poisoning – Raptor Persecution UK

149 Hen Harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors

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 revised to reflect updates revealed in this morning’s blog (here) about two more ‘disappearing’ Hen Harriers on Ruabon Moor in North Wales whose satellite tags were found and assessments concluded they’d been ‘deliberately cut off’.

There isn’t a one-stop shop (apart from this list) where you can find information about ‘missing’ or illegally killed Hen Harriers – the information for this list is sourced and cross-referenced from various places, including Natural England’s database, the RSPB’s database, the HSE’s database, police reports, RSPB Birdcrime reports and FoIs to various agencies. This list doesn’t include any Hen Harriers that have been listed as having a natural cause of death (e.g. known/suspected predation), or listed as ‘likely tag failure’, or known to have been lost abroad, or where the cause of death is inconclusive, unless there is additional information (e.g. from satellite tag data) which indicates suspicious or illegal activity. It is painstaking work that takes a lot of time to complete, but I consider it to be as accurate and comprehensive as it can be at the time of writing.

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. In 2024 the brood meddling trial appeared to collapse for reasons which are not yet clear (see here) and the licence for the so-called ‘scientific trial’ expired. In March 2025 Natural England announced the end of the brood meddling trial (here) and in April 2025 announced that a licence application to continue brood meddling, submitted by the Moorland Association, had been refused (here).

Brood meddling was earlier 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 149 Hen Harriers gone since 2018, and 28 of those being brood meddled birds, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry was simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretended that ‘partnership working’ was the way to go and consecutive Tory DEFRA Ministers remained silent for all those years.

*n/a – no Hen Harriers were brood meddled in 2018.

‘Partnership working’ according to Natural England appeared 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 with a contract clause that prevented Natural England from criticising them or the sham brood meddling trial (see here). This was in addition to a further £10k ‘donation’ that Natural England accepted, under the same terms, in 2021 (here).

Thankfully, the Scottish Government 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. There were, however, ongoing issues with the licence as it was significantly watered-down after an intervention from the grouse shooting industry (see here). The loophole was eventually closed off via an amendment in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 (see here).

In England a new Hen Harrier Taskforce was established in 2024, led by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, to use innovative techniques to target Hen Harrier persecution hotspots (locations where Hen Harriers repeatedly ‘disappear’ or are found illegally killed). It’s too early to judge the Taskforce’s success/failure and it’s been met with considerable resistance from the Moorland Association, the grouse moor owners’ lobby group (e.g. see here). So far though, it’s quite clear that the the illegal killing continues.

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? We now have evidence that gamekeepers are specifically targeting untagged Hen Harriers, precisely to avoid detection (see here for extraordinary footage/audio captured by the RSPB’s Investigations Team as featured on Channel 4 News in October 2024).

2018

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). Tagged by RSPB.

5 February 2018: Hen Harrier Marc ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Durham (here). Tagged by RSPB.

9 February 2018: Hen Harrier Aalin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here). Tagged by RSPB.

March 2018: Hen Harrier Blue ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

March 2018: Hen Harrier Finn ‘disappeared’ near Moffat in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

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). Tagged by RSPB.

8 August 2018: Hen Harrier Hilma ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Northumberland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

16 August 2018: Hen Harrier Athena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

26 August 2018: Hen Harrier Octavia ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Margot ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

29 August 2018: Hen Harrier Heulwen ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here). Tagged by RSPB.

3 September 2018: Hen Harrier Stelmaria ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

24 September 2018: Hen Harrier Heather ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

2 October 2018: Hen Harrier Mabel (Tag ID 34342) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY851059. Tagged by NE.

3 October 2018: Hen Harrier Thor ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Bowland, Lanacashire (here). Tagged by RSPB.

23 October 2018: Hen Harrier Tom (Tag ID 161144) ‘disappeared’ in South Wales (here). Grid ref SS906698. Tagged by NE.

26 October 2018: Hen Harrier Arthur ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

1 November 2018: Hen Harrier Barney (Tag ID 34343) ‘disappeared’ on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall (here). Grid ref SX140720. Tagged by NE.

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). Tagged by RSPB.

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). Tagged by RSPB.

2019

16 January 2019: Hen Harrier Vulcan ‘disappeared’ in Wiltshire close to Natural England’s proposed reintroduction site (here). Tagged by RSPB.

28 January 2019: Hen Harrier DeeCee ‘disappeared’ in Glen Esk, a grouse moor area of the Angus Glens (see here). Tagged by RSPB.

7 February 2019: Hen Harrier Skylar ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in South Lanarkshire (here). Tagged by RSPB.

22 April 2019: Hen Harrier Marci ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

26 April 2019: Hen Harrier Rain ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire (here). Tagged by RSPB.

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). Tagged by Wildlands.

11 September 2019: Hen Harrier Romario ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

14 September 2019: Hen Harrier R1-M2-19 (Brood meddled in 2019, Tag ID 183704) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here). Grid ref SD920943. Tagged by NE.

23 September 2019: Hen Harrier R1-M4-19 (Brood meddled in 2019, Tag ID 55149) ‘disappeared’ in North Pennines (here). Grid ref NY952103. Tagged by NE.

24 September 2019: Wildland Hen Harrier 2 ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Invercauld in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by Wildlands.

24 September 2019: Hen Harrier Bronwyn ‘disappeared’ near a grouse moor in North Wales (here). Tagged by RSPB.

10 October 2019: Hen Harrier Ada ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North Pennines AONB (here). Tagged by RSPB.

12 October 2019: Hen Harrier Thistle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Sutherland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

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). Tagged by RSPB.

November 2019: Hen Harrier Artemis ‘disappeared’ near Long Formacus in south Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

14 December 2019: Hen harrier Oscar ‘disappeared’ in Eskdalemuir, south Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

December 2019: Hen Harrier Ingmar ‘disappeared’ in the Strathbraan grouse moor area of Perthshire (here). Tagged by RSPB.

Unknown date in 2019: Hen Harrier Erin tagged on Isle of Man ‘disappeared’ (Stop No Malfunction) – location unknown (see here). Tagged by RSPB.

2020

27 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).

5 April 2020: Hen Harrier Hoolie ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

8 April 2020: Hen Harrier Marlin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

19 May 2020: Hen Harrier Fingal ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Lowther Hills, Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

21 May 2020: Hen Harrier R1-M1-19 (Brood meddled in 2019, Tag ID 183701) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria shortly after returning from wintering in France (here). Grid ref SD770877. Tagged by NE.

27 May 2020: Hen Harrier Silver ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on Leadhills Estate, Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

2020: day/month unknown: Unnamed male Hen Harrier breeding on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria ‘disappeared’ while away hunting (here).

14 August 2020: Hen Harrier Solo (Tag ID 201119) ‘disappeared’ in confidential nest area in Lancashire (here). Tagged by NE.

7 September 2020: Hen Harrier Dryad ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

16 September 2020: Hen Harrier Fortune (Tag ID 162150a) ‘disappeared’ from a confidential roost site in Northumberland (here). Tagged by NE.

19 September 2020: Hen Harrier Harold (Tag ID 57272) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY830036. Tagged by NE.

