Tag: golden eagle

Eight red kites found poisoned in Ireland since November

We have been asked by the Golden Eagle Trust (Ireland) to publish the following press release:

“The Irish Red Kite Reintroduction Project is part of an all-Ireland effort to restore red kites. These attractive birds were extinct in Ireland for about 200 years. The Golden Eagle Trust, National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Welsh Kite Trust have collected (from Wales) and released 120 red kites in Co. Wicklow between 2007 and 2011 and 39 red kites in Co. Dublin in 2011. The RSPB released 80 red kites in Co. Down between 2008 and 2010. There are now 10-15 pairs of red kites breeding in Co. Wicklow and 5-6 pairs breeding in Co. Down.

Following the successful release of red kites during the summer in Dublin and Wicklow, it is with disappointment that we report further recent kite deaths in Fingal. Since the release in July, this year, a total of eight (8) kites have now been recovered dead in Fingal since November.

The deaths include the satellite tagged kite known as ‘@’ which has flown as far as Co. Mayo on its travels and within a few weeks of returning to Fingal was found dead near Lusk.

Ms Phil Moore, from the Fingal LEADER Partnership expressed sadness saying ‘We just can’t believe ‘our baby’ is dead. We have all been following the satellite tagged kite since her release and have pictures all over the office of her journey; it is upsetting to know she is now dead’. 

There were 39 red kites, collected for Fingal under licence fromWales with project partners, the Welsh Kite Trust. The Fingal Red Kite release programme is part of the final and fifth year of an ambitious project to re-establish red kites in Ireland. The deaths represent just over 20% of the red kites released in the Fingal area.

The Golden Eagle Trust is managing the project, which is funded by Fingal LEADER Partnership through the Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013 and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Fingal County Council, at Newbridge Demesne, and a private landowner hosted and facilitated the two separate release cages.

The project is widely supported throughout local communities, a suite of volunteers and landowners. There were over 100 people involved in cage building, collections, feeding and subsequent monitoring of the released kites.

Each kite is fitted with a radio tag which has allowed the project team to follow the kites’ movements since release. Whilst these tags allow us to track their daily movements they have also led us to find the dead birds.

Dr Marc Ruddock, Red Kite Project Manager, said ‘There is nothing more heart-breaking than having to pick up the carcass of bird and putting it in a bag for post-mortem after having followed its development from a small, downy chick collected in Wales and then watching it flying free in Fingal’.

Earlier this year, a post-mortem protocol was agreed between NPWS, Department of Agriculture and the State Laboratory. Each of the red kite carcasses has been sent for testing at Backweston Campus, to establish the cause of death. This process and the rigorous work undertaken is fundamental to the growing understanding of environmental issues and the threats posed to kites and other wildlife. 

It has now been confirmed that at least four of the kites contained the second-generation rodenticide, brodifacoum. This is an anti-coagulant rat poison usually recommended for indoor use only, which causes internal bleeding. It is widely recognised that rodenticides can kill non-target species.

Dietary analysis of the red kites, both in Wicklow and Dublin has shown that they are clearly hunting and scavenging rats, providing a natural control on rodent populations. The red kite is a specialist scavenger and is therefore likely to be at high risk of secondary poisoning if feeding on rats which are dead or dying from rodenticides.

We recognise the requirement for rat and mice control in terms of human health and food safety. But we urge amateur and professional users alike to ensure that rodent control programs are carefully planned and follow a defined treatment period to be effective.

The over-use of some chemicals could lead to resistance and accumulation in the environment. Those in the countryside should ensure best practice use of these chemicals to allow for more effective rodent control in the long-term and minimise the secondary poisoning risk to non-target wildlife. This includes other rodent-eating native raptors and owls such as kestrels, buzzards, barn owls, long-eared owls and red kites.

Best practice rodent eradication strategies record information such as the quantity and location of all baits and require baits to be regularly inspected and not left exposed to non-target animals and birds. Furthermore, dead rodents should be collected and disposed of safely and baits should be removed at the end of the treatment. Urban and rural rodenticide users are urged to be mindful of the potential environmental effects of the use of chemicals.

