Lancashire Police are appealing for information after the sudden ‘disappearance’ of a satellite-tagged hen harrier earlier this month.
This was posted on the Lancashire Rural Police Facebook page yesterday:
‘Following information being received that a sat tagged hen harrier had gone missing, and the tag suffering catastrophic failure, we have been working with our colleagues in the National Wildlife Crime Unit to try to locate the bird.
Today we have conducted a section 19 search, utilising tracking equipment, where the harrier was last known to be, this was in the Mallowdale area near to Kirkby Lonsdale.
Unfortunately we were not successful in locating the bird, which went missing over the 4th and 5th May, we are asking for anyone who has any information to contact Lancashire Police Rural Crime Task force via 101 or email RuralTaskForce@lancashire.police.uk and quote log number LC-20230516-0307‘.
There aren’t yet any further details about which hen harrier this is.
The harrier ‘disappeared’ the same day that the RSPB announced that 20 hen harriers had ‘vanished’ in the last year alone, most of them on grouse moors (here) and the day before Natural England described the mutilation of another hen harrier, whose leg and head had been ripped off whilst the bird was still alive (here).
The latest disappearance took place a week before the RSPB published a new scientific paper which confirms the ongoing and illegal killing of hen harriers on UK grouse moors (see here).
The latest ‘disappearance’ also coincided with Natural England’s announcement that the five-year hen harrier brood meddling ‘trial’ (conservation sham) is set to continue for a further five years (here), despite knowing that at least 92 hen harriers have been confirmed killed or have ‘disappeared’ since the ‘trial’ began in 2018 (here).
Now there’s yet another one to add to the list. This is the 8th hen harrier to ‘vanish’ since the start of this year, and it’s still only May.
How many more?
UPDATE 19th May 2023: The Forest of Bowland AONB posted the following on its website yesterday:
Yesterday, Lancashire Police’s Rural Crime Taskforce reported the disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier in the Forest of Bowland AONB.
The bird went missing, with the tag suffering catastrophic failure, over 4th/ 5th May in Mallowdale, an area of moorland to the south of the village of Wray. The Rural Taskforce and National Wildlife Crime Unit have since carried out a search of the area but have been unsuccessful in locating the missing bird.
Lancashire Police have issued an appeal to the public for information. Please contact the Rural Crime Taskforce via 101 or email RuralTaskForce@lancashire.police.uk and quote log number LC-20230516-0307.
Elliott Lorimer, Forest of Bowland AONB Partnership Manager commented:
“The disappearance and failure of this satellite tagged Hen harrier is very concerning. The Forest of Bowland is often considered a stronghold for this protected species, with conservation efforts in the area aiding the recovery of this threatened bird. So, any loss in such circumstances is particularly upsetting. I would strongly urge members of the public to contact Lancashire Police if they have any information that could relate to the disappearance of this bird.”
ENDS
UPDATE 6th June 2023: The RSPB has just issued a press release about this hen harrier, which was named ‘Rush’ – see here.
Further to the news on Friday that a previously unreported 20 hen harriers had ‘disappeared’ on English grouse moors between April 2022 and April 2023, in addition to another one whose mutilated corpse was found on a grouse moor (see here and here), I’ve now had the time to go through the latest list of reported victims and work out which ones had not previously been included on my running tally of dead/missing hen harriers since 2018.
You may recall (although admittedly, it is hard to keep up), just two weeks ago I reported that the running tally was 82 dead/missing hen harriers since 2018. I can now report the current total is 92.
Here’s the blog I always write after every reported killing or suspicious disappearance…
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
“They disappear in the same way political dissidents in authoritarian dictatorships have disappeared” (Stephen Barlow, 22 January 2021).
Today the list has been updated to include the most recently reported victims, 10 young hen harriers (0f 20) that ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances between April 2022 – April 2023, almost all of them on or close to grouse moors in northern England (see here).
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).
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 is 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.
Brood meddling has been 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 92 hen harriers gone since 2018, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry is simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretends that ‘partnership working’ is the way to go and DEFRA Ministers remain silent.
