poisoning – Page 6 – Raptor Persecution UK

Hen harrier brood meddling: Natural England’s hilariously bad ‘interim social science’ review about whether grouse moor owners’ attitudes towards hen harriers have changed

This is a blog I’ve been meaning to write for some time but for various reasons it kept dropping down the list. However, given hen harrier brood meddling is back on the agenda (we’re awaiting the imminent publication by Natural England of its review of the hen harrier brood meddling trial and a decision about whether brood meddling will be allowed to continue now the 7-year trial has ended) it’s probably timely to write it now.

For new blog readers, the hen harrier brood meddling trial was a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England between 2018 – 2024, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involved the removal of hen harrier chicks from grouse moors, they were reared in captivity, then released back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where many were illegally killed. It was plainly bonkers. For more background see here and here.

One of the objectives of running the brood meddling ‘trial’ was to test whether the availability of brood meddling would change the attitudes of grouse moor owners/managers towards hen harriers (i.e. would they have more tolerance of harriers), which could be judged by, for example, reduced levels of illegal persecution.

The brood meddling trial began in 2018 and three years in, Natural England conducted an ‘interim’ social science study in 2021, ‘to evaluate any changes in social attitudes by those involved in upland management‘.

This interim social science evaluation was completed in 2022 but I couldn’t find a copy in the public domain so I eventually received a (heavily redacted) copy via FoI in 2023. It’s this report that is the focus of this blog and the report is available to read/download at the bottom of this page.

I’ve read a lot of nonsense from Natural England over the years about hen harrier brood meddling but I’ve got to say, this report is right up there as being hilariously bad.

The evaluation was flawed right from the start. Given the tiny number of grouse moors directly involved in the brood meddling trial, it meant that there weren’t that many grouse moor owners and/or gamekeepers available to participate in Natural England’s evaluation interviews to measure if/how attitudes had changed.

There were so few relevant interviewees, in fact, that to make up the numbers for a semi-decent sample size it was decided to extend the list of participants to include seven Natural England staff (who were directly involved in the trial) as well as 12 non-Natural England participants who were directly involved in the brood meddling trial including a few grouse moor owners, gamekeepers and a bunch of people who weren’t from the grouse shooting industry at all but who had participated directly in the brood meddling trial, either by helping to apply for licences or those physically undertaking the brood meddling. The actual breakdown of who these people were and what their roles/affiliations were have been redacted from the report.

So, the opinions of 19 interviewees, seven of whom were Natural England staff and 12 others, some of whom were not directly associated with grouse moor management but were being paid what is believed to have been a large sum of money by the Moorland Association to undertake brood meddling, were used to assess whether attitudes had changed towards hen harriers within the grouse shooting industry as a result of brood meddling being available.

You couldn’t make it up!

Of course they’re going to say that brood meddling is a brilliant wheeze and is a positive course of action and how it’s promoted changed attitudes towards hen harriers; for some of them, their jobs/income relied upon brood meddling continuing!

To be fair to the authors of the interim evaluation report, some of the limitations were acknowledged:

“It is important to recognise a number of potential limitations of this study. First, although the [report’s social science] researchers are not part of the project delivery team, their affiliation with Natural England may have limited respondents’ willingness to be open and honest about their experiences of the trial. Second, in order to provide evidence for the process evaluation, the sample is limited only to those who are delivering or participating in the trial. There have only been a limited number of grouse moors where the density threshold for using brood management has been met as well as receptor sites assessed as suitable for harrier release within the same SPA. This has resulted in the comparatively small sample size of this research compared to the total number of grouse moors and people involved in grouse shooting. As such, participants are likely to be among those members of the moorland management community who are most receptive to the idea of brood management and who recognise the need to change attitudes and behaviours. Caution must therefore be taken in extrapolating the potential effects of rolling the trial out more widely“.

To be honest, as soon as it was known that there were too few relevant participants available this social science ‘study’ should have been scrapped. How much public money was wasted on it?

I won’t go in to detail about the study’s findings – you can read them for yourselves in the report below – but there are some hilarious assertions made by the interviewees.