20 September 2020: Hen Harrier R1-M4-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55152) ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here). Grid ref SE103956. Tagged by NE.

19 December 2020: Hen Harrier Lagertha (Tag ID 201126a) ‘disappeared’ in Christchurch, Dorset close to winter roost. Not to be confused with RSPB-tagged bird also called Lagertha (2023). Grid ref SZ161924. Tagged by NE.

2021

24 February 2021: Hen Harrier Tarras ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Northumberland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

12th April 2021: Hen Harrier Yarrow ‘disappeared’ near Stockton, County Durham (here). Tagged by RSPB.

18 May 2021: Untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 1) ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).

18 May 2021: Another untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 2) ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).

24 July 2021: Hen Harrier Asta (Tag ID 201117) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines after establishing a home range around Gilmonby Moor (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). Grid ref SE206937. Tagged by NE.

14th August 2021: Hen Harrier Josephine (Tag ID 213850) ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY592841. Tagged by NE.

17 September 2021: Hen Harrier Reiver ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated region of Northumberland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

24 September 2021: Hen Harrier R2-F1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 213918) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NZ022667. Tagged by NE.

15 November 2021: Hen Harrier R2-F1-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 203003) ‘disappeared’ at the edge of a grouse moor on Arkengarthdale Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY959039. Tagged by NE.

12 December 2021: Hen Harrier Jasmine (Tag ID 213848) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (High Rigg Moor on the Middlesmoor Estate) in the Nidderdale AONB in North Yorkshire (here). Grid ref SE034733. Tagged by NE.

Unknown date in 2021: Hen Harrier Maiden, tagged in Lancashire in 2021, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.

Unknown date in 2021: Hen Harrier Awyr, tagged in Conwy in 2021, ‘disappeared’ on Ruabon grouse moor. Her tag/harness was recovered and an expert assessment concluded it had been cut off (here). Tagged by the RSPB.

2022

9 January 2022: Hen Harrier Ethel (Tag ID 213852) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY936632. Tagged by NE.

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). Tagged by RSPB.

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 (ringed) leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here). Tagged by NE.

April 2022: Hen Harrier Pegasus ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor at Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

May 2022: An untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Peak District 1) ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).

May 2022: Another untagged breeding male Hen Harrier (Peak District 2) ‘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’ in the North Pennines (here). Grid ref NY918019. Tagged by NE.

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 R1-M1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 232637) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD804893. Tagged by NE.

September 2022: Hen Harrier Sullis ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria (here). Tagged by RSPB.

5 October 2022: Hen Harrier R3-M2-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213920a) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY791016. Tagged by NE.

10 October 2022: Hen Harrier Sia ‘disappeared’ near Hamsterley Forest in the North Pennines (here). Tagged by RSPB.

October 2022: Hen Harrier R1-F1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 213919) ‘disappeared’ in the North Sea off the North York Moors National Park (here). Tagged by NE.

1 December 2022: Hen Harrier R1-M1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 55145a) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD917620. Tagged by NE.

7 December 2022: Hen Harrier R2-F2-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55144) ‘disappeared’ from winter roost (same as R3-F1-22) on moorland in North Pennines AONB. Later found dead on 26 June 2023 with 3 shotgun pellets in corpse (here). Grid ref NY730372. Tagged by NE.

14 December 2022: Hen Harrier R3-F1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213921a) ‘disappeared’ from winter roost (same as R2-F2-20) on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here). Later found dead on 10 April 2023 with two shotgun pellets in corpse (here). Grid ref NY708423. Tagged by NE.

15 December 2022: Hen Harrier R2-F1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213931) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD847831. Tagged by NE.

Unknown date in 2022: Hen Harrier Heath, tagged in Lancashire in 2019, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.

Unknown date in 2022: Hen Harrier Syrcas, tagged in Conwy in 2021, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.

2023

30 March 2023: Hen Harrier R1-F3-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID NY823039) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Grid ref NY823039. Tagged by NE.

March 2023: Hen Harrier (tagged), last transmission/sighting in Lancashire. No tag number provided. Reported in RSPB Birdcrime 2023, Appendix 4 (here).

1 April 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M1-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID NY846027) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Grid ref NY846027. Tagged by NE.

April 2023: Hen Harrier Lagertha ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here). Tagged by RSPB. Not to be confused with Lagertha tagged by NE & disappeared in 2020).

April 2023: Hen Harrier Nicola (Tag ID 234078) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here). Grid ref SD831860. Tagged by NE.

April 2023: Untagged male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 3) ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).

April 2023: Another untagged male Hen Harrier (Geltsdale 4) ‘disappeared’ from an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria (here).

April 2023: Untagged male Hen Harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest in Co Durham (here).

4/5 May 2023: Hen Harrier Rush ‘disappeared’ from a grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here). Tagged by RSPB.

9/10 May 2023: Hen Harrier Dagda tagged in Lancashire in June 2022 and who was breeding on the RSPB’s Geltsdale Reserve in 2023 until he ‘disappeared’, only to be found dead on the neighbouring Knarsdale grouse moor in May 2023 – a post mortem revealed he had been shot (here). Tagged by RSPB.

17 May 2023: Hen Harrier Wayland ‘disappeared’ in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB (here). Tagged by RSPB.

31 May 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M3-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213932) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY765687. Tagged by NE.

11 June 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M1-21 (Brood meddled in 2021, Tag ID 213922) ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY757000. Tagged by NE.

12 June 2023: Hen Harrier R1-M2-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 203004) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (here). Grid ref NY976322. Tagged by NE.

6 July 2023: Hen Harrier Rubi (Tag ID 201124a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (here). Grid ref NY911151. Tagged by NE.

23 July 2023: Hen Harrier R1-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 55154a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (close to where Rubi disappeared) (here). Grid ref NY910126. Tagged by NE.

9 August 2023: Hen Harrier Martha ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Westburnhope Moor) near Hexham in the North Pennines (here). Tagged by RSPB.

11 August 2023: Hen Harrier Selena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Mossdale Moor) in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

11 August 2023: Hen Harrier R3-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 201118a) ‘disappeared’ in Co. Durham (here). Grid ref NZ072136. Tagged by NE.

15 August 2023: Hen Harrier Hepit ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Birkdale Common) near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

24 August 2023: Hen Harrier R1-F2-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 55155a) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NY679863. Tagged by NE.

August-Sept 2023: Hen Harrier Harmonia ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). ‘Stop No Malfunction’. Tagged by RSPB.

September 2023: Hen Harrier Saranyu, tagged in Cumbria in June 2023, ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (here). Tagged by RSPB.

September 2023: Hen Harrier Inger, tagged in Perthshire in July 2022, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in September 2023 (here). Tagged by RSPB.

15 September 2023: Hen Harrier Rhys (Tag ID 213847a), tagged in Cumbria on 1st August 2023, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD798896. Tagged by NE.

24 September 2023: Hen Harrier R2-F2-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213929) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here). Grid ref NY888062. Tagged by NE.

26 September 2023: Hen Harrier Hope, tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SD801926. Tagged by NE.

4 October 2023: Hen Harrier R1-M3-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55153) ‘disappeared’ in Co Durham (here). Grid ref NY935192. Tagged by NE.