‘Partnership working’ according to Natural England appears 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 that prevents Natural England from criticising them or the sham brood meddling trial (see here). This is in addition to a £10k ‘donation’ that Natural England accepted, under the same terms, in 2021 (here).
Cartoon by Gerard Hobley
So here’s the latest gruesome list. Note that the majority of these birds (but not all) were fitted with satellite tags. How many more [untagged] harriers have been killed?
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).
5 February 2018: Hen harrier Marc ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Durham (here).
9 February 2018: Hen harrier Aalin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).
March 2018: Hen harrier Blue ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park (here).
March 2018: Hen harrier Finn ‘disappeared’ near Moffat in Scotland (here).
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).
8 August 2018: Hen harrier Hilma ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Northumberland (here).
16 August 2018: Hen harrier Athena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
26 August 2018: Hen Harrier Octavia ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
29 August 2018: Hen harrier Margot ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Heulwen ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).
3 September 2018: Hen harrier Stelmaria ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
24 September 2018: Hen harrier Heather ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).
2 October 2018: Hen harrier Mabel ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
3 October 2018: Hen Harrier Thor ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Bowland, Lanacashire (here).
23 October 2018: Hen harrier Tom ‘disappeared’ in South Wales (here).
26 October 2018: Hen harrier Arthur ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here).
1 November 2018: Hen harrier Barney ‘disappeared’ on Bodmin Moor (here).
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).
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).
16 January 2019: Hen harrier Vulcan ‘disappeared’ in Wiltshire close to Natural England’s proposed reintroduction site (here).
7 February 2019: Hen harrier Skylar ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire (here).
22 April 2019: Hen harrier Marci ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
26 April 2019: Hen harrier Rain ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire (here).
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).
11 September 2019: Hen harrier Romario ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
14 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183704) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here).
23 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #55149) ‘disappeared’ in North Pennines (here).
24 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 2 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Invercauld in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
24 September 2019: Hen harrier Bronwyn ‘disappeared’ near a grouse moor in North Wales (here).
10 October 2019: Hen harrier Ada ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North Pennines AONB (here).
12 October 2019: Hen harrier Thistle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Sutherland (here).
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).
14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here).
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).
23 March 2020: Hen harrier Rosie ‘disappeared’ at an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).
1 April 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183703) ‘disappeared’ in unnamed location, tag intermittent (here).
5 April 2020: Hen harrier Hoolie ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here)
8 April 2020: Hen harrier Marlin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here).
19 May 2020: Hen harrier Fingal ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Lowther Hills, Scotland (here).
21 May 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183701) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria shortly after returning from wintering in France (here).
27 May 2020: Hen harrier Silver ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on Leadhills Estate, Scotland (here).
2020: day/month unknown: Unnamed male hen harrier breeding on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria ‘disappeared’ while away hunting (here).
9 July 2020: Unnamed female hen harrier (#201118) ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed site in Northumberland (here).
25 July 2020: Hen harrier Harriet ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
14 August 2020: Hen harrier Solo ‘disappeared’ in confidential nest area in Lancashire (here).
7 September 2020: Hen harrier Dryad ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
16 September 2020: Hen harrier Fortune ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).
19 September 2020: Hen harrier Harold ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
20 September 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2020, #55152) ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here).
24 February 2021: Hen harrier Tarras ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Northumberland (here)
12th April 2021: Hen harrier Yarrow ‘disappeared’ near Stockton, County Durham (here).
18 May 2021: Adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
18 May 2021: Another adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).
24 July 2021: Hen harrier Asta ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (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).
14th August 2021: Hen harrier Josephine ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Northumberland (here).
17 September 2021: Hen harrier Reiver ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated region of Northumberland (here)
24 September 2021: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2021, R2-F-1-21) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).
15 November 2021: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F1-20) ‘disappeared’ at the edge of a grouse moor on Arkengarthdale Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
19 November 2021: Hen harrier Val ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria (here).
19 November 2021: Hen harrier Percy ‘disappeared’ in Lothian, Scotland (here).
12 December 2021: Hen harrier Jasmine ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (High Rigg Moor on the Middlesmoor Estate) in the Nidderdale AONB in North Yorkshire (here).
