Tag: hen harrier

Six successful hen harrier nests in England this year: some perspective, please

hh LAURIE CAMPBELLIn response to the Telegraph’s wholly inaccurate article yesterday (see here), Natural England has issued a press statement outlining the breeding status of hen harriers in England this year.

The statement headline reads: ‘Hen harrier breeding season set to be most successful for 5 years’. On a superficial level, this sounds great, and for those who only read headlines rather than the details, they’d be forgiven for thinking that hen harriers are doing OK so what’s all the fuss about?

Perhaps this was the intended outcome by the person(s) tasked with writing the headline. It’s certainly played in to the hands of several organisations, linked with driven grouse shooting, who have been happily tweeting this ‘good news’ story.

But what’s the reality? You have to read further than the headline for that. It turns out that there were six successful hen harrier breeding attempts this year in the whole of England. Those six successful breeding attempts have produced 18 fledged chicks. Is this the most successful for five years? Technically, yes. If you look at the figures provided in the press statement (see here) then six successful nests is more than the four successful nests in 2011, one in 2012, none in 2013, and four in 2014.

But let’s just get some perspective here. We’re talking single figures. Less than ten, and certainly a lot less than the estimated 330 breeding pairs that a Government-funded report says England has suitable natural resources to support. Think about it. Six successful nests in the whole of England. In comparison, at Langholm this year there were also six successful nests, producing 17 young (see here). That’s six successful nests on a single grouse moor. And, notably, on a grouse moor that is being managed as a demonstration project, i.e. hen harriers are not being killed there. That’s pretty revealing.

That only six hen harrier nests have been successful in the whole of England this year is a bloody disgrace. It’s not a cause for celebration and it’s not ‘a positive step forward’, as suggested by Natural England. It’s a clear indication that the English hen harrier population is still being suppressed as a result of illegal persecution. No amount of superficial ‘good news’ headlines from the Government agency responsible for protecting hen harriers will change that.

The e-petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting (in England) is nearing 10,000 signatures, the number required to trigger a response from the Westminster Government. It would be terrific if that number could be reached before Hen Harrier Day this Sunday. If you think that six successful hen harrier nests in the whole of England this year is something to be ashamed of, as opposed to something to be celebrated, please add your voice here.

Going back to that made-up story in the Telegraph yesterday, Mark Avery has written some amusing opinion pieces that are worth a read: see here, here and here.

Henry’s tour day 79: The RSPB, slurs & lies

Mon 3 Aug Copy

Henry received a warm welcome from his friends at the RSPB HQ at The Lodge (photo by Guy Shorrock).

The RSPB has faced an increasing amount of criticism in recent months, from both ‘sides’ of the Hen Harrier ‘issue’.

Some from ‘our side’ have been critical because the RSPB has, so far, refused to sign up to the call for a ban on driven grouse shooting and instead has called for a system of grouse moor licensing. The RSPB’s CEO, Dr Mike Clarke, re-emphasised this position in a speech he made at the CLA Game Fair last Friday (see here). It’s a position that many of us find bewildering and some of us would say the criticism is thus deserved but, as public pressure grows, the RSPB may well re-evaluate its stance. Indeed, Dr Clarke said: “But the longer it takes any industry to address its problems, the stronger those calls [to ban driven grouse shooting] will become“.

Whatever your view on licensing or banning driven grouse shooting, it seems pretty counter-productive to attack an organisation that is doing a great deal of work on ‘our side’ for hen harriers (e.g. see list here), instead of aiming our ire squarely at the organisations responsible for the loss of, literally, thousands of hen harriers through shooting them, trapping them, bludgeoning them to death, poisoning them, burning out their nests and stamping on their chicks. Doesn’t it?

Other criticism of the RSPB has emerged from a group calling itself You Forgot the Birds, fronted by ex-cricketer Ian Botham and funded by the British grouse industry. We’ve blogged about them previously (here, here). In today’s Telegraph (see here), an article penned by ‘journalist’ Javier Espinoza claims that a forthcoming government report (by Natural England) will criticise the RSPB for failing to protect six hen harrier nests this year and, further, that ‘the remaining six successful nests – which were on or next to grouse moors – had no RSPB involvement and performed well’.

That’s very interesting. We’ve spoken to Natural England and have been told no such report exists, nor is one planned. In addition, we also know that the six remaining hen harrier nests in England this year were NOT all on or next to driven grouse moors – far from it!

Mr Espinoza seems to have taken a press release issued by YFTB and just published it without doing any fact checking. Not really a surprise from the Telegraph but an indication of the desperate measures being employed by the British grouse industry. They’re rattled, and so they should be. The social media Thunderclap timed to coincide with Hen Harrier Day (this Sunday) will see over five million simultaneous messages going out at 10am saying ‘We’re missing our hen harriers – and we want them back’. That message will be seen by over five million social media users – there’s still time to sign up and help increase the public reach – sign up here if you have a facebook or twitter account.

