Nottinghamshire Police have issued an appeal for information after the discovery of ‘several dead birds of prey that were seen in suspicious and unnatural circumstances‘ near to the village of Bunny, in the Rushcliffe borough of south Nottinghamshire on Tuesday 10th December 2024.
They said: “We are appealing for the public’s help if you have seen any suspicious animal carcasses while out walking please report them to police and do not allow dogs or other animals to touch them as they may be poisoned.
If you have any information which might assist enquiries it can be reported online or via 101 quoting occurrence number 24000745675“.
They haven’t provided any further detail such as the species involved although their social media post was illustrated with an image of a buzzard.
Buzzard photo by Ruth Tingay
This is an excellent response from Nottinghamshire Police, not only to gather information during the early phase of an investigation but especially to warn the public of the risk of potential poisons being used that could be a danger to people and their pets.
Hopefully Nottinghamshire Police will provide an update once post mortems and toxicology tests have been undertaken.
South Yorkshire Police have issued the following press release (dated 9 December 2024):
WITNESS APPEAL AFTER BIRD SHOT IN PEAK DISTRICT
We are appealing for information after a protected bird was reportedly shot in Bradfield, near Sheffield.
On 25 August, a dead raven was found in a field near Agden Side Road, Bradfield, in the Peak District.
The incident was reported to the RSPB who collected the bird. An x-ray of the bird showed that it had been shot.
It is believed the bird was shot between 24 August and 25 August.
Since the incident, officers have been following several lines of enquiry and we are now appealing for anybody who may have any information about the incident to contact us.
You can report information to us online via live chat or by calling 101, quoting incident number 662 of 9 September 2024.
The Agden Side Road lies just beyond the boundary of two grouse moors (Strines and Broomhead) in the Peak District National Park.
This part of the Peak District National Park, dominated by land managed for driven grouse shooting, has a long and sordid history of raptor persecution incidents (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here etc).
Prosecutions are rare, largely due to the difficulty of identifying a named individual to link to a crime that has taken place in a relatively remote landscape with few witnesses.
This is certainly not helped by South Yorkshire Police, who rarely cover themselves in glory with timely investigations, although to be fair unless the shooting of this raven was witnessed and recorded, the police have little to go on.
Yes, the usual suspects will be in the frame but for a prosecution the police need evidence – they can’t just prosecute on the basis of recurrent past criminal behaviour in the area. Although waiting three and a half months to issue an appeal for witnesses, as they’ve done in this case, won’t help.
This scenario happens over and over again in areas managed for driven grouse shooting, even inside our National Parks, and has been happening for decades. Raptors are routinely shot, trapped and poisoned and the criminals get away with their crimes time after time after time.
This is one (of several) reasons why Wild Justice is currently running a petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting. The petition currently stands at 30,000 signatures but it needs 100,000 to trigger a parliamentary debate. If you’d like to sign it, please click HERE.
UPDATE 9 June 2025: Another Raven found shot dead next to grouse moor in notorious persecution hotspot in Peak District National Park (here)
Further to the blog on 30 September 2024 (here) and 17 October 2024 (here), a trial date has been set for a Lincolnshire man in relation to the discovery of a poisoned red kite and two buzzards between 2017 and 2022.
Buzzard photo by Ruth Tingay
John Bryant, 40, of West Ashby, Horncastle, appeared at Boston Magistrates Court on 20 November 2024 where he pleaded not guilty to two charges of using a trap to kill or take a wild bird, six charges of possessing an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence, and two charges of contravening health & safety regulations.
Mr Bryant was released on unconditional bail and a trial date was set for 6 March 2025.
NB: As this case is live comments are turned off until criminal proceedings have concluded.
UPDATE 12 March 2025: Lincolnshire gamekeeper guilty of multiple offences in relation to deaths of red kite and buzzards (here)
A coalition of wildlife and environmental groups, working as a consortium under the Wildlife & Countryside Link banner, has published its latest annual Wildlife Crime Report (2023).