The farming and shooting communities in Fingal are very supportive of the project and are anxious to continue to control rats and mice effectively and minimise unintentional consequences for natural rat predators”. -END-

The substance used to kill the other four kites that have been discovered since November has yet to be confirmed – toxicology tests are on-going. It’s possible they were also unintentionally killed by secondary rat poison, but it’s equally possible that they have been deliberately (and illegally) killed by other poisons. For example, at the beginning of November 2011, it was reported that a red kite and a buzzard had been illegally poisoned in County Wicklow by alphachloralose (see here). In addition, a map produced by the Golden Eagle Trust in 2010 (see figure) shows the extent of illegal poisoning across Ireland (the map does not include instances of unintentional secondary rat poisoning). Species affected include red kites, golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, buzzards and peregrines, killed with alphachloralose or carbofuran.

Golden Eagle Trust website here

Prolific egg thief jailed for fourth time

One of the UK’s most prolific wild bird egg thieves has today been sent back to jail for what is reportedly his fourth jail term for similar offences.

This time, Matthew Gonshaw (49) from London, was caught with almost 700 wild bird eggs and egg-collecting paraphenalia at his house, including eggs from Scottish golden eagles and ospreys, as well as peregrines and red kites.

At Thames Magistrates Court, Gonshaw admitted ten offences under the Wildlife & Countryside Act, including two counts of taking golden eagle eggs from sites on the Isle of Lewis in April 2010. He was sentenced to six months in prison.

Gonshaw will re-appear in court in February to find out if he will be subject to an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), which would see him face a £20,000 fine and five years in jail if he commits more crimes.

Well done to the RSPB, Metropolitan Police and the CPS for a successful conviction.

BBC News article here

STV article here

Good photographs in Daily Mail article here

Millden Estate no longer for sale

An article in today’s Telegraph reports that Millden Estate, where golden eagle ‘Alma’ was found poisoned in 2009, is no longer up for sale. The estate, owned by investment banker Richard Hanson, was reportedly put on the market earlier this year (see here and here). According to the Telegraph, Hanson has now changed his mind after more than 5,000 brace of grouse (10,000 birds) were shot there this season.

Police raided Millden Estate in 2009 after two-year old golden eagle ‘Alma’ was found poisoned on the moor. Nobody has ever been charged with killing her (see here).

According to the Telegraph, Millden Estate and the neighbouring properties ‘vehemently deny being involved in illegal persecution’. It’s interesting then, that a grouse moor that operates (we’re told) without illegally killing raptors, can produce a surplus of over 10,000 grouse to shoot. Surely that suggests that raptors are not having a ‘significant impact’ on gamebirds and therefore licences to kill raptors on grouse moors are not neccesary?

Telegraph article here

Lessons in eagle ecology part 2

Hot off the press from the team who brought you Eagles Could Eat Children (see here), this month’s lesson is all about Why Eagles Don’t Nest on Grouse Moors.

Contrary to the endless scientific papers that show unequivocally that eagles (and lots of other raptor species) are absent from many upland grouse moor areas in the UK due to high levels of persecution, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association has today informed us of the real reason they’re absent:

“Many grouse moors do not have the isolated nesting habitat which is required by eagles so it should come as no surprise they don’t nest there“.

Strange then, that there are ‘many’ (see quote below) unoccupied eagle nesting territories in Scotland where eagles are known to have bred historically, and that these old nest sites just happen to be on land that is managed for red grouse shooting! Here’s a quote from the Golden Eagle Conservation Framework Report that was published by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2008 (available here) –

“The most serious failures to meet favourable conservation status tests were in Natural Heritage Zones in the central and eastern Highlands where less than half of all known territories were occupied. Based on the production of young golden eagles, the populations in these regions should be expanding markedly, but instead they continue to decline (there was a loss of 15 occupied territories between 1992 and 2003, and 86 vacant territories by 2003). This indicates, in the absence of any evidence for emigration, that survival of subadult and/or adult birds is low“.

It’s also strange that before the sentence about ‘many grouse moors do not have the isolated nesting habitat required by eagles’, the SGA tells us this: “A large portion of all eagles fledging takes place on grouse moors across Scotland“. Eh? How can that be, if the habitat ‘isn’t there’?

The SGA article continues with some name-calling (and this from the group who have recently complained to the Scottish Government about how they were being portrayed!) and then some partly-accurate but mostly inaccurate information about siblicide amongst eaglets, before getting in another dig at the Irish Golden Eagle Reintroduction Project (yawn). This all builds up to a grand finale where we’re told:

“If you were to read all the media reports you could be forgiven for thinking that raptors only breed safely on reserves. The truth is there are possibly 500’000 raptors in the UK and 350’000 of them will be breeding successfully on land used for game sport shooting of some kind. This fact is completely ignored by those attempting to take the moral high ground“.