The British grouse industry is also rattled by the current e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting, which is doing well – please sign it here.

Henry’s tour day 78: One week ’til Hen Harrier Day!

Fri 31 July Copy

This year’s Hen Harrier Day takes place one week today – Sunday 9th August 2015.

Find out what’s happening at events in England and Scotland HERE

Sign up to the social media Thunderclap HERE (current social reach is 3.9 million!)

Sign the petition to ban driven grouse shooting HERE (currently at over 8,000 supporters!)

Henry’s tour day 75: Countryside Alliance HQ

Tues 28 July Copy

Henry called by the Countryside Alliance’s HQ in London.

He’d heard that the current CEO Lieutenant General Sir Barney White-Spunner is stepping down after the AGM in September, to be replaced by the current Director of Campaigns, Tim Bonner (see here).

Previous Countryside Alliance CEOs have included Alice Barnard, whose views on hen harrier persecution weren’t very well informed – see here.

White-Spunner’s views on hen harriers weren’t well publicised, although incomer Bonner is known to be a strong supporter of brood meddling (see here) and has vigorously disputed the evidence that Bowland Betty was shot (see here). He’s recently been spending a lot of time heading a campaign to lobby the police to ‘unmask animal rights thugs’ – it’s not known if that campaign also includes a call for the unmasking of armed gamekeepers involved in criminal animal abuse (see here, here and here).

The petition to ban driven grouse shooting has passed the 6,000 mark today – add your name HERE

Hen Harrier persecution features in Private Eye

We’ve always been big fans of Private Eye. Now even more so. From the current edition (#1397):

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Henry’s tour day 69: Marks & Spencer

Mon 20 July Copy

Last year, Marks & Spencer decided to ban the sale of red grouse in their stores because they feared a consumer boycott  – it was a welcome move (see here).

This year, rumour has it that they might be thinking of putting red grouse back on their shelves, although this has not been confirmed.

It’d be an odd thing to do because the chances of a consumer boycott are probably higher this year as more and more people learn exactly just what is involved in the procurement of those grouse.

As an example of widening public awareness, this year’s social media thundercap already has a social reach of over 3 million people. That means that every one of those 3 million+ people will be seeing a message on their social media timelines (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) at 10am on Sunday 9th August (Hen Harrier Day) calling for an end to the illegal killing of hen harriers on driven grouse moors. That’s more than 3 million potential M&S customers who may decide to take their business elsewhere if M&S decide to put red grouse back on sale.

If you want to join in and make sure even more people get the message, please sign up HERE. It’s also worth noting which organisations have not yet signed up (see here).

Simply food? Afraid not. M&S will need to show, by their own strong food sourcing policy, that their red grouse have been sourced ethically, sustainably and responsibly and that it isn’t full of poison (lead). Good luck with that.

Henry’s tour day 68: occupy the butts

Friday 17 July Copy

Hen Harrier Day takes place three weeks today, on Sunday 9th August 2015.

There are plenty of Hen Harrier Day events popping up all over the country – please see here to find one near you.

If you’re going to the event in the Peak District, you might also want to attend the special Hen Harrier Evening event in Buxton the night before (Saturday 8th August), featuring Chris Packham, Mark Avery, Henry the Hen Harrier, Harry the Hen Harrier, Jeremy Deller, Findlay Wilde, Mark Cocker and Birders Against Wildlife Crime  – there’ll be some surprises! Tickets are selling fast so you’ll need to be quick – details here.

If you can’t attend one of the Hen Harrier Day events there are other ways you can show your support:

Send a selfie to the Hen Harrier Day website – see here

Buy a Hen Harrier Day t-shirt – see here

Join in the Hen Harrier Day ‘thunderclap’ on social media – see here

Think you can’t make a difference? You’re wrong! Get involved!

DEFRA’s plans unchanged despite loss of 5 breeding hen harriers

In June, following the news that five breeding male hen harriers had ‘disappeared’ from active nests this year, one of our blog readers submitted an FoI to DEFRA to ask about the Westminster Government’s contingency plans to protect hen harriers and to deal with the criminals who continue to persecute hen harriers and other wildlife:

Sir/ Madam

I am making a Freedom of Information request regarding hen harriers/ illegal persecution of wildlife.

1) With the recent losses of five male birds in northern England, as published in Natural England’s press release (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/five-hen-harriers-have-now-disappeared-from-northern-england), what is the Government’s contingency plan(s) to prevent the species becoming extinct in the wild in England as a direct result of illegal persecution within the next 5 years, i.e. the duration of this Parliament?  If there are no contingency plans, why are there no contingency plans?

2) In a recent court case in Spain (see http://www.venenono.org/?p=2506 with an English summary available here:https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/now-thats-a-deterrent/, the sanction imposed on an individual found guilty of a wildlife offence was considerably more severe compared with recent similar incidents in England.  Does the UK Government have any plans to introduce similar sanctions that would act as a meaningful deterrent to wildlife criminals?  If not, why not?

