Tag: buzzard

What aren’t they telling us and why aren’t they telling us?

It seems blogger Alan Tilmouth was much more astute than us. Last week we blogged about Alan’s FoI to DEFRA to find out which Northumberland shoots were set to host the DEFRA buzzard ‘study’. DEFRA wrote back to Alan to ask whether he still wanted to proceed with his FoI even though the ‘study’ had now been cancelled. Alan saw this as a ‘concealment’ attempt by DEFRA – we saw it as just a delaying tactic (see here). We were wrong!

DEFRA has now written to Alan again, this time to tell him that yes, they hold the information he requested but no, they aren’t going to reveal it for ‘public safety’ reasons!!! See Alan’s blog here for their full statement.

Public safety my arse! Does anyone else smell the rancid odour of a cover up? Time to write to the Information Commissioner, Alan!

It seems DEFRA aren’t very good at responding to FoI requests, especially those relating to the game-shooting industry. Mark Avery has also been having trouble getting DEFRA to respond to his FoIs about Walshaw grouse moor (see here).

Talking of cover ups, still no official word from Tayside Police, Grampian Police or the RSPB on that dead golden eagle that we reported on Monday (see here). Hmmm…

#buzzardgate aftermath

Following DEFRA’s recent u-turn on their planned ‘study’ that included blasting buzzard nests with shotguns and catching up adult buzzards and sticking them in an aviary for the rest of their lives (see here), questions are still being asked about the finer details of the ‘study’.

Blogger Alan Tilmouth, who was one of the most active in the campaign against the proposed ‘study’, wrote a FoI request to DEFRA to find out the names and locations of the ‘study’ sites. Today he received a response, which he suggests is an attempt by DEFRA to conceal the information (see Alan’s blog here). I’m not sure that I’d agree that it’s a concealment attempt, but perhaps a delaying tactic nonetheless. Well done Alan – looking forward to their next response!

#Buzzardgate continues to receive media attention and today a letter was published in the Independent calling for a pledge on buzzard protection, as well as calls for action to stop the continued illegal persecution of birds of prey. The letter was signed by an eclectic mix of organisations, some of whom have not previously entered into the arena of campaigning directly for raptor protection (RSPB, National Trust, Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Hawk & Owl Trust, Mammal Society, Badger Trust, People’s Trust for Endangered Species, Northern England Raptor Forum, Humane Society International, Butterfly Conservation and the British Mountaineering Council). Good on them and let’s hope we hear more from them all in the coming months. We’re stronger together. Letter here.

SGA leaders try to spin the science….but fail

Those award-winning scientific gurus at the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association have been sharing their intellectual acumen as they interpret recent scientific research relating to raptors.

First up is Professor Bert Burnett, who chose Facebook as his outlet (well, scientific journals are just so passé) for an examination of the recent paper on historical eagle distribution in the UK and Ireland (see here). His thesis starts with this:

“The RSPB are even more powerful than i thought. The are now able to contact the dead, who had the foresight to record raptor numbers on blocks of stone knowing that the RSPB would be needing the info in 3,000 years time. Has anyone actually checked the validity of this latest garbage from RSPB? We have also had teradactals  etc in the uk, have the RSPB got the population info on them as well? With a bunch of irate 21st century farmers breathing down their necks, me thinks the RSPB are getting fidgity“.

Thirty-four minutes later, Professor Burnett decided that actually, this peer-reviewed scientific paper might be useful after all, as it appears to support his hypothesis that eagles are not constrained by persecution and certainly not by gamekeepers, no siree bob:

“looking at the post 3000 year population figures from RSPB i note that the golden eagle pop. was 650 for the uk as a whole. Scotland has 440 now, living in a much changed counryside from 3000bc, i would think this is a huge success story not the doom and gloom pushed out by the RSPB“.

