Tag: Leadhills Estate

The controversy over the Scottish Birdfair venue (Hopetoun House) continues. If you’re new to this saga, click here and here for background.

Following the results of our research last year where we uncovered some interesting links between Hopetoun and Leadhills Estates (see here, here and here), it seems one of our blog readers has been sharing our results with the wider public, and by all accounts to good effect. In response, earlier this week RSPB Scotland sent the following letter to Birdfair exhibitors [thanks to the contributors who sent us copies of this letter] –

Dear Scottish Birdfair 2013 exhibitor,

We understand that some of you may have recently been contacted on social media channels about the 2013 Scottish Birdfair by a private individual who is concerned about our choice of venue at Hopetoun House. This individual, a Mr Ronnie Graham, believes that there is a link between the venue and Leadhills estate –  alleged to be involved in illegal crime against birds of prey.

We wanted to write to reassure you that contrary to this individual’s assertions, holding the Scottish Birdfair at Hopetoun House on 11-12^th May does not give cover to alleged and convicted lawbreakers, nor does it signal any lacking of our commitment to tackle wrongdoing against birds without fear or favour.

In essence the Hopetoun House site is owned by an independent charity-and has been for many years. The farms beyond the house and grounds, together with land in Dumfries known as Leadhills is owned by the Earl of Hopetoun. The Earl has apparently let the sporting on the Leadhills (ie the shooting) to a third party on quite a long lease. This sporting group manage the ground and employ the keepers. The Leadhills has been a wildlife crime blackspot – and the RSPB has been at the forefront of exposing this, and continues to press for action to tackle this criminality.

We do not doubt for a minute that Ronnie Graham has strongly held and genuine views – views we share. But we think he is misguided in his target – which should be the sporting tenant at Leadhills and the enforcement of the law by the responsible authorities. We have discussed this with him several times but he is not open to persuasion. His current activities could even jeopardise what will be the biggest Scottish gathering of bird and wildlife enthusiasts which we need to harness to pressure Scottish Government to take more action for raptors. The forces ranged against birds of prey are no doubt laughing as we squabble amongst ourselves.

RSPB Scotland has been at the vanguard of trying to stop such crimes over the past century, and we are committed to continuing our resolute opposition to the despicable perpetrators of raptor crime. The director of RSPB Scotland, Stuart Housden OBE, expresses exactly this sentiment in a recent blog here.

If you have any concerns about the event in light of any contact that you have received from a such third party on this, or any other, issue, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With kind regards, The Scottish Birdfair Team.

James Reynolds

Head of Media and Communications

RSPB Scotland

An interesting letter, although the author doesn’t seem to know where Leadhills is (it’s in South Lanarkshire, not Dumfries) and he also appears to have forgotten to include one significant (inconvenient?) detail:  the letter says, “In essence, the Hopetoun House site is owned by an independent charity – and has been for many years“. Yes, but what teensy weensy yet crucial detail is missing from this statement? Could it be that the Earl of Hopetoun is the Deputy Chairman of that ‘independent’ charity (Hopetoun House Preservation Trust)? Look, it even says so on his Director’s biography on the Scottish Land and Estates page here. Isn’t it a bit disingenuous of RSPB to omit that detail?

We’ve been through the Hopetoun/Leadhills arguments many times before (see links above) and don’t intend to repeat them. We’ve laid out the evidence from our research and people can read it and make up their own minds about whether they think Hopetoun Estate is involved or not involved with the management of Leadhills Estate. The Earl is on record as saying Hopetoun Estate has ‘no role whatsoever’; we think differently and so it follows that we also think that the RSPB’s decision to hold the Scottish Birdfair at Hopetoun House is baffling, not least when you consider it’s the RSPB’s own Investigations Team who have spent years documenting dead birds and poisoned baits at Leadhills (see here); they’re probably as astonished as anyone about the venue choice.

The RSPB’s letter suggests that Ronnie Graham’s efforts are ‘misguided’. Rubbish! On the contrary, in our view it’s the RSPB decision-makers who have been misguided by choosing Hopetoun House as their Scottish Birdfair venue, not just once, but twice!