This latest publication reveals that reports of wildlife crime levels have remained stubbornly high since a surge during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 4,735 incidents reported in 2023. There were increased instances of persecution, harm or death being reported for badgers, bats and marine mammals in 2023, yet convictions for wildlife crime remain shockingly few, with numbers at an all-time low when looking at all the types of wildlife crime.
To properly tackle the issue of wildlife crime, LINK’s wildlife crime group is calling for the following actions (most of which were also recommended by a UN report in 2021):
1. Making wildlife crimes notifiable to the Home Office, so such crimes are officially recorded in national statistics. This would better enable police forces to gauge the true extent of wildlife crime and to plan strategically to address it.
2. Increasing resources & training for wildlife crime teams in police forces. Significant investment in expanding wildlife and rural crime teams across police forces in England & Wales, would enable further investigations, and lead to further successful prosecutions. Funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit should be increased in line with inflation, to allow the Unit to continue its excellent work.
3. Sentencing guidelines for wildlife crimes. No sentencing guidelines are currently in place for wildlife crimes so judges tend to err towards caution and the lower end of the sanction scale for wildlife crime convictions. The Sentencing Council should consult on sentencing guidelines in England and Wales for a range of key wildlife crimes, including breaches of the Wildlife & Countryside Act, Hunting Act, Protection of Badgers Act, Habitats Regulations, and Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) regulations.
The 2023 Wildlife Crime Report can be read/downloaded here:
The Moorland Association (a lobby group for grouse moor owners in northern England) has issued a statement in response to the Channel 4 exclusive last week that featured covertly-filmed RSPB footage showing three gamekeepers on an unnamed grouse moor, plotting to kill, and then apparently killing, an untagged hen harrier.
In its rattled response, the Moorland Association forgot to mention its deep concern about the appalling and seemingly criminal behaviour of those three gamekeepers, as so clearly exposed by the RSPB’s footage, and instead focused on its “deep concern” that the RSPB had passed the footage to Channel 4, claiming that the RSPB’s action “could materially affect a police investigation“.
On the contrary, the RSPB and Channel 4 took great care (a) not to name the grouse moor on which the gamekeepers had been filmed, not even the county in which it had been filmed, and (b) not to reveal the identities of the three gamekeepers caught red-handed. In addition, the Moorland Association was not privy to communications between the RSPB and the police about this footage.
I think it’s very revealing that the Moorland Association seems to be more concerned with protecting the image of the grouse shooting industry than rooting out the criminals within it.
Here’s the MA’s statement in full:
Screen grab from the Moorland Association website
The last line made me laugh out loud:
“The Moorland Association is keen to work closely with the Police to address this issue, but our efforts are being hampered by the actions of the RSPB“.
What efforts are those, then? And how, exactly, are those “efforts” being hampered by the release of that footage?
The Moorland Association should be grateful to the RSPB for its skill and tenacity in securing such clear evidence of what’s going on on that grouse moor, and no doubt on many other grouse moors, too. Surely, if the Moorland Association is so committed, as it claims, to a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against raptor persecution, it should be thanking the RSPB for demonstrating that (a) illegal raptor persecution is still going on, (b) where it’s going on and who’s doing it, and (c) how the crimes are being committed.
But then this is the organisation whose CEO, Andrew Gilruth, was recently booted off the national ‘partnership’ designed to tackle illegal raptor persecution in England and Wales (the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group – RPPDG), after the Moorland Association had published an inflammatory blog that looked to be an attempt to sabotage the National Wildlife Crime Unit’s (NWCU) new Hen Harrier Taskforce (see here).
That blog wasn’t a one-off incident either – we later learned that Gilruth had been ejected from the group for “wasting time and distracting from the real work” [of tackling raptor persecution] for some time, according to a senior police officer (see here).
I’m not the only one questioning the Moorland Association’s response. The Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF) published this statement about it. Well worth a read.
