caught on a livestream camera that had been set up to allow the public to watch the Peregrines’ breeding attempt (see here).

The three Peregrine eggs were destroyed but fortunately the breeding pair laid a second clutch and three young Peregrines subsequently fledged (see here).

The individual in the footage was identified (although not publicly named) and was reported to be helping the police with their enquiries.

A year later, a spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service has said:

“Our prosecutors worked with police to establish the circumstances and, after carefully reviewing the evidence, we determined that it did not meet our legal test and no further action will be taken“.

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Police told the Hertfordshire Advertiser this week:

“Following a full investigation into the destruction of peregrine falcon eggs on the roof of St Albans Cathedral last year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed that no further action will be taken.

The incident in which the eggs were destroyed occurred in April 2025. The matter was immediately referred to the police and a thorough investigation was conducted by officers from the Rural Operational Support team.

We recognise the strength of feeling surrounding this incident, particularly given the protected status of peregrine falcons, and understand the disappointment this decision may cause. However, charging decisions are made independently by the CPS and are based on strict legal tests“.

A statement on the St Albans Cathedral website says, ‘Measures introduced following the incident remain in place to support the safety and wellbeing of the peregrines’.

The Peregrines are breeding again this year and have laid four eggs. You can follow the livestream here.

What’s happened to the police investigation in to the poisoned Hen Harrier found dead on the edge of a grouse moor in North Yorkshire?

In December 2025, I blogged about a Hen Harrier that had been found poisoned on a grouse moor somewhere in North Yorkshire, 11 months earlier in January 2025.

There hadn’t been any media coverage of this illegal killing at all – no press releases or appeals for information from North Yorkshire Police, no comment from the National Wildlife Crime Unit’s Hen Harrier Taskforce, nothing from anyone.

I found out about the poisoning by scrutinising a Health & Safety Executive database, which had the following spreadsheet entry:

HSE Ref number 107/913. Confirmed poisoning, North Yorkshire, January 2025. Chemicals Bendiocarb, Carbofuran, Isophenphos, Alphachloralose. Notes: ‘A dead Hen Harrier was found on a grouse moor. Residues of Bendiocarb, Carbofuran, Isophenphos and Alphachloralose were found in the samples analysed, which is an abuse of these compounds. Case closed as passed to the Police‘.

Given the toxic combination of poisons, often referred to as the ‘Nidderdale Cocktail’ due to its frequency of use in the area, I mused that this Hen Harrier was likely to have been poisoned in Nidderdale, although it wasn’t conclusive evidence as in more recent years the Nidderdale Cocktail has also been detected in other parts of the country, perhaps indicating a gamekeeper moving from this region to work in another.

News then emerged in an RSPB press release in January 2026 that this Hen Harrier was a young female named Ataksak (named after an Inuit Goddess, the ‘ruler of the sky’) and she was carrying a satellite tag, fitted by the RSPB in Bowland in 2024.

It turned out that Ataksak was the Hen Harrier that gamekeeper Racster Dingwall and his accomplices had discussed shooting and killing as it came in to a roost site on Grassington Moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park one evening in October 2024, but they then chose instead to “fleg it” (scare it off with warning shots) because they deduced it was wearing “a box” (a satellite tag) and killing it would draw unwanted attention from the authorities to their grouse moor.

The RSPB’s press release included details of the area where Ataksak had been found poisoned but still didn’t name a location:

‘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‘.

When I first wrote about this poisoned Hen Harrier in December 2025, I said I’d submitted a number of Freedom of Information requests about the Police investigation, some 11 months after she’d been found poisoned.

First, here’s a redacted post mortem report on Ataksak from FERA (Food and Environment Research Agency). It’s pretty conclusive:

The PM report gives the location as ‘Fountains Earth’ in North Yorkshire, and a four-figure grid reference SE1371. This places Ataksak’s death in Nidderdale, a well known raptor-poisoning hot spot:

The parish of Fountains Earth, Nidderdale (google maps)

Given the high toxicity of the chemicals used to poison her, I’d think it quite likely that Ataksak was poisoned very close to the spot her corpse was found.

The PM report is dated 28 April 2025, some three months after Ataksak was poisoned.

So what progress had North Yorkshire Police made with its investigation in to this crime?

Well, apparently very little.

According to my sources, as of January 2026, a full year after Ataksak’s body had been found, and nine months after the conclusive post mortem report, North Yorkshire Police hadn’t even bothered to conduct a search, despite being encouraged to do so by the National Wildlife Crime Unit and Natural England.

And therein lies the problem. The responsibility for investigatory decision-making lies entirely with the local police force. Experienced officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (including specialists involved with the Hen Harrier Taskforce) and specialist poisoning experts from Natural England can only offer their assistance; if the local police force chooses not to accept those offers of help, for whatever reason, there’s nothing they can do about it.