4 October 2023: Hen Harrier R4-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213925a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref SE003981. Tagged by NE.

15 November 2023: Hen Harrier Hazel’ (Tag ID 240292) tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ on the Isle of Man (here). Grid ref SC251803. Tagged by NE.

7 December 2023: Hen Harrier R2-M1-20 (Brood meddled in 2020, Tag ID 55146a) ‘disappeared’ in Co Durham. Grid ref NY963211. Tagged by NE.

Unknown date in 2023: Hen Harrier Aurora, tagged in Dumfries & Galloway in 2022, ‘disappeared’ at unknown location (here). Tagged by RSPB.

2024

12 February 2024: Hen Harrier Susie (Tag ID 201122), found dead in Northumberland. Later revealed to have been the victim of shooting (here). Grid ref NY759585. Tagged by NE. Susie’s chicks were stamped to death at nest on moor at Whernside in 2022 (here).

15 February 2024: Hen Harrier 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). Tagged by RSPB.

24 April 2024: Hen Harrier Ken (Tag ID 213849a) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances close to a grouse moor in Bowland (here). Grid ref SD684601. Tagged by NE.

17 May 2024: Hen Harrier R2-M2-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213928) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances next to Middlesmoor grouse moor in Nidderdale (here). Grid ref SE043754. Tagged by NE.

7 June 2024: Hen Harrier Edna (Tag ID 161143a). Decomposed corpse found next to a wind farm nr Otterburn, Northumberland. Listed as ‘suspected illegally killed’. There has been a suggestion she was killed elsewhere & dumped at the wind farm as a ploy to cover up the crime (here). Grid ref NY910827. Tagged by NE.

25 June 2024: Hen Harrier R2-F1-23 (Brood meddled in 2023, Tag ID 213923) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Grid ref NY985082. Tagged by NE.

July 2024: Hen Harrier Helius, tagged in Lancashire in 2023, ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances in Bowland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

29 July 2024: Hen Harrier (Tag ID 254843) tagged in Northumberland on 5 July 2024, decomposed corpse not suitable for post mortem but forensics work on her satellite tag showed shot damage (here). Grid ref NY824937. Tagged by NE.

October 2024: An un-tagged Hen Harrier was apparently shot on a grouse moor at Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales National Park by one of three gamekeepers being secretly filmed by the RSPB (here).

1 October 2024: Hen Harrier Dreich (Tag ID 254842) ‘disappeared’ in Lanarkshire (here). Grid ref NS826020. Tagged by NE.

15 October 2024: Hen Harrier Baldur (Tag ID 240291) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). Grid ref NZ038961. Tagged by NE.

19 October 2024: Hen Harrier Margaret (Tag ID 254844) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here). It was later reported that her tag had been found (‘removed’) but no sign of the carcass (here). Grid ref NY878497. Tagged by NE.

2025

15 January 2025: Hen Harrier Red, hatched on the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in 2024, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in County Durham in the North Pennines, in the same area another tagged Hen Harrier (Sia) vanished in 2022 (here). Tagged by RSPB.

January 2025: Hen Harrier Ataksak was found poisoned close to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here). Apparently a police investigation is ongoing. Tagged by RSPB.

3 February 2025: Hen Harrier R3-F2-22 (Brood meddled in 2022, Tag ID 213924) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North York Moors National Park (here). Grid ref SE759996. Tagged by NE.

27 February 2025: Hen Harrier Sita, tagged on behalf of Hen Harrier Action in Bowland in 2024 ‘disappeared’ from a roost site on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here). Tagged by RSPB.

4 April 2025: Hen Harrier Bonnie (Tag ID 254841) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Moorfoots, Scotland (here). Grid ref NT415575. Tagged by NE.

10 April 2025: Hen Harrier Gill (Tag ID 240294) ‘disappeared’ in south Scotland (here). Grid ref NT440344. Tagged by NE.

1 May 2025: Hen Harrier Pete (Tag ID 213843) ‘disappeared’ in Cumbria (see here). Grid ref NY309418. Tagged by NE.

May 2025: Untagged Hen Harrier male (Geltsdale 5) with an active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on nearby grouse moor (here).

May 2025: Another untagged Hen Harrier male (Geltsdale 6) with another active nest on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on nearby grouse moor (here).

May 2025: Hen Harrier Dynamo with an active nest on United Utilities-owned land in Bowland, Lancashire, ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on a nearby grouse moor (here). Tagged by RSPB.

May 2025: Untagged Hen Harrier with an active nest on United Utilities-owned land in Bowland, Lancashire, ‘disappeared’. Strongly suspected to have been shot whilst away hunting on a nearby grouse moor (here).

31 August 2025: An unnamed Hen Harrier, hatched and tagged on National Trust-owned moorland in the peak District National Park in 2025, ‘disappeared’ from Ruabon grouse moor, north Wales after arriving there three days earlier. Her tag data indicated she was dead on 31 August. Her tag/harness were recovered on 2 September and an expert assessment concluded it had been “intentionally severed” (here). Tagged by RSPB on behalf of National Trust.

9 September 2025: Hen Harrier Maria (Tag ID 281718) tagged in Northumberland on 25 July 2025, ‘disappeared’ near Belford in Northumberland. Grid ref NU125340. Tagged by NE.

17 September 2025: Hen Harrier Beatrix, who fledged from the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in summer 2025, ‘disappeared’ from an area dominated by grouse moors near Allendale in the North Pennines (here). Tagged by RSPB.

27 September 2025: Hen Harrier Wadrew, who fledged from the RSPB Geltsdale Reserve in Cumbria in summer 2025, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor near Birkdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (see here). Tagged by the RSPB.

30 September 2025: Hen Harrier Morrigan ‘disappeared’ in the southern area of the North Pennines National Landscape (here). Tagged by RSPB.

14 October 2025: Hen Harrier Circe, hatched on the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in 2025 and tagged on behalf of charity Hen Harrier Action, ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoots, south Scotland (here). Tagged by RSPB.

To be continued…

Of these 149 incidents, only one has resulted in a conviction – Head gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty at York Magistrates Court in January 2026 to conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on the Conistone & Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in October 2024 (see here).

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 at least ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE Hen Harriers, and still Govt ministers remain silent on the illegal persecution issue. 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 in North Yorkshire) Mark Cunliffe-Lister, who told BBC Radio 4 in August 2023 that, “Clearly any illegal [Hen Harrier] persecution is not happening” (here), in the year when a record 32 Hen Harriers had been confirmed ‘missing’ and/or illegally killed.

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).

Detective Inspector Mark Harrison of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) who leads on the national Hen Harrier Taskforce gave a live online presentation on 27 January 2026 for the charity Friends of the Dales, about the work being undertaken to tackle the ongoing illegal killing of Hen Harriers in the UK. You can watch it on YouTube, here.

For new blog readers, an RSPB report Hen Harriers in the Firing Line, published last year provides a good overview of the illegal persecution of Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors, as does this news reel from Channel 4 News:

How illegal raptor persecution led to grouse moor licensing in Scotland – webinar by Ruth Tingay for Friends of the Dales, now available on YouTube

A few weeks ago I presented a webinar for the Yorkshire-based charity, Friends of the Dales, as part of its Eyes to the Skies campaign, which launched last year to raise awareness about the illegal killing of birds of prey in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

My talk was about how the long-term illegal killing of raptors in Scotland had led to the direct consequence of a 2024 parliamentary decision to introduce grouse moor licensing north of the border.