We’ll be blogging about Leadhills again in the not too distant future….prepare to be shocked, although you probably won’t be.

UPDATE 11th May 2013: Here is more information about the ‘independent’ charity to which the RSPB refer. It wouldn’t be our definition of ‘independent’.

RSPB Scotland have just announced their choice of venue for the 2013 Scottish Birdfair. Astonishingly, they’ve chosen Hopetoun House again (see announcement here).

The Scottish Birdfair is not to be confused with the excellent British Birdfair which is held at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve, where raptor conservation is actively practiced and promoted, e.g. see here.

The inaugural Scottish Birdfair took place in 2012 and was held at Hopetoun House. This choice of venue did more than raise a few eyebrows because of the link between Hopetoun and the Leadhills Estate. For background:

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/rspb-criticised-over-link-to-hopetoun-estate-for-scottish-bird-fair/

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/unravelling-the-relationship-between-hopetoun-and-leadhills-estates/

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/08/17/leadhills-hopetoun-getting-closer-to-the-truth-part-1/

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/leadhills-hopetoun-getting-closer-to-the-truth-part-2/

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/scottish-birdfair-unaware-or-just-dinnae-care/

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/sign-of-the-times/

The concept of the Scottish Birdfair is great; who would argue that holding an event to promote Scottish birds and their conservation among the general public is a bad thing? But we’re at a complete loss to understand the venue choice; it seems to be a massive kick in the teeth for all those people, including the RSPB’s own Investigations Team, who have spent years and years uncovering allegations of illegal raptor persecution at Leadhills and fought hard battles to get some of those allegations proven in a court of law.

RSPB Scotland has previously defended its venue choice by saying they accept the Earl of Hopetoun’s condemnation of illegal raptor persecution. There’s no doubt that the Earl has repeatedly condemned such activities, but then so did over 200 Scottish landowners in a 2010 letter (see here) to the then Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham and yet still the persecution continues…

We expected better of the RSPB, especially as one of the leading groups fighting against illegal raptor persecution. What’s their strapline these days? It used to be ‘Standing up for Nature’, now they use ‘Nature’s Voice’. Hmmm, really?

This post is a continuation from Leadhills & Hopetoun: getting closer to the truth? Part 1 (see here).

So, thanks to help from the ever-resourceful Andy Wightman (website here) and another contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, we’re now in a position to examine some of the statements made by the Earl of Hopetoun and his spokesman, about the relationship between Hopetoun Estate and Leadhills Estate.

Let’s start with a statement made by the Earl himself, in a letter he wrote to the Scotsman in March 2012 (see here). His letter was in response to an earlier Scotsman article about the Hopetoun / Leadhills relationship (see here).

In his letter, the Earl writes: “Leadhills Estate is not “also known as the Hopetoun Estate” – Hopetoun Estate is the land owned by the family near Hopetoun House”.

Now take a look at the photograph accompanying this post. This was sent in by a Leadhills village resident, who says it’s one of two signs in the village. The contributor wrote this: “I can assure that nobody in Leadhills (I live in Leadhills) refers to the estate as “the Leadhills Estate”. Locals have always known it as “the Hopetoun Estate”.

Hmm. Perhaps the apparent inaccuracy of the Earl’s statement is just a result of an absent landlord not really in tune with local views, as opposed to an attempt to distance Hopetoun Estate from Leadhills Estate? You can draw your own conclusions.

Let’s now take a look at the detail of the shooting lease between Hopetoun and Leadhills Sporting Ltd that covers the management of the Leadhills Estate grouse moor. Please bear in mind what we said in Part 1: the lease we are examining was acquired from the Land Register in September 2008, two months after the change of Directors at Leadhills Sporting Ltd. This lease may not be the lease in current use. (Incidentally, a contributor is sending us a copy of the lease he acquired in 2011 so when we receive that we can compare and contrast the content of both copies to see what, if anything, has changed).

Before we start, it’s worth reminding ourselves of the statement published on the Deadline News website (here) attributed to the Earl of Hopetoun’s spokesman:

“More importantly, Hopetoun Estate has no role whatsoever in the management of Leadhills Estate. Leadhills Estate is run on a sporting lease completely separately and there is no connection between Hopetoun Estate and the sporting management of Leadhills Estate”.