I suspect what’s really agitating the Moorland Association is the fact that this highly damaging footage/audio has been seen by millions of Channel 4 News viewers, many of whom would have been previously unaware of the damage being caused by the shameful driven grouse shooting industry.
Yesterday evening, Channel 4 News featured some incredible footage, secretly filmed by the RSPB’s investigations team, of three gamekeepers on an unnamed grouse moor in northern England, first plotting to kill, and then apparently killing, a hen harrier.
If you didn’t see it, here it is:
The footage was remarkable, not because it showed gamekeepers killing birds of prey – we’ve all seen plenty of secretly filmed footage catching gamekeepers committing these crimes.
What was different about this particular footage was the audio quality – so acutely clear that we could hear the radio comms between the three gamekeepers, one in view (the estate’s Head gamekeeper, according to the RSPB) and the other two strategically placed elsewhere on the grouse moor but taking clear direction about what not to shoot (a hen harrier with a satellite tag) and what to shoot (an untagged hen harrier, whose death would not be revealed to the wider world, or so they thought). They were also heard discussing what else they’d casually shot that afternoon – a buzzard and a raven, both protected species.
I daresay their conversation probably revealed much more, but the full audio transcript is not being released by the RSPB, at least not yet, but it may come to light either as evidence in a prosecution trial or as a stand alone release once any criminal proceedings have concluded.
I hope there is a prosecution – actually, I hope there are three of them – and three convictions with appropriately severe sentences, although I’m not holding my breath. We’ve been here many times before, with what is often clear and compelling video evidence of raptor persecution offences, only for the case to be thrown out on a technicality.
I imagine the very well paid defence lawyers are already circling the wagons, ready to argue that the video/audio evidence should be deemed inadmissible if the landowner’s permission wasn’t granted in advance of filming.
Can you imagine an abattoir owner, or the national trade body of abattoir owners, using this defence if someone had secretly filmed their employees inflicting gratuitous cruelty to animals? No, me neither because it’d not only be ludicrous and provoke justifiable public revulsion, but it could also be argued that it looked like a clear indication that the owner and the abattoir trade association condoned the crimes of those employees.
But prosecuting those three gamekeepers, important as that is, isn’t all that’s at stake in this particular case.
The bigger picture here is what that RSPB footage has exposed about the grouse shooting industry. For years, the representative bodies of that industry have insisted, time and time again, that gamekeepers are not ‘at it’, that the RSPB has fabricated the evidence, that gamekeepers are being unfairly attacked, and that any of us who report on such crimes to raise awareness are nothing more than ‘anti-shooting extremists’ whose opinions should be disregarded as ‘lies’.
In recent years, they’ve mobilised to deliver a unified propaganda missive designed to hide what they actually get up to and to instead present themselves as raptor-loving, law-abiding members of society.
I’m sure, in fact I know, that there are some decent members in that industry who abhor the illegal killing of raptors as much as many of us do. But there are not enough of them and they don’t speak out often enough against the criminals within their industry. The time is fast approaching when they may regret that.
The wider significance of this RSPB footage is what it reveals about the grouse-shooting industry’s propaganda campaign on hen harriers and the utter futility of the brood meddling sham.
It seems pretty clear to me from the footage, given the time of day and the number of harriers present, that those three gamekeepers were staking out a hen harrier roost. It’s been common knowledge for years amongst raptor fieldworkers that gamekeepers sit out on the hill to target harriers coming in to roost, and if they don’t manage to kill them when they’re flying in, then they’ll take their dogs, guns and thermal imagers through the roost site under the cover of darkness to get the job done.
I thought it was interesting that these three gamekeepers didn’t want to kill any harriers that were carrying satellite tags because that would draw unwanted attention to the estate but any without a satellite tag were fair game, because those hen harriers, if killed cleanly, could be disposed of, probably stamped into the peat, without anyone being any the wiser, so the industry can maintain the charade that hen harriers are welcome on grouse moors.