So, not specifically about raptor persecution in the Yorkshire Dales, but, given that the Westminster Government has just announced its intention to consider the licensing of all gamebird shooting in England, it seemed timely to talk through the Scottish experience to give people an idea of what might lay ahead.

The webinar has now been uploaded to YouTube and is available to watch on the Friends of the Dales channel here, or you can watch it directly from here:

It’s one of four webinars in the Friends of the Dales’ Eyes to the Skies campaign. The other three are:

Kate Jennings, UK Head of Site Conservation & Species Policy at the RSPB, who talked about the work of the RSPB’s Investigations Team and reiterated the RSPB’s stance on licensing for gamebird shooting due to its links to illegal raptor persecution (available on YouTube, here).

Detective Inspector Mark Harrison from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), who talked about the work of the Unit and specifically about the work of the Hen Harrier Taskforce (available on YouTube, here).

Indy Kiemel Greene and Adrian Rowe from the charity Hen Harrier Action, who talked about Hen Harriers and the work of the charity to raise awareness about the illegal persecution of this species (available on YouTube, here).

Unsurprisingly, some members of the gamebird shooting industry have not been at all happy about the Friends of the Dales’ awareness-raising campaign, nor their choice of speakers. I can’t think why.

Nor have they been happy with the petition launched by Friends of the Dales, calling the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mary Creagh MP) to bring in legal reform to help stop the illegal persecution of birds of prey. The petition has secured over 6,000 signatures so far, and needs many more. Please consider signing it, and if you already have (thank you), please share it with your friends and families.

Moorland Association’s amateurish attempt to analyse Hen Harrier tag data is full of holes (much like a shot Hen Harrier)

The illegal killing of Hen Harriers on British grouse moors has been known, for years, to be the main cause of the species’ desperately low population size in the UK.

The sheer weight of scientific and police evidence, collected over several decades, has led to this fact being undisputed by successive Governments, statutory conservation agencies, the police’s National Wildlife Crime Unit, scientists, raptor workers, conservationists….in fact everyone, except for those representing the grouse shooting industry.

That shouldn’t surprise anyone. These crimes are a public relations disaster for the grouse shooting industry, more so than any other environmentally and socially damaging aspects of grouse moor management, of which there are many.

As grouse shooting has fallen under closer scrutiny over the last decade or so, and the threat of regulation looms large in England (and has already been introduced in Scotland), the grouse shooting industry has been in overdrive in its attempts to portray itself as being benign at worst, and ‘a conservation success story‘ at best. It has also gone to great lengths to try and discredit and smear the reputations of any organisation, or individual, who has dared to challenge this view.

So today’s latest effort, a so-called ‘analysis’ of Hen Harrier tag data, published by the Moorland Association (grouse owners’ lobby group in England), that purports to show that ‘missing’ tagged Hen Harriers probably haven’t been killed by grouse moor gamekeepers, shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.

The Moorland Association has produced what it calls a ‘Comprehensive Satellite Tagging Register’, supposedly documenting the fates of 269 Hen Harriers from 2002 to part way through 2025. The title itself is a complete misnomer because the spreadsheet includes 99 Hen Harriers that were fitted with radio tags, not satellite tags, way back in the early to mid 2000s before satellite tags came to the fore.

The Moorland Association writes on its website,

“We are not asking anyone to take our word for any of it; we are asking them to check it“.

So I did.

It wasn’t a comprehensive check – it didn’t need to be. I simply looked at the data for several well known Hen Harriers and could immediately see that at least seven of them had incorrect information assigned to them. If that’s the level of incompetence, found with just a quick glance at the data, how on earth is anyone supposed to trust any subsequent ‘analysis’ of the data?!

The seven incorrect entries that were found very quickly are:

Hen Harrier Bowland Beth (also known as Bowland Betty). The Moorland Association’s Register states her body wasn’t recovered, and neither was it submitted for post mortem. Actually, her body was recovered, on the Swinton Estate, North Yorkshire, and a post mortem was undertaken, revealing she had a fractured left leg which led to her death. A pioneering forensic examination followed, undertaken by scientists at the University College London Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, who found a tiny fragment of lead at the site of the fracture, confirming that she had been shot. According to the Countryside Alliance, this expert scientific evidence was just ‘supposition’ (see here).
Hen Harrier Rowan (Hawk & Owl Trust tag). The Moorland Association’s Register states that Rowan’s body was recovered, but it wasn’t submitted for a post mortem. Actually, his body was submitted for a post mortem at the Zoological Society of London, whose expert vets concluded, “ … the bird’s injuries were entirely consistent with it having been shot“, despite the Hawk & Owl Trust (in bed with the grouse shooters at that time) claiming the findings were “not wholly conclusive” (see here).

Zoological Society of London radiograph showing Rowan’s fractured leg

3. Hen Harrier Free. The Moorland Association’s Register states that Free’s body wasn’t recovered and nor was it submitted for a post mortem. Actually, Free’s mutilated corpse was discovered, on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and it was submitted for a post mortem, which revealed the cause of death was having his head twisted and pulled off. One (ringed) leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here).

4. Hen Harrier Asta. The Moorland Association’s Register states that Asta’s body wasn’t recovered and nor was it submitted for a post mortem. This is technically accurate, but her satellite tag was later found crudely attached to a Crow, in a sick ploy to disguise the crime, and it was determined that Asta’s wings must have been ripped off for the harness to have been removed intact from her body (here).

5. Hen Harrier Susie. The Moorland Association’s Register states that Susie’s body was not recovered and it was not submitted for a post mortem. Actually, Susie’s body was recovered, from a grouse moor in the North Pennines, and it was submitted for a post mortem, which revealed she’d been shot, although it couldn’t be determined if that was the cause of death (here).

6. Hen Harrier Edna. The Moorland Association’s Register states that Edna’s body was not recovered and it was not submitted for a post mortem. Actually, Edna’s body was recovered, and it was submitted for a post mortem, but it was too decomposed for the pathologist to determine a cause of death. The police still suspected she’d been illegally killed, and there are suggestions that her tag data had shown she’d been killed elsewhere and then transported to a windfarm to make it look as though she’d collided with a wind turbine (here).

7. Hen Harrier Margaret. The Moorland Association’s Register states that Margaret’s body was recovered but that it wasn’t submitted for a post mortem. Actually, Margaret’s body was not recovered, but her satellite tag was, and an examination revealed it had been ‘removed’ (here).

I’m sure if I looked harder I could find other examples of inaccurate data but there’s no need to spend any more time looking, because these initial seven are enough to render the Moorland Association’s ‘analysis’ as flawed.

It’s not clear who produced this spreadsheet for the Moorland Association because there isn’t a name attributed to it, which seems odd when the Moorland Association’s main tenet is that it is being transparent whereas the RSPB is not. Perhaps the author was Mr G. Keeper.