Had Professor Burnett studied the data in a little bit more detail, he would have noted that the golden eagle breeding population estimate for c. 500 was actually 1,000 – 1,500 pairs. Oops.

Professor Burnett’s esteemed colleague, Professor Alex Hogg, also had his own unique interpretation on recent scientific research, this time on the DEFRA buzzard ‘study’. Choosing that highly-acclaimed scientific journal Shooting Times to report his scientific results, Prof Hogg wrote this:

“In Scotland, we are already ahead of where England is now with this [the proposed buzzard ‘study’ that included the destruction of nests and permanent removal of adult buzzards into captivity]. The trials have been done“. (Read full article here).

Really? Where and when were these trials done in Scotland, and where are the published, peer-reviewed results?

Professors Burnett and Hogg are not the only ones from the game-shooting community who have been demonstrating a shocking ability to misinterpret science….more in a following post.

George Monbiot: a journalist who says it like it is

George Monbiot is fast becoming my favourite journalist (and not just because he uses this blog as a source of information!).

In his latest article, due to be published in the Guardian tomorrow but released on his website tonight (see here), Monbiot digs a little deeper inside the #buzzardgate debacle and uncovers some fascinating information.

In addition to #buzzardgate he also discusses the scandalous state of the English hen harrier population. He is one of very few authors willing to state, categorically and without caveats or apologies, that the missing English hen harriers [approx 329 pairs] ‘have been shot or poisoned by grouse-shooting estates’. There’s no dilution or ‘maybes’ or ‘possiblys’ in the name of so-called ‘partnership building’ – English hen harriers have been wiped out by grouse-shooting estates and Monbiot is not afraid to say so.

If you read Monbiot’s biography  (here) you’ll see that the thing he fears is ‘other people’s cowardice’.

We can all learn from him.

DEFRA backs down on buzzard ‘management’ trial!!

News just in, from Defra’s twitter account, Richard Benyon says the following:

“We’ve listened to public concerns, so we are stopping current research and developing new proposals on #buzzards”

Fantastic news (well, at least until we find out what these ‘new proposals’ entail). A big, fat, massive WELL DONE to everyone who blogged, tweeted, emailed, petition-signed etc about this outrageous ‘study’. The people have been heard! It’s incredible to see how effective 9 days of campaigning can be!

By the way, it looks like GWCT had tendered for the buzzard ‘study’ (see here). They seem to be quite good at undertaking unpopular ‘research’ – they’re currently carrying out  a ‘study’ funded by those doyens of conservation, Songbird Survival, which involves a large scale corvid removal experiment (basically killing crows & magpies and calling it science….hmm, sound familiar? See here). If you’re not sure who Songbird Survival are, see here.

We’ll post responses about the DEFRA u-turn here as and when they are published:

Update on DEFRA website here (scroll down underneath the ‘mythbuster’ bit)

Article in the Guardian here (includes info about new research proposals)

RSPB response here

BBC news article here

Article in the Independent here

Article in the Telegraph here

Mark Avery’s thoughts here

Country Land & Business Association (CLA)  response here

British Assoc. for Shooting & Conservation (BASC) response here  (just a statement, no opinion offered)

Countryside Alliance response here (Benyon’s glum chums)

National Gamekeepers’ Organisation response here (not very happy either)

Buzz off Benyon, & other news from the murky underworld of raptor persecution

There are no signs of the public’s outrage subsiding over #Buzzardgate. You only have to type in the words ‘buzzard’ and ‘DEFRA’ into a search engine and the strength of feeling against DEFRA’s outlandish plan is almost palpable.

The best article we’ve read, so far, is that written by George Monbiot in the Guardian (here). There’s also a good article by Michael McCarthy in the Independent today, entitled ‘Richard Benyon: The bird-brained minister (see here). Although McCarthy seems to think that the buzzard-nest destroyers will start their shotgun antics as of this Friday (1st June), presumably because that was the proposed start date in DEFRA’s research tender document (see here). However, the buzzard breeding season is well underway and many nests now contain small chicks and the DEFRA ‘study’ suggests that nests will be destroyed during ‘construction’; it doesn’t say anything about destroying active nests containing breeding adults, eggs and/or young (not that that would stop the trigger-happy nest destroyers, of course).