9 January 2022: Hen harrier Ethel ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).
26 January 2022: Hen harrier Amelia ‘disappeared’ in Bowland (here).
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).
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 leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here).
April 2022: Hen harrier ‘Pegasus’ (tagged by the RSPB) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
May 2022: A male breeding hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).
May 2022: Another breeding male hen harrier ‘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’ from a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (here).
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 (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
September 2022: Hen harrier ‘Sullis’ (tagged by the RSPB) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria (here).
5 October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-M2-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
10 October 2022: Hen harrier ‘Sia’ ‘disappeared’ near Hamsterley Forest in the North Pennines (here).
October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-F1-21) ‘disappeared’ in the North Sea off the North York Moors National Park (here).
1 December 2022: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
14 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here).
15 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
March 2023: Unnamed male hen harrier (tagged by Natural England – details not yet released) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Unnamed female hen harrier (tagged by Natural England – details not yet released) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Lagertha’ (tagged by RSPB) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Nicola’ (Tag ID 234078) ”disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).
April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Another untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).
April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest in Durham (see here).
To be continued……..
Not one of these 92 incidents has resulted in an arrest, let alone a prosecution. 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 NINETY TWO hen harriers, and still Govt ministers remain silent. 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
Lincolnshire Police led a multi-agency search on 28th April 2023 as part of an investigation into the illegal killing of birds of prey.
The day after the search, Lincs Police’s rural crime action team posted the following on Twitter:
No further details have been published yet.
Well done to Lincolnshire Police for getting this news out on the following day and well done to all the multi-agency partners (NWCU, Natural England and the RSPB) for another excellent response to reports of suspected raptor persecution.
This latest multi-agency raid is the latest in a surge of similar investigations in response to raptor persecution crimes over the last few of years, including a raid in Wiltshire on 23rd September 2020 (here), a raid in Suffolk on 18th January 2021 (here), a raid in January 2021 in Nottinghamshire (here), on 15th March 2021 a raid in Lincolnshire (see here), on 18th March 2021 a raid in Dorset (here), on 26th March 2021 a raid in Devon (see here), on 21st April 2021 a raid in Teesdale (here), on 2nd August 2021 another raid in Shropshire (here), on 12th August 2021 a raid in Herefordshire (here), on 14th September 2021 a raid in Norfolk (here), a raid in Wales in October 2021 (here) a raid in Humberside on 10th December 2021 (here), a raid in North Wales on 8th February 2022 (here) another raid in Suffolk on 22nd April 2022 (here), another raid in Norfolk on 29th April 2022 (here), another raid in Lincolnshire on 4th October 2022 (here) and another raid in Shropshire on 7th October 2022 (here).
Many of these cases are ongoing, or have progressed to impending court hearings, but some have concluded, resulting in the conviction of criminal gamekeepers. These include:
*The Nottinghamshire case (from January 2021) where gamekeeper John Orrey was sentenced in January 2022 for battering to death two buzzards he’d caught inside a trap (here);
*The Suffolk case (also from January 2021) where gamekeeper Shane Leech was convicted of firearms and pesticides offences in November 2021 after the discovery of a poisoned buzzard found close to pheasant-rearing pens in Lakenheath (here);
*The Wales case (from October 2021) where gamekeeper David Matthews was convicted in June 2022 for pesticide offences following the discovery of a poisoned red kite and a shot red kite at a pheasant release pen on the McAlpine Estate in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, North Wales (see here);
*The Wiltshire case (from September 2020) where gamekeeper Archie Watson was convicted in June 2022 after the discovery of at least 15 dead buzzards and red kites were found dumped in a well on a pheasant shoot on Galteemore Farm in Beckhampton (here);
*The Norfolk case (from September 2021) where gamekeeper Matthew Stroud was convicted in October 2022 for the poisoning of at least five buzzards and a goshawk, amongst other offences, on a pheasant shoot at Weeting, near Thetford (here).