There’s also a ‘report’, to accompany the (flawed) data set. This document is hilarious, and it’s no wonder the author didn’t want their name on it. For a start, they’ve grouped together two very different types of tracker (radio tags and satellite tags) with an unqualified assumption that the outcomes are comparable without taking into consideration the massive number of variables between the two operating systems.

Inevitably, the report attacks the RSPB because the RSPB declined to share their satellite tag data with the Moorland Association. The author contends that this is because the RSPB has something to hide. Yeah, giving up highly sensitive data to the very industry that’s responsible for this species’ perilous conservation status makes perfect sense, right?

The author goes on to argue that the RSPB’s interpretation of its own data is flawed because the RSPB’s mapping resolution is too broad. Good grief. Does the author not understand that the RSPB’s analysis is based on a very high mapping resolution but that it only publishes low resolution data to protect sensitive information?!

Critical thinking is entirely absent from this report.

Moorland Assoc flawed HH sat tag analysis report_Dec2025 Download

The Moorland Association’s accompanying blog to this ‘report’ claims that its ‘analysis’ challenges the findings of the Murgatroyd et al (2019) paper. That’s the paper that demonstrated that at least 72% of Hen Harriers satellite-tagged by Natural England were presumed to have been illegally killed on or close to driven grouse moors (see here). The Murgatroyd paper was published in one of the world’s top-rated peer-reviewed scientific journals:

The Murgatroyd paper was based on a comprehensive and complex statistical analysis of Hen Harrier satellite tag data. Funny, I didn’t find any statistical analysis in the Moorland Association’s anonymous ‘report’, just a multi-coloured word salad based on inaccurate data.

If the Moorland Association is so certain of its ‘analysis’, perhaps it will submit its findings to a peer-reviewed scientific journal?

UK legislation continues to fail birds of prey as widespread illegal killing continues – new report from RSPB

Press release from the RSPB (27 May 2026)

UK LEGISLATION CONTINUES TO FAIL BIRDS OF PREY AS WIDESPREAD ILLEGAL KILLING CONTINUES

921 confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution were recorded in the UK from 2015-2024, involving 18 protected species. Shockingly, these figures represent only a fraction of the true number of these crimes.
55% of all confirmed incidents (2015-2024) were associated with land managed for gamebird shooting with two thirds of individuals convicted linked to the gamebird shooting industry.
These latest findings prompt renewed calls for tougher regulation of the gamebird industry through the introduction of licensing for all gamebird shooting in the UK.

Although all birds of prey have been protected under UK laws for over 60 years, a new RSPB report, Patterns of Persecution reveals that these protected species are being illegally targeted and killed across the UK. Between 2015 and 2024, 921 confirmed incidents were recorded across the UK. Of these, 48% were shooting related.

In this ten-year period 18 protected bird of prey species, including many reintroduced and recovering species of conservation concern, fell victim to these crimes. Buzzards were the hardest hit with 319 confirmed incidents recorded, followed by Red Kites (157 confirmed incidents) and Peregrines (97 confirmed incidents).

Concerningly, as these crimes take place predominantly in remote and often inaccessible areas of the countryside, not all are detected. These figures therefore represent only the tip of the iceberg.

Evidence, including police investigations, intelligence reports, eye-witness accounts and covert footage have shown that bird of prey persecution is significantly linked to the gamebird shooting industry. 55% of confirmed incidents (2015-2024) were linked to land managed for gamebird shooting (21% grouse shooting, 28% pheasant and/or partridge shooting, and 6% mixed gamebird shooting).

On some shooting estates birds of prey are being illegally shot, trapped or poisoned, nests and eggs destroyed, and chicks killed before they have fledged the nest. These often-brutal crimes are committed in an attempt to prevent any perceived threat to gamebird stocks, in an effort to maximise the number of gamebirds available to be shot.

Despite hundreds of confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution being recorded in recent years, if there is no substantive evidence which links a person to the crime these incidents go unchallenged and unpunished. Between 2015 and 2024, despite hundreds of incidents being recorded, only 24 individuals were convicted of bird of prey persecution-related offences. Two thirds were associated with the gamebird industry, and more than half were working as gamekeepers at the time.

This latest report shows that these crimes continue to detrimentally impact Hen Harrier recovery in England and Scotland. This iconic and threatened Red-listed species has been persecuted for decades, resulting in their population being suppressed to a fraction of their natural capacity. Between 2015 and 2024, 49 confirmed Hen Harrier persecution incidents were recorded in the UK. The majority of these incidents took place on or near land managed for grouse shooting. In the same ten-years 100 satellite tagged Hen Harriers disappeared in suspicious circumstances on or near grouse moors. They were suspected to have been illegally killed.

To provide a meaningful deterrent and effectively challenge the illegal killing of birds of prey, the RSPB is supporting the introduction of a licensing scheme for all gamebird shooting in the UK. Under a civil burden of proof, licences could be suspended or revoked where evidence indicates bird of prey persecution has occurred on licensed land. The system would promote best practice, penalising only those who break the law while respecting the rights of responsible estates. Under this legislation, birds of prey would have the effective protection they desperately need.

In 2024, Scotland took significant steps, introducing mandatory licensing of grouse shooting under the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. Now it is time for these protections to be extended across the UK, for all gamebirds shooting.

James Robinson, the RSPB’s chief operating officer: “As this report shows, existing UK laws continue to fail to protect our magnificent birds of prey. Without a meaningful deterrent, these crimes will continue. eagles will be poisoned, Hen Harriers shot and Buzzards beaten to death in traps. All of these crimes are unacceptable.

“Frustratingly, under existing laws, those committing these crimes have been able to do so with little fear of retribution. This needs to change.

“Regulation in the form of a licensing system is the most appropriate and fair way to achieve this, providing an effective and meaningful deterrent to those willing to commit these crimes and finally give these incredible species the protection they urgently need.”

If you notice a dead or injured bird of prey in suspicious circumstances, call the police on 101 and fill in the RSPB’s online reporting form: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/wild-bird-crime-report-form/

If you have information about anyone killing birds of prey which you wish to report anonymously, call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.

ENDS

The new RSPB report and its appendices can be downloaded here:

RSPB Patterns Of Persecution Report_2015_2024 Download

RSPB Patterns of Persecution_Appendices_May2026 Download

UPDATE 29 May 2026: Shooting industry’s flawed analysis of RSPB raptor persecution data (here)

Bird of prey persecution in UK still widespread, says RSPB

In anticipation of a new RSPB report, due out tomorrow, documenting the ongoing illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK, the BBC News website has an article this morning, stating Britain’s protected birds of prey are still being shot, trapped and poisoned.

The BBC says the new report records 921 confirmed attacks on birds of prey between 2015 and 2024, with more than half, according to the RSPB, on or near land managed for game shooting.

Mark Thomas, head of the RSPB’s investigations unit, told the BBC the killings were “about money”, with birds of prey targeted to stop them taking young pheasants, partridges or grouse, leaving more birds to be shot by paying customers.

Shooting organisations strongly deny persecution is widespread across the industry. They say it is carried out by a small minority and condemn it outright.

Same old, same old.