It’s clear from the high number of satellite-tagged hen harriers that have been illegally killed in recent years that not all gamekeepers are as devious as these three, but how many more gamekeepers are out there targeting non-tagged harriers? We know of 129 hen harriers (now 130 if we include the one shot in this footage) that have been killed or have vanished in suspicious circumstances since 2018. Every time another one is reported, there’ll be voices from the industry desperately trying to cast doubt about the fate of the bird in an attempt to cover up the appalling truth.
And that’s the significance of this latest footage. It delivers that appalling truth with such clarity that there’s nowhere left for the grouse shooting industry to hide.
There’s also nowhere left for Natural England to hide. The evidence couldn’t be any clearer – the brood meddling sham has not changed the attitude of the grouse shooting industry towards hen harriers and any thought that Natural England might have about rolling out brood meddling as a so-called annual ‘conservation licence’ should be as dead and cold in the water as that shot hen harrier.
Kudos to the team at Channel 4 News and especially chief correspondent Alex Thomson for their willingness, once again, to broadcast the atrocities of the grouse shooting industry with such lucidity.
Our biggest thanks needs to go to the RSPB’s Investigations Team, whose dedication, ingenuity, professionalism and sheer tenacity, despite the daily foul, vitriolic abuse they’re subjected to from the criminals and their benefactors, continues to provide us with such insight.
If you want to demonstrate your support please consider making a donation to keep the team in the field – see here.
UPDATE 24 October 2024: 130 hen harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors (here)
UPDATE 31 October 2024: Moorland Association’s response to THAT damaging video/audio aired on Channel 4 News last week (here)
UPDATE 14 April 2025: Gamekeeper from a Yorkshire Dales grouse moor charged in relation to alleged shooting of a hen harrier (as featured on Channel 4 News last October) here
UPDATE 2 May 2025: Gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleads not guilty to two charges relating to alleged conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park (here)
UPDATE 4 May 2025: News coverage about first court appearance of Yorkshire Dales gamekeeper Racster Dingwall in relation to alleged conspiracy to shoot a Hen Harrier (here)
UPDATE 9 September 2025: Gamekeeper Racster Dingwall back in court today for case relating to Hen Harrier shooting on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park (here)
UPDATE 9 September 2025: Judge rules RSPB covert video surveillance is admissible evidence in prosecution of gamekeeper Racster Dingwall (here)
UPDATE 25 September 2025: More detail on court ruling accepting admissibility of RSPB’s covert surveillance in prosecution of gamekeeper accused of conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier (here)
For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of hen harriers on grouse moors across the UK, here’s the latest catalogue of crime that suggests otherwise.
[This male hen harrier died in 2019 after his leg was almost severed in an illegally set trap that had been placed next to his nest on a Scottish grouse moor (see here). Photo by Ruth Tingay]
This is the blog I now publish after every reported killing or suspicious disappearance.
“They disappear in the same way political dissidents in authoritarian dictatorships have disappeared” (Stephen Barlow, 22 January 2021).
Today the list has been updated to include the most recently reported victim, ‘Helius’, a young female satellite-tagged by the RSPB and whose tag abruptly stopped transmitting in July 2024 on the boundary of a United Utilities Estate between Brennand Fell and Tarnbrook Fell in Bowland. A police search found no trace of Helius or her tag (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). A further scientific paper published in 2023 by scientists at the RSPB, utilising even more recent data, echoed these results – see here).
2018 was also the year that Natural England issued a licence to begin a hen harrier brood meddling trial on grouse moors in northern England. For new blog readers, hen harrier brood meddling was a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England (NE), in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. For more background see here and for a critical evaluation of the trial after 5 years see this report by Wild Justice. This year, the brood meddling trial appears to have collapsed for reasons which are not yet clear (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 129 hen harriers gone since 2018, and 30 of those being brood meddled birds, 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.
*n/a – no hen harriers were brood meddled in 2018
‘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).