These include a suggestion that ‘within the last five years [up to 2021] there has been a wider change in attitude toward harriers among the grouse shooting community due to recognition that the future of grouse shooting is intrinsically linked with the future of hen harriers. Brood management was perceived to have tapped in to this change and helped harness it in a practical way‘

and

‘Brood management enabled moors to hold each other to account for any persecution through greater self-policing‘.

Of course, we all have the benefit of hindsight several years later and we know that attitudes by the majority of grouse moor owners/managers towards hen harriers has not changed one bit, as evidenced by the continued illegal killing throughout the duration of the brood meddling trial:

*n/a – no hen harriers were brood meddled in 2018. **Post mortem reports on a further six hen harriers found dead in 2024 are awaited.

I haven’t seen any evidence of ‘greater self-policing’ by grouse moor owners/managers, have you? How many cases have there been where someone from within the grouse shooting industry has reported another for illegal persecution?

What we’ve seen instead is at least 134 hen harriers confirmed illegally killed or ‘missing’ in suspicious circumstances on or close to grouse moors (here), complete denial by the then Chair of the Moorland Association, Mark Cunliffe-Lister, that persecution was even happening (here), the current CEO of the Moorland Association, Andrew Gilruth, being booted off the national priority delivery group (RPPDG) set up to tackle illegal raptor persecution and being accused by the police of “wasting time and distracting from the real work” of the police’s new Hen Harrier Taskforce (here), and a police investigation into alleged raptor persecution on a grouse moor that was directly involved in brood meddling (here). Oh, and what should have been a police investigation into the illegal poisoning of a red kite found dead on another grouse moor that was also directly involved in brood meddling (here).

Changed attitudes? Not by any stretch of imagination.

Although, thinking about it, it probably IS fair to say that attitudes have changed, but not in the way Natural England intended. They’ve changed in as much as more recently, gamekeepers are deliberately NOT targeting hen harriers that are carrying satellite tags because they know that will attract unwanted attention and instead they’re aiming their guns at untagged harriers, simply because those untagged victims are less likely to be detected by researchers or the authorities.

We saw and heard a vivid example of this change of tactics in the Channel 4 News programme that aired last October, which showed RSPB covertly-captured audio and video footage of three gamekeepers on a Yorkshire grouse moor discussing this very issue, deciding not to shoot a tagged hen harrier but then apparently shooting and killing an untagged one. If you haven’t seen this programme I strongly encourage you to watch it – it’s astounding:

I’ve no idea whether Natural England’s interim social science evaluation of the hen harrier brood meddling trial served any useful purpose in NE’s overall review of the trial, but hopefully we won’t need to wait for much longer before the final review is published and we learn whether the Moorland Association’s current licence application for brood meddling has been granted.

In the meantime, if you want a good laugh, here’s the interim report:

FoI Tingay_HHBMT interim social science evaluation full report_Redacted Download

Lincolnshire gamekeeper guilty of multiple offences in relation to deaths of red kite and buzzards

Another trial and yet another gamekeeper convicted of offences relating to the illegal killing of birds of prey.

The trial of gamekeeper John Bryant, in relation to the illegal killing of a red kite and two buzzards, concluded at Lincolnshire Magistrates Court last week where he was convicted of four of ten alleged offences.

Gamekeeper Bryant, 40, of West Ashby, Horncastle, Lincolnshire had been summonsed to court last September following a police investigation into reports of three birds of prey, a red kite and two buzzards, being poisoned and killed over a five year period between 2017 and 2022.

Bryant had pleaded not guilty to ten charges (two charges of using a trap to kill or take a wild bird, six charges of possessing an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence, and two charges of contravening health & safety regulations) so he faced trial starting 6th March 2025.

He will be sentenced for the four offences next week when full details of the case and convictions will be published.

UPDATE 20 March 2025: Lincolnshire gamekeeper John Bryant sentenced for crimes relating to raptor persecution – police statement (here).

50,000 people support the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group’s petition to ban possession of dangerous, raptor-killing pesticides

Many, many thanks to all of you who signed the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group’s (NIRSG) petition calling for a ban on the possession of dangerous, raptor-killing pesticides.