It’s similar to a statement the Earl made in his letter to the Scotsman:

“I must underline the view of the RSPB spokesman in stating that there is a long-term sporting lease in place at Leadhills and that Hopetoun does not have any responsibility for the shooting there”.

The lease makes for a fascinating read, once you get to grips with the obligatory long-winded legal jargon and the cramped-up presentation of the clauses. It tells us, amongst other things, how much rent the Tenant (Leadhills Sporting Ltd) has to pay to the Landlord (Hopetoun), and how much additional rent must be paid if the three year rolling average of grouse shot in each season exceeds 1,750 brace (3,500 birds). It tells us how many days of walked-up and driven grouse shooting the Landlord is entitled to, as well as how many walked-up rabbit shooting days and how many guests he is permitted for each day. It tells us that the Tenant must comply with the provisions of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and all other statutory provisions affecting the preservation of wildlife. It tells us that the Tenant shall permit a minimum of three and a maximum of four of the gamekeepers employed by the Tenant to assist the Landlord with the Landlord’s pheasant shoot in West Lothian for a maximum of five days in each pheasant shooting season. It even tells us how many coats of paint, and the type of paint, the Tenant must use periodically to maintain the interior and exterior of buildings.

So, it’s quite a detailed lease but its thoroughness is probably no different to thousands of other leases whereby a Landlord wants to ensure his Tenant keeps his property in good order. The bit about permitting 3-4 of the Tenant’s gamekeepers to assist on the Landlord’s pheasant shoot in West Lothian is perhaps a bit unusual but none of the above clauses give us any reason to doubt that Hopetoun “has no role whatsoever in the management of Leadhills Estate”. And indeed, the Earl’s stated condemnation of wildlife crime is supported by the inclusion of the clause about compliance with the relevant legislation.

All good then?  Well, almost. There are several clauses that deserve closer attention:

Clause 5.6.

Prior to the fifteenth anniversary of the Date of Entry the Tenant shall furnish the Landlord with the Curriculum Vitae of and all references pertaining to any proposed new Head Keeper and obtain the approval of the Landlord before employing a new Head Keeper which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or a decision thereon unreasonably delayed. Following the fifteenth anniversary of the Date of Entry the Tenant shall keep the Landlord fully informed and shall jointly undertake the whole selection process for the employment of a new Head Keeper. This shall be in addition to obtaining the approval of the Landlord as aforesaid which approval shall again not be unreasonably withheld or a decision thereon unreasonably delayed.

Clause 5.8.

The Tenant shall produce a management regime and programme of improvements in respect of the Grouse Moor to be specified in a draft management plan within six months of the Date of Entry. The said draft management plan shall take account of the presumptions in the foregoing Clause 5.7 [these relate to “effective” vermin control, a “proper” heather-burning regime, road, lunch hut & butt maintenance, habitat management, heather improvement policies, provision of equipment for gamekeepers, H&S policy and an “appropriate” shooting policy] and shall thereafter be adjusted and agreed between the parties. The agreed management plan (“The Management Plan”) shall be revised and updated at the fifth anniversary of the Date of Entry and every five years thereafter such revisals to be adjusted and agreed between the parties.

Clause 5.12.

The Tenant shall meet with the Landlord/Landlord’s agent (unless otherwise agreed) twice yearly in January and July when the parties will review the Management Plan, the current and proposed works pertaining to the Let Subjects and the Grouse Moor and all matters pertinent to the management of a top class driven grouse moor.

Clause 8.1.

The Landlord shall be entitled to resume the Shooting Right for any purpose from any part of the Grouse Moor subject to a limit of 100 acres in total for the duration of this lease.

So, for clarity:

1) This lease shows that the Landlord (Hopetoun) has to approve the hiring of any new Head Keeper at Leadhills Estate for the first 15 years of the lease. Wouldn’t that count as being involved in the sporting management of Leadhills Estate?

2) This lease shows that after the 15^th year, the Landlord (Hopetoun) will jointly undertake (with Leadhills Sporting Ltd) the whole selection process for the employment of a new Head Keeper. Wouldn’t that count as being involved in the sporting management of Leadhills Estate?