*The Dorset case (from March 2021) where gamekeeper Paul Allen was convicted in January 2023 for multiple wildlife, poisoning and firearms offences on a pheasant shoot on the Shaftesbury Estate, near Wimbourne (here).
Further to the news that 20 hen harriers have gone ‘missing’ in the last year (many of them on grouse moors in the Yorkshire Dales National Park), as well as the discovery of a mutilated hen harrier corpse, whose head and leg was ripped off whilst the harrier was still alive, also in the National Park (see here and here), the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has published a statement:
Photo: Ruth Tingay
RESPONSE TO THE DEATH OF ‘FREE’, A NATURAL ENGLAND TAGGED HARRIER
Friday, 5th May 2023
David Butterworth, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said:
“It’s astonishing that 21 Hen Harriers have disappeared across Northern England in 12-months, and sickening to hear that ‘Free’, a Natural England tagged hen harrier has been found dead, headless and missing a leg in an area of moorland in the National Park.
“After so many years of illegal bird of prey persecution in the area you might think we would become more immune to this pathetic criminality. We never should.
“Locally, we have seen some tentatively encouraging results in recent years in terms of successful breeding of hen harriers, with the strong support of some land owners. However, that progress will be rendered utterly worthless if these attacks are allowed to continue.
“It is shameful that we still have individuals among our local communities who take part in these atrocities. I would strongly urge anyone with any information on this incident to come forward. This has to stop”.
Killing birds of prey is illegal. Anyone with concerns about a possible wildlife crime should call 101, and anyone witnessing a suspected wildlife crime should call 999 and ask for the Police.
Yesterday, the RSPB announced the shocking news that 20 hen harriers had gone ‘missing’ on grouse moors in northern England between April 2022 – April 2023, and that the mutilated corpse of a further hen harrier, named ‘Free’, had been found dead on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (see here).
Hen harrier ‘Free’ was a satellite-tagged bird that was being tracked by Natural England. Natural England has published a blog about the grisly circumstances of Free’s death. I’m reproducing it here, in case the original blog vanishes at some future point.
THE DEATH OF FREE, A NATURAL ENGLAND TAGGED HEN HARRIER
By Stephanie Bird-Halton, Director, National Delivery, Natural England (May 5th 2023).
Hen harriers are currently extremely rare in England due to illegal persecution and nest disturbance, primarily in areas associated with grouse shooting. Natural England satellite-tracks hen harriers in order to investigate patterns of dispersal and survival, and the causes of any deaths. This blog is about Free, one of our tagged hen harriers, that died due to human persecution.
Free was hatched in 2020 from a nest in Cumbria, and in April 2022 he was two years old. At around this time, he had apparently settled in an area of moorland around Birkdale, near the border of Yorkshire and Cumbria. Our staff raised concerns when Free’s tag transmitted a signal late at night on 11 April 2022, indicating he was away from his normal roosting area.
As always, the police were immediately informed. It is not always possible to accurately identify the location of a satellite tag, as they do not transmit constantly, but in this case the tag was swiftly tracked down to a rocky slope above Outhgill. Free was found dead, headless and missing a leg, but showing no other sign of being eaten or scavenged by an animal predator, and still fitted with his satellite tag.
Hen harrier ‘Free’ as found. Photo: Natural England
Hen Harrier ‘Free’ as found. Photo: Natural England
Free’s body was recovered and sent for post-mortem examination to diagnose signs of death. Shockingly and upsettingly, the post-mortem examination concluded that Free’s leg had been torn off while he was alive, and that the cause of death was the head being twisted and pulled off while the body was held tightly. These injuries would be consistent with Free being killed by human hands. There were no other signs of damage from any animal, and Free had not been shot.
Hen harrier ‘Free’ under post-mortem examination showing the signs of bleeding where the leg had been removed. Photo: ZSL
The police and National Wildlife Crime Unit were kept informed, and no information has been shared publicly while enforcement action has been ongoing. Unfortunately, the police investigation did not gather sufficient information to identify a suspect. We are appalled and upset by this horrible death of a beautiful bird, but without further evidence the police and Natural England have no basis for further action. Any requests for more details about this case, or new evidence, should be directed to Cumbria police.