The petition has just passed its target of 50,000 signatures and the NIRSG has issued the following press release:

The NIRSG held a recent Raptor Conference which provided incredible insights into a range of topics locally and globally. Many of the talks raised a consistent theme of targeted persecution of birds of prey. Not least amongst these was the on-going issue in Northern Ireland of the Possession of Dangerous pesticides.

Some of the NIRSG 2025 conference attendees supporting the call for a ban on dangerous, raptor-killing pesticides. Photo by Marc Ruddock

The NIRSG highlighted that 63 raptors have been killed between 2009 and 2023 with a range of poisons, dominated by Carbofuran which has been banned for nearly 25 years. There have been at least 30 buzzards, 16 peregrine falcons, 13 red kites, 3 white tailed eagles and 1 golden eagle all poisoned in this time frame.

This evidence is collated by the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime in Northern Ireland (PAW NI) and published in raptor persecution reports, which include ‘hotspots’ of illegal killing of our native birds of prey. These reports are publicly available on the PAWNI webpage available here and also aggregated in the RSPB Bird Crime reports available here.

In 2011, the wildlife legislation in Northern Ireland was strengthened, resulting in increased sentences of £5,000 fines (per offence) and up to 6 months imprisonment. The updated laws included a provision to ban the possession of prescribed ingredients under “Section 15B Possession of pesticides harmful to wildlife” of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 as amended.

As part of that legislation there should have been an attached Order listing the banned chemicals. That list has never been created. Wildlife has continued to be poisoned by these dangerous and banned substances.

The legislation states in Section 15B Part 2: “A prescribed ingredient is one which is prescribed for the purposes of this Article by an order made by the Department; but the Department may not make an order under this Article unless it is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to do so in the interests of protecting wild birds or wild animals from harm”. [Emphasis added by NIRSG]

There is significant evidence of continued harm from banned pesticides to birds of prey, based on robust post-mortem and laboratory results, which has been published in many reports. We believe it is indeed expedient for Minister Andrew to implement this Order to protect our birds of prey from harm. 50,000 people agree with us. Thank you to everyone who has supported the petition and helped give a voice to our wildlife.

The NIRSG will be seeking a meeting with Minister Andrew Muir to present the petition now that it has surpassed 50,000 signatures.

ENDS

Natural England’s review of Hen Harrier Brood Meddling trial ‘being prepared for publication’

Natural England’s review of its controversial Hen Harrier Brood Meddling trial is ‘being prepared for publication‘, according to a Freedom of Information request.

In general terms, the plan involved the removal of hen harrier chicks from grouse moors, they were reared in captivity, then released back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where many were illegally killed. It was plainly bonkers. For more background see here and here.

In September 2024, Natural England announced on its blog that it was ‘currently reviewing and analysing the data gathered under the trial, a process which will be concluded later this year‘:

I have speculated previously that this relatively speedy review was probably triggered by an apparent application by the Moorland Association for a licence to continue Hen Harrier brood meddling as part of what it laughingly calls a ‘conservation licence’ (see here).

As I understand it, in September 2024 the Moorland Association (grouse moor owners’ lobby group in England) applied to Natural England for a brood meddling licence and it included the following condition requests:

That there should be a single release site [for the brood meddled HHs] irrespective of the location from where they’d been removed from their nests; and
That the requirement for the brood meddled HHs to be satellite-tagged should be dropped.

The first proposed condition is presumably designed to get around the problem of there not being sufficient receptor sites willing to take the brood meddled harriers (just a handful of estates agreed to receive brood meddled hen harriers during the trial period). I’m also led to understand that the proposed single release site is, shall we say, a location of great interest to this blog.

The second proposed condition, that any brood meddled hen harriers should not be satellite-tagged, is presumably because the data from current satellite-tagged hen harriers have been so very effective at revealing the devastating extent of ongoing hen harrier persecution on grouse moors (e.g. see here and here).

We also know that gamekeepers on grouse moors are now selectively choosing to kill hen harriers that are NOT satellite-tagged because there’s less chance of their crimes being detected (e.g. see here).