Hmm, I’d be really interested to see the data that this “fact” is based upon. Especially in light of the recently published scientific paper (see here) that shows, again unequivocally, that peregrines nesting on grouse moors in northern England are 50% less successful than peregrines that breed on non-grouse moor habitat.

Interestingly, the SGA article makes no comment about the poisoned buzzard and poisoned bait that was found on Glenlochy Estate and was reported in the media two days ago (see here). The SGA wouldn’t be trying to deflect attention from yet another disgusting and illegal poisoning incident, would they?

SGA article here

Poisoning by numbers

Last week the RSPB published its annual UK-wide report on raptor persecution (Birdcrime 2010, see here). We said we’d comment on the report once we’d had a chance to read it. Others chose to comment on the day of its release, or to be more accurate, their commentary was probably written prior to the release and was probably based on the content of the RSPB’s press release, rather than on the actual report’s content (see here).

Birdcrime 2010 held few surprises for many of us. The report carried details of raptor persecution incidents (confirmed, probable and possible) that had been reported throughout 2010, so by not publishing the report until November 2011, many of the items could be considered ‘old news’ (or at least those incidents that had been previously reported in the media – as usual, there were several incidents recorded in this report that were not made public at the time they occurred). That’s not to say the report has no value – it is an immensely important document because it is still the only publication to collate these national statistics in one place. It would just be more useful if it could be published at the beginning of the following year to which the report relates, rather than at the end of the following year, but limited RSPB staff resources may prevent this.

One advantage of publishing the report so late is that information can be provided on the outcome of criminal proceedings for those persecution incidents that actually made it to court. For example, the report provides some previously unpublished information about the trial of gamekeeper Glenn Brown, who was found guilty in June 2011 of operating an illegal trap to take birds of prey (amongst other crimes) on Howden Moor in the Peak District in April and May 2010 (see here, here and here). According to Birdcrime 2010, Judge Caroline Goulbourn “ruled that she viewed the attack on the integrity of the RSPB investigations staff by Bertie Woodcock QC on behalf of Knights Solicitors as an aggravating factor in the case. In addition, she criticised Brown’s employer, Geoff Eyre, who leases Howden Moor from the National Trust, for being evasive and reluctant to answer questions” [Birdcrime 2010, p.17].

Incidentally, there is further detail about this case that has been written in the RSPB’s newsletter, Legal Eagle 65. On page 2 the following has been written: “During the ten day trial, the prosecution relied on expert evidence including Prof Ian Newton, Dr Mick Marquiss, Stewart Scull, Dr Alisdair Wood and Guda van der Burght. The defence case, led by Bertie Woodcock QC, centred on the fact that Brown was not using the trap and the entire investigation was a set up with RSPB officers acting in bad faith throughout”. It’s good to see that Judge Goulbourn ruled against this, although what will happen at Brown’s impending appeal remains to be seen. Legal Eagle 65 reports that this appeal “is expected to take place in 2012”.

In addition to the case studies of earlier persecution incidents, Birdcrime 2010 reports that annual poisoning figures were down from 2009 (128 reported poisoning incidents in 2010, compared to 153 in 2009). It also reports that the 2010 figure is below the average for the last five years (2005-2009 average of 150 incidents). Unsurprisingly, it is this aspect that has been picked up on by the game-shooting lobby (e.g. see here). There has also been much made in the media this year about the ‘low’ poisoning figures for 2011 (e.g. see here) – although the published figures only relate to the first half of 2011; figures from June 2011 onwards are not yet available. So is this a sign of progress, as many of the game-shooting lobby would have us believe, or is it indicative of something else? For example, the lower figures could well be an indication that the gamekeepers have finally seen the light and have decreased their poisoning efforts. On the other hand, it could be an indication that gamekeepers are either (a) getting better at hiding their crimes, (b) switching to other persecution methods such as shooting, which is less likely to be detected, or (c) reporting efforts by the authorities have fallen. At this point I don’t think that either ‘side’ can claim a ‘victory’ in the on-going war of words. It is far too early to tell. For example, if you look at the graph that was published in the RSPB’s earlier report, The Illegal Killing of Birds of Prey in Scotland in 2010 (see here), then this reported decline in poisoning incidents can be seen in much clearer context. The graph I’m referring to appears on page 11 of that report and shows the number of confirmed poisoning incidents in Scotland from 1989-2010. The graph has been recreated for this post – see below (thanks to the contributor who sent it!).