What next?
We are sickened by this evidence of persecution, which remains a serious issue and needs more focus and action from the police, businesses, landowners, and game management interests. We will continue our work tracking hen harriers and will make every effort to track down tags that stop transmitting, and to support the police in their role of bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.
Natural England remains committed to working with our partners on hen harrier recovery. We are encouraged by the possibilities demonstrated by the recent increase in nesting hen harrier numbers overall, and will continue to work to turn the tide on the illegal persecution of these at-risk birds.
We regularly share the status of all our satellite-tracked Hen Harriers (every few months) on this page.
ENDS
I applaud Natural England for publishing this detailed account, but that’s as far as my applause goes.
Why has it taken 13 months, from the discovery of Free’s mutilated corpse in April 2022, for this information to be published? This isn’t the first case where this has happened either (e.g. see here).
The police have said absolutely nothing about this investigation. No statements, no public appeals for information, nothing. I don’t accept that issuing a statement or appeal, no matter how generalised, would have compromised the investigation.
Natural England’s standard response is that it won’t say anything whilst a police investigation is ongoing. I understand that position, and it’s a fair position to take during the early stages of an investigation when evidence-gathering may still be taking place. But to wait for 13 months? That’s ridiculous, and in my view is just NE hiding behind the police as a convenient excuse. And I suspect the news has only emerged now because NE knew that if it didn’t say something, someone else would.
Natural England is using public funds to pay for these satellite tags and staff time to monitor the data. It could easily have made a statement about this case, which is very much in the public interest, without compromising the police investigation.
As long as NE remained silent, it provided an opportunity for both NE and the grouse-shooting industry to flood the media last year, and this year, with propaganda designed to demonstrate that ‘real‘ and ‘great‘ progress was being made by the ludicrous hen harrier brood meddling scheme.
As for the sadistic bastard(s) who tore Free’s leg off whilst he was still alive and then held Free’s body tightly and twisted and pulled his head off (reported in the post mortem as the official cause of death), leaving his body (and sat tag) in place knowing that he’d be found by researchers, if that isn’t an intentional act of defiance and sticking up two fingers to the law then I don’t know what is.
Natural England may well be ‘sickened’ by the evidence – anybody in their right mind would be – but Natural England isn’t just ‘anybody’. It’s the statutory regulator and has a duty to protect this species. When will it accept that decades of so-called ‘partnership-working’ with the grouse shooting industry hasn’t worked, and won’t ever work as long as the criminals are allowed to keep getting away with it?
A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the ‘disappearance’ of five more satellite-tagged hen harriers that had all vanished, in suspicious circumstances, on moorland in northern England between August and December 2022 (see here).
A week later I blogged about how Natural England and the Moorland Association had remained silent about those latest disappearances (see here).
Hen harrier. Photo: Ian Poxton
This morning, the RSPB has issued a press statement about a further 21 hen harriers, as follows:
RARE BIRD OF PREY FOUND MUTLILATED AS 20 OTHER INDIVIDUALS GO MISSING
One of the UK’s rarest birds of prey, a Hen Harrier, has been found dead and its body mutilated. Twenty other harriers, including 15 birds that were part of satellite-tagged tracking projects, have also disappeared across Northern England in the past year.
Hen Harriers are on the red list of birds of conservation concern in the UK, with the last national survey in 2016 recording 545 pairs in the UK – a decline of 13% since 2010. In England there were 34 successful nests in 2022, despite enough habitat and food to support over 300 pairs. In 2019, the Government’s own study found illegal killing to be the main factor limiting the recovery of the UK Hen Harrier population.
The story began in April 2022 when an RSPB satellite-tagged Hen Harrier named Pegasus vanished whilst on Birkdale – an area of driven grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on the North Yorkshire/Cumbria border. This was followed shortly after by the discovery of a dead Hen Harrier in the same area – a Natural England tagged bird called Free. The bird was missing its head and leg, which had held a metal ring for identification. Expert veterinary assessment concluded the bird has been killed through traumatic removal of its head and leg, whilst alive – consistent with persecution. A month later, another hen harrier, NE tagged bird Harvey, vanished in this area. The police carried out a search warrant in connection with the incidents, but the ensuing investigation has failed to lead to charges.