The deadline for Natural England to respond to the Moorland Association’s licence application must be fast approaching, hence Natural England’s relatively speedy brood meddling review.

Given that Natural England had said in September 2024 that its brood meddling review would be ‘concluded later this year‘, I submitted an FoI request on 2nd January 2025 to find out whether the review had been completed.

Here’s Natural England’s response:

EIR2025_00039 – Tingay – Response Copy Download

Natural England’s response was dated 28 January 2025, so a month on, the publication of this review must now be imminent.

Will Natural England conclude that the hen harrier brood meddling trial was ‘a remarkable success story‘ as the Moorland Association ridiculously claimed? Remember, the trial was set up to test two specific objectives:

The practicalities of brood management: can [hen harrier] eggs or chicks be taken from the wild and raised in captivity, can those chicks be released back in to the wild and the implications for their subsequent behaviour and survival;
Changes in societal attitudes by those involved in upland land management to the presence of hen harriers on grouse moors with a brood management scheme in place.

It’s quite clear that objective 1 has been answered by the trial – although chicks rather than eggs were brood meddled due to concerns about transporting the eggs from the nests over rough terrain, but that’s no big deal in terms of assessing the viability of the objective.

But what about objective 2? It’s abundantly clear that apart from the handful of estates involved in the brood meddling trial (whether they be ‘donor’ or ‘receptor’ sites), that a high level of illegal hen harrier persecution has continued amongst the wider grouse moor industry (at least 134 hen harriers reported as ‘missing’/illegally killed since the trial began in 2018, including at least 30 brood meddled hen harriers).

Indeed, the illegal killing is still on such a scale that the police have had to set up a new Hen Harrier Taskforce, designed to use techniques usually seen when dealing with serious and organised crime, to address the ongoing criminality.

Many of us will be taking a very close look at Natural England’s review of brood meddling whenever it’s published. Watch this space.

134 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 updated to include the most recently reported victim, ‘Red’, who hatched on the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in 2024 and ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the North Pennines in January 2025 (here).

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. Natural England is currently undertaking a review of the ‘trial’ and a report is expected soon.

Brood meddling has been 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 134 hen harriers gone since 2018, and 30 of those being brood meddled birds, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry is simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretends that ‘partnership working’ is the way to go and consecutive DEFRA Ministers have remained silent.

‘Partnership working’ according to Natural England appears 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 that prevents Natural England from criticising them or the sham brood meddling trial (see here). This is in addition to a £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, are, however, ongoing issues with the licence as it’s been significantly watered-down after an intervention from the grouse shooting industry (see here). Work is underway to address this.

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 and it’s been met with resistance from the Moorland Association, the grouse moor owners’ lobby group (here) and so far, illegal persecution 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 brilliant exposure by Channel 4 News).

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).

5 February 2018: Hen harrier Marc ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Durham (here).

9 February 2018: Hen harrier Aalin ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Wales (here).

March 2018: Hen harrier Blue ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park (here).

March 2018: Hen harrier Finn ‘disappeared’ near Moffat in Scotland (here).

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).

8 August 2018: Hen harrier Hilma ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Northumberland (here).

16 August 2018: Hen harrier Athena ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).

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

29 August 2018: Hen harrier Margot ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).

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

3 September 2018: Hen harrier Stelmaria ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).

24 September 2018: Hen harrier Heather ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Scotland (here).

2 October 2018: Hen harrier Mabel ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

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

23 October 2018: Hen harrier Tom ‘disappeared’ in South Wales (here).

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

1 November 2018: Hen harrier Barney ‘disappeared’ on Bodmin Moor (here).

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).

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).

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

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

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

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

26 April 2019: Hen harrier Rain ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Nairnshire (here).

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).

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

14 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183704) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines (here).

23 September 2019: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #55149) ‘disappeared’ in North Pennines (here).

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

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

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

12 October 2019: Hen harrier Thistle ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Sutherland (here).

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).

November 2019: Hen harrier Artemis ‘disappeared’ near Long Formacus in south Scotland (RSPB pers comm).

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

December 2019: Hen harrier Ingmar ‘disappeared’ in the Strathbraan grouse moor area of Perthshire (RSPB pers comm).