But perhaps the destructive parts of this study won’t start this Friday (if they ever start at all, depending on how loudly we all shout our objections). According to the June edition of ‘Modern Gamekeeping’ (which could just as easily have been called ‘Victorian Gamekeeping’ because nothing seems to have changed except for new bits of kit designed to help the ‘keeper kill more wildlife), the trial’s start date is not that clear:

“Though DEFRA insists it is too early to comment on the finer details of the study, it is expected to launch some time this year. A spokesperson said: “The tender for the research project on management techniques to reduce the predation of pheasant poults by buzzards closed yesterday. We will announce the successful bid later in the summer“”.

Modern Gamekeeping isn’t available online (another example of its misnomer) but a photograph of its buzzard trial cover story can be found on Alan Tilmouth’s blog (here). Incidentally, Alan Tilmouth has been one of the most prolific tweeters on this issue and we know he was directly responsible for directing some ‘important’ people to this blog when we led on this story last week, so many thanks Alan, and good luck with your DEFRA FoI request to find out which Northumberland estates are involved; we’re all VERY interested in those results.

Another DEFRA FoI request has been lodged by ‘SWBirdWatch’ which can be followed on the public website ‘What Do They Know?’ (see here).

Since the buzzard trial story hit the news last week, several commentators on various blogs and websites have mentioned that the game-shooting lobby may have shot themselves in the foot over their latest attempt to get rid of raptors, because now the full glare of the spotlight has been turned onto their industry, with mainstream media taking a real interest. Mark Avery’s blog this morning (see here) focuses on some of the questions now being asked by a wider audience where previously they were just being asked by a smaller minority of special-interest groups. All good stuff.

For those who haven’t already done so, there are two main petitions to sign to show your disapproval of the buzzard trial – please, take a minute to sign both of them and let Mr Benyon feel the full force of our discontent:

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/add-your-name-to-petition-against-buzzard-management/

http://www.change.org/petitions/minister-for-wildlife-and-biodiversity-defra-stop-the-subsidy-for-buzzard-nest-destruction?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=friend_inviter_action_box

In other news, Tom McKellar is due to be sentenced today (he’s the gamekeeper from Glen Orchy who was convicted in April of possessing the banned pesticide Carbofuran, although he didn’t face any charges over the dead golden eagle found at Glen Orchy which had been poisoned by er… Carbofuran – see here). We’ve received some further information about that poisoned eagle and we’ll discuss it once McKellar’s case has ended.

Another hearing opening today concerns the head keeper at Edradynate Estate in Perthshire. More on that case in due course…

BTO backs out of buzzard plan

The following statement has appeared on the British Trust for Ornithology’s website:

Following recent discussion in the media on Defra’s proposals regarding Buzzards and Pheasants, Andy Clements comments on the BTO’s position.

“Alongside RSPB, Raptor Study Groups, GWCT & a range of other stakeholders, BTO has attended two meetings at Defra in a scientific advisory capacity. 

BTO has not tendered for the work and we have declined an invitation to be part of the Project Advisory Group. We have also indicated we no longer wish to be part of the ongoing stakeholder group.

If Defra ask us for specific independent scientific advice, for example up to date population estimates for Buzzard, we would provide that advice as normal.”

Andy Clements, BTO Director

Well done, BTO!

Add your name to petition against buzzard ‘management’

A petition has been set up against DEFRA’s outrageous plan to ‘manage’ buzzards. Please sign it! (It doesn’t matter which country you’re in, anyone can sign this) –

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/304/227/564/defra-dont-spend-taxpayers-money-on-harassing-buzzards/

DEFRA responds to public outcry over buzzard ‘management’ trial

The weight of public pressure on DEFRA after it was revealed they were funding a ‘study’ to explore methods of buzzard ‘management’ (see here, here and here) has led them to put out a statement.