However, since the investigation ended a further four satellite-tagged Hen Harriers (one from a RSPB project and three from a Natural England one) have disappeared in this same area, managed for driven grouse shooting.
During autumn 2022, two additional RSPB tagged birds vanished in Cumbria and Durham, both also on grouse moors.
These nine birds are separate to another seven Natural England satellite-tagged Hen Harriers recorded as missing, fate unknown, over the past year.
Finally, also in the past year, five (un-tagged) breeding male Hen Harriers have vanished, including two in the Peak District National Park in 2022 and, in April this year, one in Durham and two from the RSPB’s Geltsdale Nature Reserve in Cumbria: both these birds had active nests which have now been abandoned, one containing three cold eggs. Male harriers are known to hunt away from their nest sites, and this is not the first time that adult male harriers with active nests have vanished from Geltsdale in recent years.
All 21 birds were reported at the time by the RSPB and Natural England to the Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
Commenting on the situation, the RSPB’s conservation director Katie-Jo Luxton said,“These 21 birds represent a significant proportion of the existing English Hen Harrier population. The Government’s own study found illegal killing to be the main reason preventing the recovery of this species, and these recent events indicate that the situation has yet to improve for this rare and beautiful bird.”
Natural England Strategy Director John Holmes said: “We are sickened by this evidence of persecution, which remains a serious issue and needs more focus and action from the police, businesses, landowners, and game management interests. Natural England will continue to work with partners on Hen Harrier recovery, and direct our resources towards science, monitoring, enforcement, and conservation management. We will continue all efforts to track down tags that stop transmitting, as our dedicated staff did in the case of Free, and to support the police in their role of bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice“
ENDS
There’s quite a lot to digest in this press release and I’m short on time today, but what is immediately obvious is the clear escalation in persecution incidents, and that they are all linked to driven grouse moors. North Yorkshire, and particularly the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is once again at the centre of the criminality.
The unspeakable barbarity inflicted on Hen Harrier ‘Free’, whose head and leg was ripped off while the bird was still alive, is shocking, but not at all surprising, especially given what we know happened to hen harrier ‘Asta’ (see here). I’ll write more about ‘Free’ shortly.
The RSPB has helpfully provided the following table showing the hen harriers confirmed as persecuted or missing between April 2022-April 2023:
I will need to go through this table and work out which of these harriers are already included in the 82 that we know have been confirmed as illegally killed or missing in suspicious circumstances since 2018 – see here. There will definitely be more to add to that shameful running total.
With this blatant, ongoing, and widespread criminal persecution, Natural England’s recent decision to extend its ‘partnership’ with the grouse shooting industry as part of the ludicrous hen harrier brood meddling scheme, warrants further scrutiny. I’ll come back to that.
UPDATE 6th May 2023: Post mortem reveals hen harrier’s cause of death was ‘head being twisted and pulled off while the body was held tightly’ (here)
Five more young hen harriers have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, according to data published quietly and without fanfare by Natural England in February 2023.
All five hen harriers were ‘brood meddled’ birds and all five of them ‘disappeared’ on moorland in what are supposedly protected landscapes: four in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and one in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Last known locations of the five ‘missing’ hen harriers
The ‘missing’ hen harriers are as follows:
Brood-meddled Male, tagged July 2022, Tag ID 232637 (R1-M1-22), date of last contact 17th August 2022, grid ref: SD804893 (Yorkshire Dales National Park).
Brood-meddled Male, tagged August 2022, Tag ID 213920a (R3-M2-22), date of last contact 5th October 2022, grid ref: NY791016 (Yorkshire Dales National Park).
Brood-meddled Male, tagged July 2021, Tag ID 55145 (R1-M1-21), date of last contact 1st December 2022, grid ref: SD917620 (Yorkshire Dales National Park).