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).

23 March 2020: Hen harrier Rosie ‘disappeared’ at an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).

1 April 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183703) ‘disappeared’ in unnamed location, tag intermittent (here).

5 April 2020: Hen harrier Hoolie ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park (here)

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

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

21 May 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2019, #183701) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Cumbria shortly after returning from wintering in France (here).

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

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

9 July 2020: Unnamed female hen harrier (#201118) ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed site in Northumberland (here).

25 July 2020: Hen harrier Harriet ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

14 August 2020: Hen harrier Solo ‘disappeared’ in confidential nest area in Lancashire (here).

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

16 September 2020: Hen harrier Fortune ‘disappeared’ from an undisclosed roost site in Northumberland (here).

19 September 2020: Hen harrier Harold ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

20 September 2020: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2020, #55152) ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in North Yorkshire (here).

24 February 2021: Hen harrier Tarras ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in Northumberland (here)

12th April 2021: Hen harrier Yarrow ‘disappeared’ near Stockton, County Durham (here).

18 May 2021: Adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).

18 May 2021: Another adult male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from its breeding attempt on RSPB Geltsdale Reserve, Cumbria whilst away hunting (here).

24 July 2021: Hen harrier Asta ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (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).

14th August 2021: Hen harrier Josephine ‘disappeared’ at a ‘confidential site’ in Northumberland (here).

17 September 2021: Hen harrier Reiver ‘disappeared’ in a grouse moor dominated region of Northumberland (here)

24 September 2021: Hen harrier (Brood meddled in 2021, R2-F-1-21) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).

15 November 2021: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F1-20) ‘disappeared’ at the edge of a grouse moor on Arkengarthdale Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

19 November 2021: Hen harrier Val ‘disappeared’ in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria (here).

19 November 2021: Hen harrier Percy ‘disappeared’ in Lothian, Scotland (here).

12 December 2021: Hen harrier Jasmine ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (High Rigg Moor on the Middlesmoor Estate) in the Nidderdale AONB in North Yorkshire (here).

9 January 2022: Hen harrier Ethel ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (here).

26 January 2022: Hen harrier Amelia ‘disappeared’ in Bowland (here).

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).

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 leg had also been torn off whilst he was still alive (here).

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

May 2022: A male breeding hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from a National Trust-owned grouse moor in the Peak District National Park (here).

May 2022: Another breeding male hen harrier ‘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’ from a ‘confidential site’ in the North Pennines (here).

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 (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

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

5 October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-M2-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

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

October 2022: Hen harrier (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-F1-21) ‘disappeared’ in the North Sea off the North York Moors National Park (here).

1 December 2022: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, #R1-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

7 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ from winter roost (same as #R3-F1-22) on moorland in North Pennines AONB (here). Later found dead with 3 shotgun pellets in corpse.

14 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ from winter roost (same as #R2-F2-20) on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here). Later found dead with two shotgun pellets in corpse.

15 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

30 March 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R1-F3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.

1 April 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, #R2-M1-22) ‘disappeared’ in Yorkshire (here). Notes from NE Sept 2023 spreadsheet update: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“.

April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Lagertha’ (tagged by RSPB) ‘disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).

April 2023: Hen harrier ‘Nicola’ (Tag ID 234078) ”disappeared’ in North Yorkshire (here).

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

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

April 2023: Untagged male hen harrier ‘disappeared’ from an active nest in Durham (here).

4/5 May 2023: Satellite-tagged male hen harrier called ‘Rush’ ‘disappeared’ from a grouse moor in Bowland AONB in Lancashire (here).

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

17 May 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Wayland’ ‘disappeared’ in the Clapham area of North Yorkshire, just north of the Bowland AONB (here).

31 May 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2022, tag #213932, name: R2-M3-22) ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland (grid ref: NY765687) (here).

11 June 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2021, tag #213922, name: R2-M1-21) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).

12 June 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2020, tag #203004, name: R1-M2-20) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (grid ref: NY976322) (here).

6 July 2023: Satellite-tagged female hen harrier named ‘Rubi’ (tag #201124a) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (grid ref: NY911151) (here).