The BBC has created an interactive map based on the RSPB’s data, showing confirmed incidents per 100 km sq, between 2015 and 2024. There’s a map showing all confirmed incidents (see below) but you can also click on various tabs to show the data for Buzzards, Red Kites, Peregrines, ‘Owls’, Goshawks and Hen Harriers.

The article highlights the convictions of three gamekeepers this year: Thomas Munday, convicted after brutally clubbing a trapped Buzzard to death on a Pheasant shoot at Hovingham, North Yorkshire (here); Racster Dingwall, convicted of conspiracy to kill a Hen Harrier on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here); and Russell Mason, convicted of brutally clubbing a trapped Goshawk to death on a Pheasant shoot in Perthshire (here).

The RSPB repeats its call for all gamebird shoots to be licensed. Dr Marnie Lovejoy from the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC) is cited as saying BASC opposes licensing because it ‘would add another layer of regulation to activities already covered by law and would affect everyone involved in shooting’.

It’s a strange argument, often repeated by the game shooting industry. Licensing would protect those who aren’t committing crimes and penalise the ones who are. The industry has failed, spectacularly, to rid itself of the criminals so licensing should be the very least it should expect and if they’re all abiding by the law, the threat of a licence being withdrawn/revoked shouldn’t be of any concern.

The RSPB’s latest report will be published on Wednesday morning and I’ll post a copy of it on the blog, first thing.

‘Ghost sky dance’ – powerful new artwork documents the illegal killing of Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors

This is really special.

Yorkshire-based sculptor Mark Butler and writer Gregory Norminton have collaborated to create a powerful piece of art to highlight the illegal killing of Hen Harriers on UK grouse moors, paying particular attention to those killed in Yorkshire.

Gregory chose to write about eight ‘sightings’ of Hen Harriers and pays tribute to 57 named and satellite-tagged Hen Harriers of the 147 known to have ‘disappeared’ or to have been illegally killed, on or close to grouse moors, since 2018.

Mark then chose eight of those Hen Harriers (ones that had vanished / been killed close to his home in the Yorkshire Dales) and created a ‘ghost sky dance’ sequence, routing a silhouette and painting it gold on burnt pallet wood, each with its own memorial plaque detailing the fate of the named harrier.

Mark with his memorial plaque for Hen Harrier Asta, whose wings were ripped off by ‘someone’ in the North Pennines (photo by Ruth Tingay)

I’m not sure if I can persuade you with words alone of just how evocative this work is. I was really taken by both the idea and the photographs alone, but actually seeing and touching the wood, as well as smelling the acridity, made the piece come to life (ironically).

I’m also secretly pleased that Gregory and Mark both say they used this blog as inspiration for their creativity. There’s no better compliment.

The work sits within a wider project focusing on local species that are under threat, all chosen from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Nature Recovery Plan. It’s still a work in progress but the entire exhibition will be going on tour around Yorkshire from February 2027. If you get a chance to visit it, it’ll be time well spent.

For more information about the creation of the ghost sky dance, visit Mark’s website here and Gregory’s website here.

‘Should I Marry a Murderer?’ New Netflix documentary provides sobering insight into brutal killing & burial of charity cyclist Tony Parsons by McKellar twins at Auch Estate, Glen Orchy

A new three-part documentary was released on Netflix last week as part of a new series called, ‘Should I Marry a Murderer?’

At first sight, this is perhaps not what you’d expect to read about on a blog about the illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK, but this programme was brought to my attention by a high number of visits, especially from the United States, over the last few days, and my blog stats were showing that visitors were looking at specific pages relating to the Auch Estate in Argyll.

Long-term blog readers will be familiar with the Auch Estate. It first featured here in relation to the illegal poisoning of a Golden Eagle, found by walkers on the estate in 2009. Auch Estate farm manager Tom McKellar was later convicted in 2012 for possession of the banned poison Carbofuran that had been found in three separate containers and in a syringe at his house (here). He also managed to swerve a mandatory five-year custodial sentence for illegal possession of two hand guns that were found in his loft during the police search for poisons; for unexplained reasons, he was instead given a 300 hour community service order (here).

Headline from The Guardian newspaper in 2009

Auch Estate was back in the news in 2023 after Tom McKellar’s twin sons, Alexander (Sandy) and Robert were convicted at the High Court in Glasgow for their roles in knocking down charity cyclist Tony Parsons and burying his body in a stink pit on the estate in 2017 (here).

A BBC documentary, aired two years later in August 2025, chartered the police investigation into the disappearance of Tony Parsons and followed the criminal trial of the McKellar twins (see here – still available to watch on iPlayer for another 3 months). The documentary provided a fascinating insight into the difficulties of investigating serious crime on a remote rural estate and the parallels with investigations into illegal raptor persecution in these glens will not have been lost on blog readers. The ease with which the McKellar twins could hide their appalling crimes for so long was sobering.

The latest documentary, ‘Should I Marry a Murderer’, currently available on Netflix, covers the case from the perspective of Dr Caroline Muirhead, who worked as a forensic pathologist in Glasgow and happened to be in a relationship with Sandy McKellar whom she’d met on a dating app. McKellar confessed his crime to Muirhead and it was her evidence, including surreptitiously leaving a can of Red Bull to mark the spot on the vast estate where Tony Parsons was buried, that secured the twins’ convictions.

Dr Caroline Muirhead with Alexander (Sandy) McKellar. Photo from Netflix

The documentary includes commentary from a former local police officer who knew the McKellar family well, and he speculates about how a life surrounded by guns and animal-killing may have desensitised the twins and influenced their callous attitude towards the death of Tony Parsons and the disposal of his body.

There’s also commentary and some police footage in relation to the search for illegal poisons at Tom McKellar’s estate house back in 2009. It reveals that not only did Tom McKellar have unlawful possession of deadly poisons and two hand guns, but that his other firearms and shotguns, which presumably were licensed, were left strewn around the house, including in the bedroom of one of the twins, instead of being locked away in a gun cabinet as the licence requires.

This Netflix documentary has already reached ten million views only a week after its release. It’s well worth watching.

Update on prosecution of 87-year-old William Brian Chorlton, accused of 11 offences relating to alleged raptor persecution in Lincolnshire

In April 2025, retired farmer William Brian Chorlton, aged 87, of Morkery Lane, Castle Bytham in Lincolnshire was summoned to court following reports that birds of prey were being poisoned in the Castle Bytham area.

He faced eleven charges relating to the unapproved or unlawful storage of the chemical Aldicarb, possession of a poisoners kit, and possession and use of four pole traps on his Pheasant shoot (see here).

Mr Chorlton appeared at Lincolnshire Magistrates’ Court in May 2025 and pleaded not guilty to all charges and the case was set to proceed to trial in October 2025.

Lincolnshire Magistrates’ Court (Creative Commons DSCF1330)

However, at a pre-trial hearing in September 2025, Mr Chorlton’s lawyer submitted three separate legal arguments calling for the case to be dismissed. The District Judge rejected all three legal arguments and the application to dismiss the case was not upheld.

In a further pre-trial hearing a week later, and in a highly unusual move, Mr Chorlton’s lawyer announced that he intended to apply for a judicial review of the District Judge’s decision (see here), which meant that the original trial date of October 2025 was postponed until the judicial review application was heard.