Thankfully, the Scottish Government has finally decided to act by introducing a grouse moor licensing scheme under the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. The intention behind this new legislation is that grouse shooting estates could have their licences suspended/revoked if, on the balance of probability, it is shown that any raptor persecution crimes (& some other associated offences) are linked with grouse moor management on that estate.
So here’s the latest gruesome list of ‘missing’/illegally killed hen harriers since 2018. Note that the majority of these birds (but not all) were fitted with satellite tags. How many more [untagged] harriers have been killed?
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).
28 January 2019: Hen harrier DeeCee ‘disappeared’ in Glen Esk, a grouse moor area of the Angus Glens (see 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).
November 2019: Hen harrier Artemis ‘disappeared’ near Long Formacus in south Scotland (RSPB pers comm).
14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here).
December 2019: Hen harrier Ingmar ‘disappeared’ in the Strathbraan grouse moor area of Perthshire (RSPB pers comm).
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).
December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in Cumbria (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).
30 March 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-F3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.
1 April 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.
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 (here).
4/5 May 2023: Satellite-tagged male hen harrier called ‘Rush’ ‘disappeared’ from a grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here).
9/10 May 2023: Hen harrier male called ‘Dagda’, tagged by the RSPB in Lancashire in June 2022 and who was breeding on the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in 2023 until he ‘vanished’, only to be found dead on the neighbouring Knarsdale grouse moor in May 2023 – a post mortem revealed he had been shot (here).
17 May 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Wayland’ ‘disappeared’ in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB (here).
31 May 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, tag #213932, name: R2-M3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (grid ref: NY765687) (here).
11 June 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, tag #213922, name: R2-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).
12 June 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2020, tag #203004, name: R1-M2-20) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (grid ref: NY976322) (here).
6 July 2023: Satellite-tagged female hen harrier named ‘Rubi’ (tag #201124a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (grid ref: NY911151) (here).
23 July 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #55154a, name: R1-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (close to where ‘Rubi’ vanished), grid ref: NY910126 (here).
29 July 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, tag #55144, name: R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in the North Pennines. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Dead. Recovered – awaiting PM results. Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).
9 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Martha’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Westburnhope Moor) near Hexham in the North Pennines (here).
11 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Selena’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Mossdale Moor) in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
11 August 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #201118a, name: R3-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ in Co. Durham (grid ref: NZ072136) (here).
15 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Hepit’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Birkdale Common) near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
24 August 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #55155a, name: R1-F2-23) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in Northumberland. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).
August-Sept 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Harmonia’ ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).
September 2023: Hen harrier female ‘Saranyu’, tagged by the RSPB in Cumbria in June 2023, ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (no further details available yet – just outline info provided in 2022 Birdcrime report) (here).
September 2023: Hen harrier female ‘Inger’, a female tagged by the RSPB in Perthshire in July 2022, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September 2023 (here).
15 September 2023: Hen harrier male called ‘Rhys’, tagged in Cumbria on 1st August 2023, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Grid ref: SD798896 (here).
24 September 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, name: ‘R2-F2-23’) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines, grid ref: NY888062 (here).
25 September 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, name: ‘R1-F4-22’) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref: SE077699 (here).
26 September 2023: Hen harrier female called ‘Hope’, tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref: SD801926 (here).
4 October 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2020, name: ‘R1-M3-20’) ‘disappeared’ in Co Durham, grid ref: NY935192 (here).
4 October 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, name: ‘R4-F1-23’) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref: SE003981 (here).
14 October 2023: Hen harrier male called ‘Cillian’, tagged in Cumbria on 1 August 2023, ‘disappeared’ in south west Scotland, grid ref: NY051946 (here).
15 November 2023: Hen harrier female called ‘Hazel’, tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ on the Isle of Man, grid ref: SC251803 (here).
27 November 2023: Hen harrier female called ‘Gill’, tagged in Northumberland on 10 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ at a confidential location in Teeside (here).