23 July 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #55154a, name: R1-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in Co. Durham (close to where ‘Rubi’ vanished), grid ref: NY910126 (here).

29 July 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, tag #55144, name: R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in the North Pennines. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Dead. Recovered – awaiting PM results. Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).

9 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Martha’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Westburnhope Moor) near Hexham in the North Pennines (here).

11 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Selena’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Mossdale Moor) in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

11 August 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #201118a, name: R3-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ in Co. Durham (grid ref: NZ072136) (here).

15 August 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Hepit’ ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor (Birkdale Common) near Kirkby Stephen in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

24 August 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, tag #55155a, name: R1-F2-23) ‘disappeared’ at a confidential site in Northumberland. Notes from the NE spreadsheet: “Final transmission location temporarily withheld at police request“ (here).

August-Sept 2023: Satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Harmonia’ ‘disappeared’ in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

September 2023: Hen harrier female ‘Saranyu’, tagged by the RSPB in Cumbria in June 2023, ‘disappeared’ in Durham in September 2023 (no further details available yet – just outline info provided in 2022 Birdcrime report) (here).

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

15 September 2023: Hen harrier male called ‘Rhys’, tagged in Cumbria on 1st August 2023, ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Grid ref: SD798896 (here).

24 September 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, name: ‘R2-F2-23’) ‘disappeared’ in the North Pennines, grid ref: NY888062 (here).

25 September 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, name: ‘R1-F4-22’) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref: SE077699 (here).

26 September 2023: Hen harrier female called ‘Hope’, tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ next to a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref: SD801926 (here).

4 October 2023: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2020, name: ‘R1-M3-20’) ‘disappeared’ in Co Durham, grid ref: NY935192 (here).

4 October 2023: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, name: ‘R4-F1-23’) ‘disappeared’ on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref: SE003981 (here).

14 October 2023: Hen harrier male called ‘Cillian’, tagged in Cumbria on 1 August 2023, ‘disappeared’ in south west Scotland, grid ref: NY051946 (here).

15 November 2023: Hen harrier female called ‘Hazel’, tagged in Cumbria on 21 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ on the Isle of Man, grid ref: SC251803 (here).

27 November 2023: Hen harrier female called ‘Gill’, tagged in Northumberland on 10 July 2023, ‘disappeared’ at a confidential location in Teeside (here).

12 February 2024: Hen harrier female called ‘Susie’, Tag ID 201122, found dead at a confidential location in Northumberland and the subject of an ongoing police investigation (here).

15 February 2024: Hen harrier female called ‘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).

7 March 2024: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2023, name R2-M1-23) found dead in Devon. According to an FoI response from Natural England in June 2024 this death is the subject of an ongoing police investigation (here).

24 April 2024: Hen harrier male called ‘Ken’, Tag ID 213849a, ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances close to a grouse moor in Bowland, grid ref SD 684601 (here).

17 May 2024: Hen harrier male (brood meddled in 2023, name R2-M2-23) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances next to Middlesmoor grouse moor in Nidderdale, grid ref SE043754 (here).

25 June 2024: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2023, name R2-F1-23) ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park, grid ref NY985082 (here).

July 2024: Hen harrier female named ‘Helius’ satellite tagged by the RSPB ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances in Bowland (here).

October 2024: An un-tagged hen harrier was shot on a grouse moor by one of three gamekeepers being secretly filmed by the RSPB (here).

1 October 2024: Hen harrier female named ‘Dreich’, Tag ID: 254842, ‘disappeared’ in Lanarkshire. Listed by NE as ‘Missing Fate Unknown, site confidential – ongoing investigation‘ (here).

15 October 2024: Hen harrier male named ‘Baldur’, Tag ID: 240291, ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland. Listed by NE as ‘Missing Fate Unknown, site confidential – ongoing investigation‘ (here).

19 October 2024: Hen harrier female named ‘Margaret’, Tag ID: 254844, ‘disappeared’ in Northumberland. Listed by NE as ‘Missing Fate Unknown, site confidential – ongoing investigation‘ (here).