A further case management hearing scheduled for January 2026 was also postponed as the application for judicial review was still underway (see here).

Since then, earlier this month Mr Chorlton’s application for judicial review was rejected by the High Court.

The rejection of the application for judicial review led to another case management hearing for the criminal case, and that took place this morning at Lincoln Magistrates Court in front of the same District Judge as before.

Mr Chorlton’s lawyer told the judge that, “You were right and we were wrong“, in relation to the judge’s earlier ruling that there were no grounds for the case to be dismissed. This means that Mr Chorlton’s defence team is not intending to challenge the High Court decision to reject the application for judicial review so the criminal prosecution is now back on track.

The defence stated that it would now instruct an expert witness and a new trial date has been set for October 2026. A further case management hearing will take place in July 2026, to look at areas of agreement / disagreement between the expert witness reports.

The papers from the judicial review application (Mr Chorlton’s statement of facts of grounds and the Crown Prosecution Service’s grounds of resistance) make for a fascinating read but I won’t publish those until criminal proceedings have concluded at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court so as not to jeopardise the prosecution.

NB: As proceedings are still live, comments have been turned off.

£1 Million government funding to explore re-establishment of Golden Eagles in England

The UK Government has announced funding of £1 Million to explore the feasibility of re-establishing Golden Eagles in England.

Here is the Government’s press release (issued today), followed by my commentary.

ICONIC GOLDEN EAGLES TO MAKE COMEBACK IN ENGLAND

Environment Secretary approves additional £1m of government funding to explore the reintroduction of golden eagles, restoring hopes they will return to England

One of Britain’s most iconic birds, the golden eagle, is poised to make a return to England after more than 150 years after the Government paved the way for a recovery programme that could include reintroduction.

Once widespread across England and mentioned more than 40 times by Shakespeare, golden eagles were virtually wiped out by persecution during the Victorian era. Only a handful of pairs have been seen in England since and the last eagle died in the Lake District in 2016.

But a study published by Forestry England today confirms that England has the capacity to sustain golden eagle populations once more, with eight potential ‘recovery zones’, mostly in the north of England, identified as being the most suitable areas.

The Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has welcomed the study’s findings and approved £1m of additional funding to explore a reintroduction programme with the potential for juveniles, six to eight weeks old, to be released as early as next year.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said:

“This government is committed to protecting and restoring our most threatened native wildlife – and that includes bringing back iconic species like the golden eagle.

“Backed by £1m of government funding – we will work alongside partners and communities to make the golden eagle a feature of English landscapes once again“.

In Southern Scotland, golden eagle populations have recovered to record numbers thanks to the restoration efforts of the groundbreaking South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project. Satellite tracking indicates that some of these translocated birds have already begun to fly across the border and explore northern England. The funding announced today will help accelerate this re-establishment and, where appropriate, further reinforce it with targeted reintroductions. Replicating their successful collaborative approach in the south of Scotland, charity Restoring Upland Nature (RUN) will lead the pioneering project in partnership with a group of core partners, including Forestry England.

Aside from being Britain’s second largest bird of prey with an impressive 2-metre wingspan, the golden eagle is a keystone species that can play a vital role in nature recovery more widely. As an apex predator at the top of the food chain, golden eagles help to keep the whole ecosystem in balance.

Mike Seddon, Forestry England Chief Executive said:

“It is our ambition that the nation’s forests will become the most valuable places for wildlife to thrive and expand in England. And we know from our successful reintroduction projects that returning lost species is vital for nature recovery across landscapes.

“The detailed findings of our feasibility study will guide us with our partners, Restoring Upland Nature, to take the next steps to explore the recovery of golden eagles in northern England. This Defra funding means we can build on the good work we have begun, taking the time to build support and engage with local communities, landowners and land managers and conservation organisations“.

Dr Cat Barlow, Restoring Upland Nature Chief Executive said:

“This presents a truly exciting, and potentially game-changing moment for the return of golden eagles to Northern England. Our success to date is testament to the strength of collaborative working between conservationists, raptor study groups, gamekeepers and land managers, and to the incredible support of thousands of people across communities in southern Scotland.

“With the backing of Defra and Forestry England, we now have the opportunity to replicate and build on this approach in Northern England. Our priority will be to listen, to work in partnership, and to ensure that golden eagle recovery supports both nature and the people who manage these landscapes, so that everyone can enjoy the thrill of seeing golden eagles flying high once again across the uplands of the UK“.

Forestry England’s research suggests that Scottish birds could be seen across northern England within 10 years, but it will take longer for breeding golden eagles to become established in England.

With support from Forestry England, Restoring Upland Nature will now develop a programme of engagement with farming, game management, recreation, nature conservation, tourism and education interests in the region.

The move to explore reintroducing golden eagles is the latest milestone as the government’s works to achieve the statutory targets set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and to reduce species extinction risk by 2042 against 2022 levels.

It follows the government’s landmark decision last year to allow the legal reintroduction of another keystone species, beavers, into the wild in England for the first time in hundreds of years, and a record £60m of funding announced last week to protect threatened native species.

ENDS

My commentary:

I’m pleased to see that the ecological research behind the proposal to restore Golden Eagles to England has been written by two of the leading scientific authorities on this species – Drs Phil Whitfield and Alan Fielding.

Their report showcases the depth and breadth of Golden Eagle research in the UK in recent decades, most of it led by them in collaboration with other species experts, and provides a detailed, evidence-based review of what is required for a successful reintroduction/reinforcement project.

Golden eagle recovery feasibility in England Download

The reports shows how eight Potential Recovery Zones (PRZs) were identified, with all but one of them located in northern England: Cheviots, North Pennines, Lakes, Yorkshire Dales, Bowland, South Pennines, North York Moors, South West.

The North York Moors and the South West PRZs were considered to be geographically isolated (in terms of eagle dispersal) whereas the other six PRZs were considered as a single spatial block and therefore more preferable.

These core areas were identified as having the potential to support an upper limit of 92 Golden Eagle home ranges, but was revised 45 when ‘subjectively considering potential risk factors’.

Those potential risk factors include constraints such as renewable energy infrastructure, weather (especially spring rainfall), unintentional disturbance, e.g. through recreation, and of course the big one, illegal persecution. The revised figure of 45 home ranges assumes ‘no intentional interference which prevents a home range from being established‘.

Looking at the map of the Potential Recovery Zones, regular blog readers will know immediately that illegal raptor persecution is systemic in those northern PRZs where driven grouse shooting remains a dominant land-use.

Given the population-level effects of illegal persecution in these areas on species such as the Hen Harrier and the Peregrine (e.g. see here and here), it’s not difficult to comprehend the challenge of keeping Golden Eagles alive for long enough to establish a home range on those driven grouse moors.

Whitfield and Fielding readily acknowledge this (of course they do – they’ve been instrumental in providing the evidence to show the extent of the illegal persecution of Golden Eagles on Scottish grouse moors – see here) and specifically identify illegal persecution as a constraint in the PRZs dominated by grouse moor management, writing, “Much of the PRZ is grouse moor so success here depends on having a good working relationship with the land owners“.