3) Does the Government consider the current sanctions available to Magistrates/ Judges sufficiently severe to act as a deterrent to wildlife criminals, within the context of those imposed in the aforementioned Spanish case?

4) As in Spain, is the Government seriously considering introducing ‘sniffer dogs’ able to detect the use of poisoned bait as described in the article published by Raptor Persecution Scotland? If not, why not?

Many thanks,

XXXXX XXXXX

Here is DEFRA’s response:

Dear XXXXX XXXXX

Thank you for your request of 11 June about the illegal persecution of hen harriers. I have been asked to reply.

We share your concerns regarding the recent losses of five hen harriers but are encouraged by the news of several nests this year, following on from four nests in 2014, with 16 fledglings. In 2013, for the first time in over 50 years, there were no known fledglings.

All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which implements the EC Wild Birds Directive in Great Britain. This provides a powerful framework for the conservation of wild birds, their eggs, nests and habitats. I can assure you that we are committed to ensuring the strict protection afforded to wild birds of prey under our wildlife legislation is effectively enforced. There is a robust legal framework for protecting such birds with strong penalties for offenders, which can include imprisonment.

Despite the protection afforded to birds of prey, it is clear that they continue to be persecuted. To address this, senior Government and enforcement officers in the UK identified raptor persecution as a National Wildlife Crime Priority. Raptor persecution is subject to a prevention, intelligence and enforcement plan led by a senior police officer. The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which is part-funded by Defra, monitors and gathers intelligence on illegal activities affecting birds of prey and provides assistance to police forces when required.

It should be noted that despite instances of poisoning and killing of birds of prey, populations of many species, such as the peregrine falcon, red kite and buzzard have increased. While a small minority is prepared to kill birds of prey and where possible these people are brought to justice, this demonstrates that the policies in place to conserve these species are working.

One of our most threatened birds of prey is the hen harrier and we take the decline in hen harrier populations in England very seriously. In August 2012 Defra established the Hen Harrier Sub-Group of the Uplands Stakeholder Forum whose members include representatives from Natural England, the Moorland Association, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, National Parks UK and the RSPB.

All members of the Hen Harrier Sub-Group have a common interest to protect hen harriers.  They have made concerted efforts to engage and have produced a Joint Action Plan that contains a suite of actions intended to contribute to the recovery of the hen harrier population in England. The commitment shown by the differing organisations involved in the Sub-Group to help the recovery of one of our most iconic birds demonstrates a desire to bring about behavioural change amongst gamekeepers and confidence that this can be achieved through a package of complementary actions.

The Joint Action Plan includes three measures to stamp out illegal persecution, a trial toolkit comprising two measures for land owners to safely accommodate hen harriers on grouse moors and a measure to reintroduce them to suitable habitat in other parts of England. Defra officials are currently working with Sub-Group members to finalise the Plan.

As previously stated there are already strong penalties in place for people committing offences against birds of prey. You have asked if the Government intends to introduce tougher penalties for those convicted of wildlife crimes. I should first point out that Parliament is responsible for deciding the maximum penalties for offences. There are currently no plans to increase the penalties for offences against wildlife. Within the maximum limits, it is up to the court to decide the appropriate sentence in any case, having taken into account all the facts of the case.

We are aware that sniffer dogs are used in other countries, including Italy, Spain and Greece, to detect poisoned bait but are not aware that enforcement bodies in the UK have this resource or are considering it for the future. This would be a matter for individual Police forces to decide upon.

Yours sincerely,
Charlie Coombs
Customer Contact Unit

Henry’s tour days 64-67: Langholm

Henry’s been at Langholm all week. To find out what he was doing see here, here, here and here.

There’s a famous monument at Langholm. Some would say the current Langholm Project (‘Langholm 2′) has been a monumental waste of taxpayers’ money. There’s something in that, although it has shown us that when young satellite-tagged hen harriers stay at Langholm they seem to do OK (because they’re not routinely being killed), whereas many of the young sat tagged birds that did decide to disperse away from the moor have mysteriously vanished (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here, here, here). Amazing, eh?

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Henry’s tour day 63: 1 month to go until Hen Harrier Day 2015

Fri 10 July Copy

Henry’s found another grouse butt to occupy as he and his friends start the countdown to Hen Harrier Day 2015 – Sunday 9th August – just a month away.

Hen Harrier Day events are popping up all over the place this year, including events in Scotland, Derbyshire’s Peak District, NE England, NW England and southern England. Find out about events near you (or better still, organise your own if there isn’t one close by) by keeping an eye on the Hen Harrier Day Website (HERE).

This year there’ll also be a special event taking place on the eve of Hen Harrier Day – tickets have just got on sale – see HERE for info.