How bonkers is that? Hen Harrier persecution is a national wildlife crime priority, there’s a national Taskforce that’s being funded (with tax payers’ money) to deal with it, but it doesn’t have the authority to investigate these crimes unless the local police force agrees to it.

This isn’t a problem in some areas, where local police forces are only too happy to accept specialist help and support, but it is definitely a problem in North Yorkshire (e.g. see here), and in several other counties in northern England where raptor persecution is known to take place, particularly on driven grouse moors.

I submitted Freedom of Information requests to the NWCU and to Natural England about the status of the investigation into the poisoning of Ataksak but surprise, surprise, both refused to release any information, stating the information has been withheld by exception, citing regulation 12(5)(b)(g) — Course of justice, inquiries & fair trial.

There is no ‘course of justice’ in this case, because North Yorkshire Police has been sitting on its hands for over a year. Rather than holding them to account, these agencies are simply providing them with cover.

Goshawk shot in Derbyshire – police appeal for information

Derbyshire Police’s Rural Crime Team has issued an appeal for information after the discovery of a critically-injured Goshawk, which had to be euthanised due to the extent of its injuries.

The injured Goshawk was found by a member of the public near Stanton Hall, Stanton by Dale, in south east Derbyshire on Saturday 31 January 2026. A veterinary examination and x-ray revealed the bird had been shot with a shotgun and sustained a right wing fracture, a left wing fracture and a suspected left ulna fracture near the elbow.

Given these injuries, it is likely the Goshawk wasn’t capable of long distance flight from the location where it was shot.

Photographs via Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team:

The Police are asking the public whether they saw anyone with a gun in the area, whether gunshots were heard, and whether anyone saw any suspicious behaviour.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101 and quote incident number 26*68719.

More commentary on the sentencing of Yorkshire Dales gamekeeper Racster Dingwall

Racster Dingwall, the now former Head Gamekeeper on Conistone and Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, pleaded guilty at York Magistrates’ Court last month to conspiring to kill a Hen Harrier.

His crimes were captured on camera after the RSPB installed covert equipment on the grouse moor, capturing video and audio recordings of Dingwall and his two armed accomplices, as shown on Channel 4 News, here.

Screen grab from the RSPB covert footage via Channel 4 News

Dingwall’s sentence was a fine of just £1,520. I’ve written previously about the judge’s remarks and how this derisory penalty was determined (see here).

Now the Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF, representing raptor fieldworkers) has added to the commentary in a new blog (here), which is well worth a read.

Here are some of the highlights:

Dingwall had a previous conviction for violence, but this was discounted because it was dissimilar to the offence before the court. However, there is ample evidence in the literature showing that violence towards people and animal cruelty are frequently linked.

It was accepted by the court that Dingwall’s actions in this case were “completely out of character”. Was it really? The RSPB Investigations Team didn’t just turn up on the estate and install covert recording equipment. The team was there as a result of intelligence they had received and had spent several months confirming that the information was correct. They also identified the precise location where Dingwall and his colleagues usually sat. There was nothing random in the enquiry. Dingwall and his two underkeepers, recorded during the filming, were dressed in camouflage clothing, using radios, and armed with shotguns. They were clearly on a mission when sat in their allocated positions, waiting for dusk and for Hen Harriers to come in to roost.

Mr Ryan, Dingwall’s solicitor, told the court that his client “regrets enormously” his actions. If that were true, why were he and his colleagues there in the first place, dressed and armed with shotguns? Why didn’t he chastise his staff when they discussed having killed a Buzzard and a Raven? Why didn’t he call the whole thing off when they talked about not shooting a Hen Harrier—now known to be Ataksak—because it was wearing a box and would cause problems for the estate? Why, when the next Hen Harrier arrived without a “box”, did Dingwall leave his post to go and shoot the bird, which he subsequently told his staff he had done? He had every opportunity to prevent his underkeepers from killing the Buzzard and Raven. He also had a duty to ensure that Ataksak and the untagged Hen Harrier were not threatened with death. He failed on all accounts. Clearly, the only thing Dingwall regretted was being caught.

There is no requirement for a defendant to identify who his two underkeepers were, and Dingwall chose that route and stood in the dock alone. That was his choice, and the identity of his underkeepers remains unknown—at least in the public domain. Obviously, their employer knows who they are; but will they be sanctioned? Will they lose their jobs?

What we do know is that the owner will not be sanctioned, and it is business as usual. This loophole in the law is ludicrous and needs to be closed. Owners and land agents responsible for managing shooting estates need to be held accountable for the criminal activities of their employees. Until they are, they have no incentive to ensure that their estates are managed in compliance with wildlife legislation.

To read the full blog on the NERF website, click here.

I’ll be writing a further blog about this case shortly…

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