3) This lease shows that the Landlord (Hopetoun) will jointly discuss the draft management plan with the Tenant and will adjust and agree its content. Wouldn’t that count as being involved in the sporting management of Leadhills Estate?

4) This lease shows that the Landlord (Hopetoun) will jointly revise and update “The Management Plan” at the 5^th anniversary and every five years afterwards. Wouldn’t that count as being involved in the sporting management of Leadhills Estate?

5) This lease shows that the Landlord (Hopetoun) or his agent will meet twice yearly with the Tenant to review “The Management Plan” and “all matters pertinent to the management of a top class driven grouse moor”. Wouldn’t that count as being involved in the sporting management of Leadhills Estate?

6) This lease shows that the Landlord (Hopetoun) can have shooting rights of up to 100 acres of any part of the moor for the duration of this lease. If this entitlement is used, wouldn’t that count as being involved in the sporting management of Leadhills Estate?

So, who still thinks “Hopetoun Estate has no role whatsoever in the management of Leadhills Estate”? Or that “Leadhills Estate is run on a sporting lease completely separately and there is no connection between Hopetoun Estate and the sporting management of Leadhills Estate“?

Here’s a copy of the lease so you can read it and draw your own conclusions: LAN171259[1] Read from page 9 onwards.

We’ll re-visit this issue once we’ve received the lease dated 2011.

You may recall back in March we blogged about the RSPB’s baffling decision to hold their inaugral Scottish Birdfair at Hopetoun House. This decision raised eyebrows (see here and here) due to the alleged connection between Hopetoun Estate and the ‘notorious’ Leadhills Estate.

At the time, the RSPB defended their choice of venue by saying:

“We understand that there is a clear separation between land managed in hand by Hopetoun Estate in West Lothian, and the Leadhills Estate, which is let on a long lease to American tenants. It is the American sporting tenants on Leadhills Estate, through a UK sporting agent, who employ and manage the land and the employees at this site, and who are therefore ultimately responsible with ensuring that birds of prey are protected on this land. We accept that Hopetoun Estate do not condone any illegal practices on their land.”

A spokesperson for the Earl of Hopetoun is reported to have said this:

“The Earl of Hopetoun’s position on wildlife crime is unequivocal. He has constantly condemned any such activity. More importantly, Hopetoun Estate has no role whatsoever in the management of Leadhills Estate. Leadhills Estate is run on a sporting lease completely separately and there is no connection between Hopetoun Estate and the sporting management of Leadhills“.

Those last two sentences were designed to leave us in no doubt. We were barking up the wrong tree. Or were we?

We’ve since received a copy of a lease agreement made between the Leadhills Estate landlords (Andrew Victor Arthur Charles Hope, Earl of Hopetoun and his father Adrian John Charles Hope, Marquess of Linlithgow) and the sporting tenants (via the agency Leadhills Sporting Limited). The information provided in this lease suggests that the management of the Leadhills Estate grouse moor is perhaps not quite as straightforward as some have claimed.

Before we discuss the lease content, readers should be made aware that this particular lease may not accurately reflect the content of the current lease. The lease we’re about to discuss relates to a 20-year agreement (between Hopetoun & Leadhills Sporting Ltd) running from 2003 to 2023. However, five years into the lease in 2008, it was reported that the sporting rights at Leadhills were being sold on (see here). We understand that the current lease is for 16-years duration and is still held by Leadhills Sporting Ltd, albeit with a personnel change at Leadhills Sporting Ltd – Edward Dashwood & Mark Osborne, along with several others, had all resigned from the company by July 2008, and at least two new Directors were appointed in the same month. The big question is, was the content of the lease that we’re about to discuss carried over to the new tenants, or was the content considerably changed for the new tenants? This is important, because if the content wasn’t changed and is still current, then it looks like somebody might have been telling porky pies about the role of Hopetoun in the sporting management of Leadhills grouse moor. And we’re not talking those mini pork pies that you get in packs of six in the posh supermarkets. We’re talking big fat pork pies you get in your local butchers shop.

For Part 2, click here