Brood-meddled Female, tagged August 2022, Tag ID 213921a (R3-F1-22), date of last contact 14th December 2022, grid ref: NY692415 (North Pennines AONB).
Brood-meddled Female, tagged July 2022, Tag ID 213931 (R2-F1-22), date of last contact 15th December 2022, grid ref: SD847831 (Yorkshire Dales National Park).
The data emerged from Natural England’s routine six-monthly update of its hen harrier satellite tag database, dated February 2023 (see here).
It’s interesting, isn’t it, that Natural England didn’t publish an accompanying blog with its data update, to draw attention to these latest ‘missing’ birds?
Why do you think that might be?
My view is that it’s because these latest data are damning of the ludicrous, ongoing hen harrier brood meddling trial on the grouse moors of northern England. For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling is 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.
In August last year, Natural England published a blog where it was claimed the results of the brood meddling scheme were ‘encouraging’ (here). As I and many others have said, repeatedly, nesting productivity is not the issue for hen harriers, survival is. Natural England and its so-called ‘partners’ can brood meddle as many chicks as it likes, it still doesn’t address the illegal killing that takes place once the chicks have fledged/been released.
The fact that all five of the latest ‘missing’ hen harriers are from brood meddled nests (four of them brood meddled in 2022, one in 2021) illustrates this point perfectly.
The latest five harriers ‘disappeared’ between 17th August – 15th December 2022. Four months on and I’m aware of a number of other ‘missing’ harriers whose stories are yet to be told. Watch this space.
Meanwhile, I’ll need to update the running total of hen harriers that have been illegally killed or have gone missing in suspicious circumstances, on or close to grouse moors, since 2018, when the brood meddling scheme began…
UPDATE 14.00hrs: 82 hen harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors (here)
UPDATE 29th April 2023: Natural England & Moorland Association remain silent on latest ‘disappearance’ of five young hen harriers (here)
The Peak District National Park Authority has issued the following statement today:
PEAK DISTRICT BIRD OF PREY INITIATIVE TO CLOSE AS PERSECUTION CASES CONTINUE
The Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative is to close, with differing views among the group’s stakeholders and continued cases of persecution within the region leading to the initiative ‘no longer being able to deliver meaningful change’ – according to the National Park Authority, convenors of the initiative.
A buzzard and a peregrine found poisoned in the Peak District National Park. Photo: Staffordshire Police
Set up in 2011 by the National Park Authority, the initiative’s goal was for populations of the region’s key birds of prey or ‘raptors’ to be returned to levels last seen during the 1990s, and the re-establishment of hen harrier as a regularly breeding species.
The Peak District has historically been home to populations of iconic species such as the peregrine, goshawk, merlin – the UK’s smallest raptor – and the hen harrier, one of the most persecuted birds of prey in the country. A supporting cast of other raptors includes the short-eared owl, with increasing sightings of red kites and ospreys.
Despite more than a decade of the initiative, which included representatives from the landowning and gamekeeping community, experienced raptor surveyors, conservation groups, the police and other bodies, populations of many of the key species have not increased at the rates initially hoped for with some seeing no improvement at all. Whilst hen harriers have returned to the area, successful breeding currently remains limited.
Those involved in the annual surveying of raptors within the study area – largely comprising the National Park’s ‘Dark Peak’ uplands, have recently stated they no longer felt they could continue supporting the group. The RSPB stepped down as a member of the initiative in 2018.
Although progress has been seen with some species including the goshawk, and with the Initiative acknowledging that other species’ population changes appear to be mirroring those of wider UK trends, direct persecution has remained a factor alongside the initiative’s decade-long existence.
Incidents of shooting, poisoning, trapping, nest destruction or the disappearance of satellite-tracked birds active within the Peak District have featured in every year of the initiative’s monitoring.
The National Park Authority believes that until these illegal activities are tackled, meaningful progress towards population increases in key species will not be possible.
Phil Mulligan, chief executive of the Peak District National Park Authority said: “It is with regret that we are closing the initiative after more than a decade of endeavours to safeguard our charismatic birds of prey that have a rightful place here in the National Park.