You can read it here

The statement is just as laughable as their study idea. They’ve completely missed the point of the public’s anger – DEFRA thinks that we’ve all misunderstood the proposal and we’re worried about them ‘killing’ buzzards; they don’t get it that we’re all opposed to the use of public funds to ‘control’ buzzards (native species just recovering from decades of persecution) for the benefit of 40 million non-native gamebirds that are released into the environment every year for the purposes of being shot for ‘sport’!

Here are some of the ludicrous sentences in their statement:

‘We work on the basis of sound evidence’ (er, you clearly don’t!)

‘This would only be in areas where there is a clear problem’ (how have you quantified a ‘clear problem’? Where’s the scientific evidence to back it up?)

‘…destroying empty nests…’ (note the inclusion of the word ’empty’ to try and convince us that adult birds, or eggs or chicks won’t be shot out of the tree).

‘The results of this scientific research will help guide our policy on this issue in the future’. (Just because you’ve used the term ‘scientific research’ doesn’t make this a valid scientific study. For it to be that, a hypothesis would first need to be tested (e.g. do buzzards have an impact on pheasant poults?) instead of going straight in with the assumption that they do have an impact and so let’s remove some to see what happens).

Interestingly, DEFRA doesn’t mention anything about the illegality of their methods (well, methods #3 & #4 anyway – permananent translocation [removal of adult birds] to captivity at falconry centres and shooting out nests with a shotgun). Hopefully the RSPB will get their lawyers on to this!

National press picks up on buzzard ‘management’ row

Following earlier posts on DEFRA’s ‘management’ plan for buzzards (see here and here)…..this outrageous proposal has now attracted the attention of the mainstream media.

BBC news article here

The Telegraph has it’s usual pro-shooting stance here (illustrated by a picture of a falcon! Now removed!). This article includes a fantastic quote from David Taylor of the Countryside Alliance, who insisted, “gamekeepers do not want to kill buzzards“. Of course they don’t, David, they despise themselves everytime they illegally shoot, poison or trap one, and they can’t look at themselves in the mirror after they make yet another application for a buzzard-shooting licence. [Hover your cursor over the image of the dead buzzard to find out how much love one member of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association had for buzzards. Six months before he did this, he was convicted for having a buzzard inside an illegally-operated crow trap on the very same game-shooting estate!].

There’s a BBC news video (here) that includes an interview with the RSPB (also includes some footage of a Harris’ Hawk – these picture editors really need to get their acts together!).

The Independent has an article (here) with a statement from Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh, who has called for the government to drop the project: “The restoration of the buzzard population has been a real success in recent years. It is astounding that DEFRA are wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money disrupting this protected species. This out-of-touch Government’s priority is protecting the interests of large commercial shooting estates and non-native pheasants, rather than protecting our country’s native species. The Government should drop this plan now. This has all the hallmarks of another DEFRA shambles“.

And of course we are all able to have our say through social media. The tweets, blogs and emails continue….best tweet of the day goes to @WarwickSloss: “Buzzard management to protect pheasant farmers? Brilliant. We have a proud history of ‘managing’ raptors. What could possibly go wrong?”

Keep at it everyone. If you haven’t already emailed DEFRA Minister Richard Benyon MP (who just happens to be a grouse moor owner) to tell him what you think about his master plan to ‘manage’ buzzards, please take a minute to do it now: richard.benyon.mp@parliament.uk. If you can copy in your own local MP then all the better; Benyon will get a double whammy effect when all these local MPs start asking him what on earth his department is doing!

UPDATE (24 May) – click here to read DEFRA’s response to public outcry and click here to sign a petition against the buzzard ‘management’ trial.