If you look closely at the graph, you will see a great deal of variation between years in the number of confirmed poisoning incidents. Of particular interest are the years 1994 and 1995 – in these two years, confirmed poisoning incidents dropped to a low of 15 from a previous high of 35+. However, if you then look at the following three years, the number of confirmed incidents steadily rose until they reached 35+ again. In 1999, the figure dropped again to 15, and from then until 2010, that figure has steadily risen and fallen, although never reaching the low of 15 again. So what does that tell us? I’m fairly sure that in the years 1994 and 1995, the game shooting lobby would have declared a ‘victory’ as the figures had dropped so much, and would have shouted from the hilltops that they’d changed their ways.  I’m also fairly sure that in the following three years when the figures rose again, the conservationists would have declared a ‘victory’ and pronounced that their claims of widespread persecution had been vindicated. Either way, it is clear that neither ‘side’ can draw conclusions just based on an annual figure; for a trend to be detected, we need to see long-term figures.

But do these figures actually provide the full picture? If you read the recent paper on historical persecution at Atholl Estate (see here), then it’s pretty obvious that the ‘official’ persecution figures are meaningless, in the sense that they don’t tell the whole story. And from a conservation perspective, the figures, whether accurate or not, are not really that important. To steal a line from the recent paper on peregrine persecution on grouse moors (see here), “….it is the population level impact that is important, rather than the number of confirmed persecution cases”. We now have peer-reviewed scientific studies that have shown how persecution on grouse moors is having a population level impact on several vulnerable species (golden eagle, hen harrier, red kite and now peregrine). We have yet to see any peer-reviewed scientific studies that can counter these findings and show that these species are NOT impacted by persecution on grouse moors at a population scale. Why do you think that is, and more to the point, what are our politicians going to do about the published findings, apart from telling us that the Scottish government’s support for grouse shooting “goes beyond words“? (see here). Let’s hope that support doesn’t go beyond action as well.

Red kite and buzzard poisoned in Ireland

Meanwhile, back in the real world, an article in the Wicklow People yesterday says that a red kite and a buzzard have been found poisoned in County Wicklow, Ireland.

The red kite was found by a member of the public and handed in to the National Parks and Wildlife Service headquarters at  Wicklow Mountains National Park. It was sent to the State Veterinary Laboratories at Cellbridge where it was confirmed it had been poisoned. The article does not say when this happened, nor does it name the poison used. [Update: we have since been informed by the Golden Eagle Trust that alphachloralose was used in both incidents].

A buzzard was reportedly found in the same area and the article states it was poisoned with Alphachloralose.

Red kites have been recently reintroduced as part of a pioneering project to bring back native raptors to Ireland. The Golden Eagle Trust has been reintroducing red kites, as well as golden eagles and white-tailed eagles. Part of their project has included a high-level campaign to raise awareness about the use of poisoned baits.

Article in the Wicklow People here

Golden Eagle Trust website here

RSPB’s Birdcrime 2010 report published

The RSPB has published its annual report on raptor persecution in the UK (Birdcrime 2010). Poisoning reports are down (128 reported in 2010; 153 reported in 2009). Birds confirmed poisoned in 2010 include:

20 red kites, 30 buzzards, 8 peregrines, 5 golden eagles, 2 goshawks, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 white-tailed eagle.

Meanwhile, the RSPB are using the publication as an opportunity to call for a crackdown on poisons, according to the BBC website. It says the current law, which makes it illegal to possess certain pesticides, is rendered ‘impotent’ because the list of controlled substances hasn’t been published in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We’ll write more about the Birdcrime 2010 report over the coming few days. BBC news article here. Birdcrime 2010 report here

 

Tip of the iceberg

Anyone who has been reading the ‘official’ annual raptor persecution reports over the last few decades will be familiar with the phrase, “These figures represent the tip of the iceberg”. Conservationists have long held the view that many illegal raptor persecution incidents go unreported, given the remote locations involved and the cultural and social pressures that inhibit certain sectors of the rural community from speaking up about these crimes. Most reports of poisoned, shot, or trapped raptors come from people who have found them by chance, for example hill walkers and dog walkers. The game shooting lobby, in response to the ‘tip of the iceberg’ statement, usually asks, “Where’s the evidence?” The numerous (and ever-increasing) glut of peer-reviewed scientific publications, that show a clear correlation between persecution and upland grouse moors, are usually dismissed as ‘pseudo-science’ by the landowners and gamekeepers, and the conservationists are often accused of conducting some sort of smear campaign against the game shooting industry.