12 February 2024: Hen harrier female called ‘Susie’, Tag ID 201122, found dead at a confidential location in Northumberland and the subject of an ongoing police investigation (here).
15 February 2024: Hen harrier female called ‘Shalimar’, tagged on the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge estate in 2023, ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in the notorious Angus Glens (here).
7 March 2024: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2023, name R2-M1-23) found dead in Devon. According to an FoI response from Natural England in June 2024 this death is the subject of an ongoing police investigation (here).
24 April 2024: Hen harrier male called ‘Ken’, Tag ID 213849a, ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances close to a grouse moor in Bowland, grid ref SD 684601 (here).
17 May 2024: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2023, name R2-M2-23) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances next to Middlesmoor grouse moor in Nidderdale, grid ref SE043754 (here).
25 June 2024: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, name R2-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref NY985082 (here).
July 2024: Hen harrier female named ‘Helius’ satellite tagged by the RSPB ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances in Bowland (here).
To be continued…….
Not one of these 129 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 ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY NINE 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.
And let’s not forget the response from the (now former) Moorland Association Chair (and owner of Swinton Estate) Mark Cunliffe-Lister, who told BBC Radio 4 in August 2023 that, “Clearly any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (here).
Nor should we forget the response from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s (GWCT) Director of Policy Dr Alistair Leake who wrote a letter to the Guardian newspaper in November 2023 stating that the hen harrier brood management [meddling] scheme “is surely a shining example of human / wildlife conflict resolution that would be the envy of other countries trying to find similar solutions“ (I kid you not – here).
It remains to be seen whether DEFRA Ministers under the new Labour Government will be prepared to tolerate such blatant criminality. Watch this space.
Statement from Lincolnshire Police, 30 September 2024:
A 40-year-old man has been summoned to court for offences relating to killing or taking birds of prey.
John Bryant, of West Ashby, Horncastle, has been summoned to court following an investigation into reports of three birds of prey, a red kite and two buzzards, being poisoned and killed over a five year period between 2017 and 2022.
He will appear at Boston Magistrates’ Court on 16 October 2024.
ENDS
No further details are available yet.
NB: As this case is live comments are turned off until criminal proceedings have concluded.
James Kempster, 37, of Bury Brickfield Park, Totton made a second appearance at Southampton Magistrates Court on 23 September 2024 to face charges in relation to the dumping of approximately 50 hares, a shot barn owl and a shot kestrel outside Broughton Community Shop near Stockbridge, Hampshire in March this year.
The shot kestrel and shot barn owl had been impaled on the shop door handles and blood & guts had been smeared over the windows. Photo: Broughton Community Shop
Hampshire Police charged Kempster in August with possessing live/dead Schedule 1 wild bird or its parts, possessing live/dead non-Schedule 1 wild bird or parts, and causing £5,000 worth of criminal damage to the shop window.
He had first appeared in court on 10th September but the case was adjourned. Appearing again in court on 23rd September, Kempster pleaded not guilty to all charges and a trial date has been set for 7 May 2025.
Kempster was released on bail on condition that he doesn’t enter the village of Broughton.
James Kempster, 37, of Bury Brickfield Park, Totton appeared at Southampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday 10th September 2024 to face charges in relation to the dumping of approximately 50 hares, a shot barn owl and a shot kestrel outside Broughton community shop near Stockbridge, Hampshire in March this year.
Hampshire Police charged Kempster in August with possessing live/dead Schedule 1 wild bird or its parts, possessing live/dead non-Schedule 1 wild bird or parts, and causing £5,000 worth of criminal damage to the shop window.
The shot kestrel and shot barn owl had been impaled on the shop door handles and blood & guts had been smeared over the windows. Photo: Broughton Community Shop
Kempster spoke only to confirm his name and address and did not enter a plea. The case was adjourned and will continue on 23 September 2023. Kemspter’s bail conditions ban him from entering Broughton.
Raptor Persecution UK 