“Featuring at the very top of local ecosystems, these species like the hen harrier, peregrine and goshawk should be a flagship for landscapes and habitats at the heart of nature’s recovery.
“The fact that the work of the initiative has failed to reflect those target populations of some 30 years ago remains a cause for real concern, and it is without question that illegal persecution targeted towards some of these species is one factor behind this stuttering progress.
“I would like to extend my thanks to those who have put their time, energies and passion into the painstaking study, sharing of information and analysis of our raptor populations during the initiative’s existence, but we must now look at alternative ways to ensure our birds of prey have a future in the Peak District – free from the risk of illegal actions.”
The Authority has confirmed that it will continue working with a range of local stakeholders on priority actions for the future of birds of prey in the Peak District and potential activities will be outlined as part of the Authority’s ‘Nature Recovery Plan’ due to be released this summer.
ENDS
Hats off to the new Park Authority Chief Executive Phil Mulligan for having the guts to pull the plug on this long-running fiasco and especially for writing such an unequivocal and damning press release about the ongoing raptor persecution in this National Park.
The Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative has been an abject failure, consistently failing to meet its targets year after year. Calls by conservationists for it to be disbanded were routinely ignored by the previous Chief Executive over many years, providing an opportunity for the grouse-shooting organisations to pretend that they were working productively and cooperatively to bring an end to raptor persecution in the Park. Behind the scenes, the reality was somewhat different (e.g. see here and here).
The disbanding of this fake partnership signals a renewed hope for the area’s raptors, removing the persecution deniers from a position of influence. It’s now time for the Park Authority to form a genuine partnership that isn’t constrained by grandstanding propagandists whose sole intent seems to be to shield the criminals, not just from view, but from justice.
Previous blogs on the Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative can be read here, here, here, here, here, here, here.
A poisoned red kite found in Lincolnshire in 2020 led to a multi-agency raid of two properties in March 2021 where suspected poisons were seized and sent for analysis (see here and here).
Last month, Lincolnshire Police issued the following statement in relation to this investigation:
‘A man has been charged with possession of an item for the purpose of killing a wild bird.
Jamie Harrison, aged 53, of Paulette Court, Spalding, has received a postal charge for possession of a poisonous substance for the purpose of killing a wild bird.
Harrison was interviewed after a warrant was executed in Spalding, in March 2021.
He is due to appear at Boston Magistrates’ Court, later this month.
Our Rural Crime Action Team was formed as part of Chief Constable Chris Haward’s pledge to provide a focus on targeting offences that affect our rural communities’.
No further details are available but I understand the next court hearing will be in June.
Well done to Lincolnshire Police’s Rural Crime Action Team and all the agencies involved in this investigation (NWCU, Natural England, RSPB).
As criminal proceedings are now underway, comments won’t be posted until the case concludes. Thanks for your understanding.
The RSPCA is investigating after a female buzzard was found having being shot in the head with an airgun pellet.
The buzzard was found in the front garden of a house in Walpole St Peter near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. Unfortunately there are no details about when this discovery was made.
Buzzard with head wound. Photo: RSPCA
The RSPCA said the bird was thin and weak and was taken to a vet in Ely where an x-ray revealed the buzzard had an airgun pellet lodged in her head. It was considered ‘a miracle’ that it had missed both the skull and the eye.
The charity said the wound was infected and as the bird was emaciated it was likely she had been shot some time ago.
The buzzard has been put on antibiotics and pain relief and may need an operation to remove the pellet.
Vets think the pellet may be interfering with her eyesight, but hope she will be strong enough to be released into the wild eventually.
Buzzard x-ray showing the airgun pellet. Photo: RSPCA
RSPCA inspector David Podmore said: “It is upsetting to think that this beautiful bird was deliberately targeted and shot. While we do not know where the shooting would have happened, this is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
“We would urge anyone with any information about how this bird came to be harmed to call the RSPCA Inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018 or the police.”
This news article was originally reported on the ITV website here.
Raptor Persecution UK 