No doubt we will hear all of this, and more, in the coming few days once the RSPB Birdcrime 2010 report has been published later this week. For certain, the report will contain the statement, “These figures represent the tip of the iceberg”, or words to that effect.

So, if the gamekeepers want evidence, here’s some that was unwittingly provided by….er, gamekeepers. It comes in the form of a recently (Sept 2011) published paper in the journal Scottish Birds, which is published by the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club. The paper was written by R.L. McMillan and is entitled, ‘Raptor persecution on a large Perthshire estate: a historical study’. Unfortunately we’re not allowed to publish the whole paper here (you have to be a member of the SOC to get access, or google the author and ask him for a PDF for your personal use) but here is the abstract:

The Atholl Game and Vermin Lists provide an almost continuous record from 1867 until 1988 and in many respects are unique for a large estate in Scotland. Large numbers of raptors and owls were destroyed by gamekeepers during the latter part of the 19th century and into the late 20th century. The implementation of legislation to protect predatory birds appears to have made little difference to persecution levels. Gamekeepers on individual beats seemed able to decide whether they killed predators or not. A few gamekeepers chose not to kill any birds of prey. Some persecution continued well into the late 20th century and a comparison between estate records and incidents recorded by the authorities strongly suggests that a substantial amount of illegal persecution was not recorded.

The paper provides a detailed insight into the extent of raptor persecution on Atholl Estate,  covering the historical period when it was legal to kill raptors (pre-1954), and the current period when it is illegal to kill raptors (1954 onwards). Gamekeepers on the nine beats at Atholl Estate were required to submit annual report cards that recorded the number of game and ‘vermin’ [including raptors!] that was killed on each beat. According to the paper, McMillan writes of Atholl Estate:

“To maintain the estate record of game and vermin killed, the individual shooting beats were required to complete a card by the end of February each year and this contained details from the preceding year. The same printed card had been in use for many years and this included hawks, owls and ravens. Although the estate factor regularly checked the returns on these cards, it was only when a member of staff expressed concern that protected birds were included in the returns, that a new form was introduced for the 1988/89 season which excluded protected species”.

The historical records covering part of the period (1867-1911) when it was legal to kill raptors don’t provide any surprises, showing that 11,428 ‘hawks’ were killed on Atholl Estate, in addition to 3,731 owls. Sadly the records do not distinguish between different species of ‘hawks’ or owls and McMillan has interpreted the term to include every raptor and owl species that would typically occur in the area.

The more recent records, however, are of far more interest. They show the period covering the introduction of the 1954 Protection of Birds Act (making it illegal to kill all raptors except sparrowhawks, which weren’t protected until 1961) and McMillan’s graphs of persecution incidents show that the legislation was ignored on the two beats whose records he analysed. In fact on one beat, McMillan shows that persecution actually increased at the time the Act was implemented.

But the most interesting part of this paper comes in Table 3. It is a comparison of gamekeeper records from just one Atholl Estate beat, with the ‘official’ RSPB data for the whole of Scotland, from the period 1980 – 1988. The RSPB data only include details of raptors that have been killed (so not details of ‘suspected’ incidents). Here’s an overview of McMillan’s findings:

1980/81: Atholl Estate beat = 19 raptors killed; RSPB official data for all of Scotland= 9 raptors killed.

1981/82: AE beat = 21; RSPB all Scotland= 23.

1982/83: AE beat = 36; RSPB all Scotland= 16.

1983/84: AE beat = 36; RSPB all Scotland  = 13.

1984/85: AE beat = 25; RSPB all Scotland= 12.

1985/86: AE beat = 22; RSPB all Scotland= 8.

1986/87: AE beat = 14; RSPB all Scotland= 13.

1987/88: AE beat = 30; RSPB all Scotland  = 15.