The Government’s press release, and to some extent the research report, points to the success of the South Scotland Golden Eagle Project, suggesting that the same collaborative approach between conservationists and land managers could also work in northern England.

I’d argue that there are a few caveats to that claim, including the wider extent of intensive grouse moor management in northern England in contrast to that in the Scottish Borders (an issue acknowledged by Whitfield and Fielding), and also the fact that there is now a grouse shoot licensing scheme in Scotland, where the threat of losing a licence for wildlife crime offences may be acting as a deterrent (although it’s still too early to measure that, and it certainly hasn’t stopped the persecution on some estates since licensing was introduced in autumn 2024).

There’s also the recent surge in eagle persecution in the Scottish Borders (six reported incidents), four of which happened since Whitfield and Fielding wrote their report in November 2024:

Golden Eagle ‘Fred’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting in the Pentland Hills in January 2018 (his satellite tag transmitted from the North Sea a few days later – here).

Golden Eagle ‘Merrick’ was shot and killed whilst she was sleeping in a tree next to a grouse moor in the Moorfoot Hills in October 2023 (see here).

Golden Eagles ‘Tarras’ and ‘Wren’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting near Langholm in August 2025 (see here).

A White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoot Hills area in November 2025 (here).

Golden Eagle ‘Hamlet’ was found with shotgun injuries next to a grouse moor in the Tweed Valley in February 2026 (here).

Golden Eagles from the South Scotland project are already exploring parts of northern England, as revealed by their satellite tracking data:

Some will argue that we should leave them to it and spend the money on species that need more help. Others will argue that until the persecution issue is addressed and resolved, a reinforcement/reintroduction project is an ethical misjudgment and may even contravene IUCN guidelines that require the cause of the species’ decline/extirpation to be addressed before reintroduction can take place. Others will argue that we should just get on with it and force the issue for the sake of urgently restoring biodiversity. Others will argue that the reintroduction of an apex predator will threaten livestock and thus livelihoods.

Many of these issues are considered in the report, in both the ecological and social science sections, and it is widely acknowledged that stakeholder participation in the process will be crucial.

From my personal perspective, I’d have been happier if the Government had also put up funding to establish a national, multi-agency response unit to investigate all offences that fall under the National Wildlife Crime Priorities, which includes raptor persecution.

Continuing to ignore the extent and impact of the issue, as successive Westminster governments have done, will inevitably lead to many of those England-based Golden Eagles being shot, poisoned, trapped, or bludgeoned to death, and nobody being held to account, and it needn’t be like that.

What’s happened to the police investigation in to the poisoned Hen Harrier found dead on the edge of a grouse moor in North Yorkshire?

In December 2025, I blogged about a Hen Harrier that had been found poisoned on a grouse moor somewhere in North Yorkshire, 11 months earlier in January 2025.

There hadn’t been any media coverage of this illegal killing at all – no press releases or appeals for information from North Yorkshire Police, no comment from the National Wildlife Crime Unit’s Hen Harrier Taskforce, nothing from anyone.

I found out about the poisoning by scrutinising a Health & Safety Executive database, which had the following spreadsheet entry:

HSE Ref number 107/913. Confirmed poisoning, North Yorkshire, January 2025. Chemicals Bendiocarb, Carbofuran, Isophenphos, Alphachloralose. Notes: ‘A dead Hen Harrier was found on a grouse moor. Residues of Bendiocarb, Carbofuran, Isophenphos and Alphachloralose were found in the samples analysed, which is an abuse of these compounds. Case closed as passed to the Police‘.

Given the toxic combination of poisons, often referred to as the ‘Nidderdale Cocktail’ due to its frequency of use in the area, I mused that this Hen Harrier was likely to have been poisoned in Nidderdale, although it wasn’t conclusive evidence as in more recent years the Nidderdale Cocktail has also been detected in other parts of the country, perhaps indicating a gamekeeper moving from this region to work in another.

News then emerged in an RSPB press release in January 2026 that this Hen Harrier was a young female named Ataksak (named after an Inuit Goddess, the ‘ruler of the sky’) and she was carrying a satellite tag, fitted by the RSPB in Bowland in 2024.

It turned out that Ataksak was the Hen Harrier that gamekeeper Racster Dingwall and his accomplices had discussed shooting and killing as it came in to a roost site on Grassington Moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park one evening in October 2024, but they then chose instead to “fleg it” (scare it off with warning shots) because they deduced it was wearing “a box” (a satellite tag) and killing it would draw unwanted attention from the authorities to their grouse moor.

The RSPB’s press release included details of the area where Ataksak had been found poisoned but still didn’t name a location:

‘The area where Ataksak’s body was found is recognised as a bird of prey persecution hotspot. In the last ten years 25 confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents have been recorded in this area, including Ataksak. These included four Hen Harriers, 13 Red Kites and five Buzzards. A satellite tagged Hen Harrier also disappeared in this area in 2024‘.

When I first wrote about this poisoned Hen Harrier in December 2025, I said I’d submitted a number of Freedom of Information requests about the Police investigation, some 11 months after she’d been found poisoned.

First, here’s a redacted post mortem report on Ataksak from FERA (Food and Environment Research Agency). It’s pretty conclusive:

The PM report gives the location as ‘Fountains Earth’ in North Yorkshire, and a four-figure grid reference SE1371. This places Ataksak’s death in Nidderdale, a well known raptor-poisoning hot spot:

The parish of Fountains Earth, Nidderdale (google maps)

Given the high toxicity of the chemicals used to poison her, I’d think it quite likely that Ataksak was poisoned very close to the spot her corpse was found.

The PM report is dated 28 April 2025, some three months after Ataksak was poisoned.

So what progress had North Yorkshire Police made with its investigation in to this crime?

Well, apparently very little.

According to my sources, as of January 2026, a full year after Ataksak’s body had been found, and nine months after the conclusive post mortem report, North Yorkshire Police hadn’t even bothered to conduct a search, despite being encouraged to do so by the National Wildlife Crime Unit and Natural England.

And therein lies the problem. The responsibility for investigatory decision-making lies entirely with the local police force. Experienced officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit (including specialists involved with the Hen Harrier Taskforce) and specialist poisoning experts from Natural England can only offer their assistance; if the local police force chooses not to accept those offers of help, for whatever reason, there’s nothing they can do about it.

How bonkers is that? Hen Harrier persecution is a national wildlife crime priority, there’s a national Taskforce that’s being funded (with tax payers’ money) to deal with it, but it doesn’t have the authority to investigate these crimes unless the local police force agrees to it.

This isn’t a problem in some areas, where local police forces are only too happy to accept specialist help and support, but it is definitely a problem in North Yorkshire (e.g. see here), and in several other counties in northern England where raptor persecution is known to take place, particularly on driven grouse moors.

I submitted Freedom of Information requests to the NWCU and to Natural England about the status of the investigation into the poisoning of Ataksak but surprise, surprise, both refused to release any information, stating the information has been withheld by exception, citing regulation 12(5)(b)(g) — Course of justice, inquiries & fair trial.

There is no ‘course of justice’ in this case, because North Yorkshire Police has been sitting on its hands for over a year. Rather than holding them to account, these agencies are simply providing them with cover.

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