15 January 2025: Hen harrier female named ‘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).

To be continued…….

Not one of these 134 incidents has resulted in an arrest, let alone a prosecution. 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 ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FOUR 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) 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 33 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).

Wild Justice has launched another petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting. This latest petition is intended to gauge the view of the new Labour Government, as previous petitions were all lodged under the Conservative Government with its well-documented vested interests. Labour issued an appallingly pathetic interim response to the petition in January 2025, via DEFRA, which indicated it had no intention of banning driven grouse shooting (see here).

The petition is live until 22 May 2025 and needs 100,000 signatures to qualify for a debate in Westminster Hall. It’s currently on 65,000 signatures. If you haven’t yet signed it, it’s here.

UPDATE 14 April 2025: Natural England / DEFRA turns down licence application for hen harrier brood meddling in 2025 (here)

Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group Conference, 22 February 2025 – booking open

Booking is open for The Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group (NIRSG) conference taking place this Saturday (22 February 2025) at the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen.

NIRSG-Conference-2025-Meet-the-Speakers Download

The conference is open to everyone – you don’t need to be a member of the NIRSG to attend. To find out more information and details of how to book, please visit the NIRSG website (here).

You’ll see that Phase 2 of the NIRSG’s campaign to ban dangerous, raptor-killing pesticides will be launched on Saturday morning. I wrote about this campaign a few days ago (see here) and wanted to drum up support to help the petition reach 50,000 signatures before this coming Saturday (it had been stubbornly stuck at 46, 206 signatures for a while).

This petition/campaign was initiated after the discovery of two young white-tailed eagles that were found dead on Northern Ireland’s only driven grouse moor in 2023 – they’d both been illegally poisoned by the toxic pesticide Bendiocarb.

Many, many thanks to the approx 1,500 of you who have signed in the last few days – the current total is 47, 761 signatures. We need a couple more thousand people to pledge their support to reach the target.

Can you help? You don’t need to be a resident of Northern Ireland to sign – the petition is open to anyone, anywhere, who cares about the illegal use of these dangerous poisons to kill birds of prey (and any other wildlife that comes into contact with indiscriminately placed poisonous baits).

If you’d like to sign and/or share the petition with others, please click HERE.

Thank you.

Petition to ban possession of dangerous, raptor-killing pesticides in Northern Ireland approaches deadline: please sign

Your help is needed to ensure a petition, calling for a ban on the possession of dangerous, raptor-killing pesticides in Northern Ireland, passes the target of 50,000 signatures before next week.

The petition was launched by the award-winning Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group (NIRSG) in July 2023 following the illegal poisoning of two young White-tailed Eagles that were found dead, side by side, on Northern Ireland’s only driven grouse moor at Glenwherry, in the Antrim Hills.

*The two poisoned white-tailed eagles. Photo: Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group*

The eagles had both ingested the highly toxic insecticide, Bendiocarb, which is currently only licensed for indoor use in Northern Ireland. This chemical is so dangerous that it’s an offence to even possess it in Scotland, let alone place it out in the open on a bait to attract any passing predators.

The petition calling for a ban on the possession of Bendiocarb and a range of other dangerous chemicals used to illegally target birds of prey currently has 46,206 signatures. The target is 50,000 signatures and ideally this target can be met before next week, when the NI Raptor Study Group will be announcing Phase 2 of its campaign to get these pesticides out of circulation. A petition with 50,000+ signatures will help get the attention of the politicians the NIRSG will be approaching.

You don’t need to be a NI resident to sign the petition; any decent human being with an interest in protecting birds of prey and other wildlife can sign it.

If you haven’t already signed, and want to help this important campaign, please sign the petition HERE.

Thank you.

“The Toxic Restaurant” – spoof video highlighting toxic lead ammunition sends BASC into meltdown

In the build up to a forthcoming decision by the DEFRA Secretary of State (and his counterparts in the devolved governments) whether to accept the HSE’s recommendations to ban the use of toxic lead ammunition (see here), the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) has today released a spoof video highlighting the dangers of poisonous lead shot to the environment, wildlife and human health.