So, in each of the years listed, with the exception of 1981/82, the ‘official’ RSPB figures for the WHOLE of Scotland were lower than the number of illegally persecuted raptors on just one shooting beat. Does anyone need any clearer evidence that the ‘official’ statistics of illegal raptor persecution are just the tip of the iceberg?!! Of course, there are plenty of arguments that could be made about the reliability of the gamekeepers’ records – i.e. keepers could have inflated the number to earn a bonus, or alternatively keepers could have reduced the number for fear of providing potentially incriminating evidence. McMillan deals with these and other issues in the paper. And for those who think the persecution stopped when Atholl Estate stopped recording it in the 1988/89 season, McMillan reports that “between 1989 and 1999, a number of incidents were logged by the RSPB on several shooting beats on the Atholl Estates, not all of which were confirmed, but which included shootings of raptors, trapping of birds including golden eagle and the deliberate destruction of broods of hen harrier and peregrines“.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these figures in Table 3 are from just ONE beat on just ONE sporting estate. You don’t need much imagination to guess what these figures would look like if records from every sporting estate in Scotland were included in the analysis. This should provide some perspective when we read the ‘official’ figures in the RSPB Birdcrime 2010 report later this week.

It should be noted that under the current management, Atholl Estate regularly provides a home for breeding golden eagles, peregrines, hen harriers and other raptors.

Full paper citation: McMillan, R.L. (2011). Raptor persecution on a large Perthshire estate: a historical study. Scottish Birds 31(3): 195-205.

Atholl Estate website here

Thank you to the contributor who alerted us to this publication.

GWCT grouse keeper’s course in glen where poisoned eagle found dead

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) are advertising a grouse keeper’s training course, to be held in November. Their advert for the training course includes the following statement:

“This highly acclaimed, practical training will take place on working estates in Glen Esk, Angus, where well respected grouse keepers, along with GWCT advisory and research staff, will impart their knowledge based on a wealth of experience“.

Glen Esk is, of course, where golden eagle ‘Alma’ was found poisoned two years ago (see here). She had been poisoned by Carbofuran. Police raided one of the three sporting estates in Glen Esk where Alma’s body was found (Millden Estate), but no arrests were made. A report in the Brechin Advertiser one month later (see here) included the following statement: “It had previously been confirmed by Tayside Police that the bird “certainly” picked up the poison in the local area“. It is not clear what this ‘certainty’ was based upon. Local residents apparently shared this view though, and Brechin Community Council vice-convenor, David Adam, was reported in the Advertiser article as saying: “I think it is fairly conclusive that the bird was poisoned and that the bird was poisoned in Glenesk“.

It is not known whether the police extended their investigations to the other two sporting estates in Glen Esk – Gannochy Estate and Invermark Estate. As far as anyone can tell, the police investigation is still on-going.

Interesting then, that the GWCT would select Glen Esk as the venue for their ‘highly acclaimed’ grouse keeper’s training course, don’t you think? And also interesting that Scottish Land and Estates and the Scottish Gamekeepers Association should choose to advertise this training course on their websites.

Training course advert on GWCT website here

Training course advert on Scottish Land and Estates website here

Training course advert on SGA website here

Bye, then

In a feature article in the latest edition of Shooting Times, the Chairman of the National Gamekeepers Organisation, Lindsay Waddell, laments the sale of Millden Estate in Angus (see our earlier story about the sale here).

He questions the reasons behind the sale, “just as the moor is coming good“. It’s a strange description for an estate where two-year-old golden eagle Alma was found poisoned in 2009 (see here). His theory about why Millden has come on the market goes like this:

“It would appear the answer lies in the recent legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament which holds landowners liable for the actions of their staff [vicarious liability], and that is something, it appears, some will not entertain at any cost. So it’s sell up, and get out. It may well turn out to be a sad day for the inhabitants of many glens if more and more of the modern-day owners decide to take the same course of action“.

Interesting.

Waddell goes on to acknowledge that there are still landowners (he says “a few”, we say ‘too many’) who won’t manage their land without the use of [illegal] poison and says these individuals have to shoulder a lot of the blame for the introduction of vicarious liability. No disagreement there, Lindsay – the criminals within your industry are finally having to face the music after 60 long years of relentless and systematic illegal raptor persecution.

He also comments that the new legislation (vicarious liability) is ‘open to abuse’. He writes: “It is all very easy for items to be ‘found’ on a piece of land“. By ‘items’, does he mean poisoned birds and poisoned baits, and enormous caches of illegal poison? Much like what was found on Skibo Estate in 2010? The ‘items’ that Dean Barr, sporting manager at Skibo Estate, claimed in the press had been planted by the RSPB (see here)? Obviously his press statement was made before he was found guilty of possessing 10.5 kg of Carbofuran – the UK’s biggest haul of this banned pesticide to date (see here).

Waddell continues by suggesting that Millden may be the first of many Scottish sporting estates to be sold. Let’s hope so. I can think of more than just ‘a few’ whose closure is long overdue.

Shooting Times article here