The video is set in a fictional restaurant called the Duck and Cover and features Megan McCubbin ordering the toxic lead roast pheasant…

This is a welcome new campaigning approach by the WWT, using humour to get across an important message about toxic lead ammunition, an issue with which this organisation has long-standing interest and expertise.

The idea is not only to educate the public about the harm caused by toxic lead ammunition, but also to encourage people to join in with the wider campaign to send a strong message to DEFRA Environment Secretary Steve Reed MP urging him to make lead history (see here for how you can help).

Predictably, not everyone is happy with the campaign, and particularly the spoof video. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) has published the following apoplectic statement on its website:

The BASC statement is actually funnier than the spoof video.

‘BASC considers the video to be damaging to the reputation of game shooting and food-related businesses linked to sustainable shooting“.

Really? I’d argue the damage being caused to the reputation of game shooting and food-related businesses lies firmly with the game shooting industry’s embarrassing failure to (a) comply with the legislation that forbids the use of toxic lead ammunition in sensitive wetland environments in England (e.g. see here) and in Scotland (e.g. see here), and (b) to meet its own commitment to a five-year voluntary transition away from toxic lead ammunition across the whole of the UK, as evidenced by the continued sale of lead-contaminated gamebirds in supermarkets and other stockists (e.g. see here and here).

‘BASC is also astounded that the video can be released by an organisation whose Chief Executive – Sarah Fowler – enjoyed an evening as a guest of the sector-leading Eat Game Awards in 2024‘.

‘Astounded‘? Why? Does BASC think that just because someone attended an industry event in a professional capacity that should prevent her organisation from ever criticising that industry’s ongoing criminality and dirty, dangerous practices? Just because Natural England signed up to such an agreement doesn’t mean that the silence of others in the conservation sector can also be bought so easily.

And by the way, the ‘sector-leading’ Eat Game Awards gave the prize of ‘Best Large Game Retailer‘ in 2024 to Waitrose, you know, the supermarket that has claimed for at least three years not to be selling game meat contaminated with toxic lead ammunition but has been caught with its pants down three times, leading to an official complaint being made to the Competition and Marketing Authority about Waitrose’s untruthful and inaccurate advertising.

Garry Doolan, BASC’s Deputy Director of Communications & Public Affairs said (amongst other things), “The inclusion of species such as pheasants and grouse – neither of which are wetland birds – further highlights the lack of focus and accuracy in their [WWT’s] messaging“.

That’s hilarious, Garry. An ex- tabloid hack from the Daily Mail telling a highly-respected conservation charity to stay in its lane and stick to ‘accuracy’! Besides, its perfectly legitimate for the WWT to focus on pheasants and grouse because the shooting of these species is a significant source of the dumping of 7,000 tonnes of toxic lead ammunition into the environment every year (not that the WWT needs the approval of BASC for its campaign output).

At least he didn’t attack Megan this time – perhaps he’s learned from his previous outburst of targeted, abusive and aggressive commentary.

Garry also claims that the video “has only served to diminish WWT’s reputation“. Actually, I’d argue it’s done the exact opposite. I applaud WWT’s willingness to put its head above the parapet and shine a big spotlight on the atrocities of the game-shooting industry and the charity has gone up in my estimation because of it.

This WWT video will likely reach a new audience who were previously blissfully unaware of the damage being caused by gamebird shooting and that’s probably what BASC is afraid of, hence it’s attack.

If you’ve enjoyed the spoof video and want to join over 10,000 others who have already sent an e-action to Steve Reed MP urging him to accept the HSE’s recommendation to ban the use of toxic lead ammunition, you can take action here.

133 hen harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors

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 updated to include the most recently reported victims, three more satellite-tagged hen harriers that ‘disappeared’ in Lanarkshire and Northumberland during October 2024 (here).

Brood meddling has been described as a sort of ‘gentleman’s agreement’ by commentator Stephen Welch:

With at least 133 hen harriers gone since 2018, and 30 of those being brood meddled birds, there is no question that the grouse shooting industry is simply taking the piss. Meanwhile, Natural England pretends that ‘partnership working’ is the way to go and consecutive DEFRA Ministers have remained silent.