Tag: shooting

Red kite found shot in North York Moors National Park: police appeal for information

North Yorkshire Police has issued the following press statement:

APPEAL FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOOTING OF A RED KITE

North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force is appealing for witnesses and information about the shooting of a Red Kite which happened near Westerdale, on the North York Moors. 

The Red Kite, which was suffering from gunshot wounds, was found by a member of the public on Tuesday 13 June. Despite being immediately taken to the vets it needed to be put to sleep due to the extent of its injuries. The wounds were fresh suggesting it had been shot recently.

It is against the law to intentionally kill, injure or take wild birds.

North Yorkshire Police is requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances surrounding this incident. In particular anyone who witnessed shooting in the Westerdale area on either Monday 12 or Tuesday 13 June 2023.  

Anyone with information that could assist with this investigation should email Jack.donaldson@northyorkshire.police.uk or call North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask to speak to Jack Donaldson.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12230107850 when passing on information.

North Yorkshire has the highest incidence of raptor (birds of prey) persecution of any English county. The dedicated Rural Taskforce and specially-trained wildlife officers are committed to stopping these crimes and bringing offenders to justice.

Operation Owl is a joint initiative by North Yorkshire Police, RSPB, RSPCA and the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.

People can help by being their eyes and ears out on the moors and dales. If you spot a dead or injured bird, poisoned bait or a pole trap, please note the location, take a photo and call North Yorkshire Police on 101 to report it.

ENDS

I’m assuming this is the same red kite that was reported in the papers yesterday morning (here), although those reports had identified the location as ‘the Whitby area’, which is nowhere near Westerdale, but the time and date are the same.

Yesterday’s reports also stated the red kite had been found ‘in suspicious circumstances’. I don’t know who wrote that earlier report but it wasn’t at all helpful, accurate or informative.

The later press release from North Yorkshire Police, as reproduced above, is much better, especially the speed with which it’s been published. It’s also good to see the police provide some context to this crime, discussing Operation Owl, the extent of these crimes in this grouse shooting hell hole (supposedly a National Park), the types of evidence people may see, and what to do about it if they do see it.

It’s unlikely to lead to anyone coming forward though. There’ll be the usual wall of silence from the grouse-shooting community, who persistently refuse to provide any assistance in wildlife crime investigations, and it would be unusual if a member of the public had witnessed anything in such a remote landscape and been able to identify the person pulling the trigger.

Meanwhile, however, the pressure, and evidence, continues to mount on DEFRA Ministers to recognise that raptor persecution is a widespread issue and people are getting more and more pissed off that the shooting industry is allowed to get away with such blatant criminality, time and time and time again.

UPDATE 4th July 2023: 2nd red kite found shot nr Westerdale in North York Moors National Park in recent weeks, with suspicions of a third one (here)

UPDATE 9th October 2023: Buzzard shot & critically injured in North York Moors National Park (here)

Osprey euthanised after found suffering shotgun injuries in Washington, Tyne & Wear

An Osprey has been euthanised after being found with shotgun injuries in Washington, Tyne & Wear on 26th May 2023.

The shot Osprey. Photo: RSPCA

An article on the Planet Radio Metro website (here) states the Osprey ‘was spotted bleeding and lying on his back by a worker at the Crowther Industrial Estate in Washington, Tyne and Wear, after he was thought to have crash landed at the location‘.

However, the article goes on to claim that the Osprey was ‘shot three times with an airgun‘, but if you look at the x-ray it’s pretty clear that the Osprey has been hit by shotgun pellets (at least four of them – I’ve circled them on the x-ray image below), and not by airgun pellets, which have a distinctively different shape.

The article also claims the Osprey had ‘a ruptured right eye, grazes to its body and a fractured left wing‘. I can’t see the left wing fracture on this particular x-ray but the image of the bird’s left ‘wrist’ area is quite distorted so it’s difficult to tell.

It’s reported that the vets who assessed the injured Osprey considered the best course of action was to euthanise it to prevent further suffering.

The RSPCA is apparently investigating and is ‘asking businesses on the estate to check their CCTV for potential information about the person responsible‘, although obviously the shooting could have taken place elsewhere and the bird could have flown some distance before crash-landing on the estate. However, if it did have a fractured wing then it’s unlikely to have been able to fly very far from the location where it was shot. But perhaps the fracture occurred when it crash landed.

This case was also covered by the BBC News website (here) but that seems to be just a condensed version of the Mercury article and repeats the claim that an airgun was used in the shooting.

The shooting of Ospreys in the UK is relatively rare these days – unlike the targeted shooting of Buzzards, Red Kites, Hen Harriers, Goshawks etc which is still so routine, especially on land managed for gamebird shooting. The last Osprey shooting that I recall in the UK was in 2010 (here).

That’s not to say that Ospreys aren’t still the victims of illegal persecution, but mostly it’s now related to nest disturbance and egg collecting (e.g. see here and here), although there was a case in Derbyshire a few years ago where an Osprey was found with two broken legs and injuries consistent with having been caught in an illegally-set spring trap (here), and an Osprey’s nest was felled with a chainsaw in North Wales two years ago just after the first egg had been laid (here).

Thankfully, these days Ospreys are usually in the headlines for all the right reasons following a series of conservation translocation projects in England (e.g. here), with nest cameras providing an opportunity for the public to follow breeding attempts online (here), Osprey visitor centres attracting thousands of visitors each year (e.g. here) and now even ‘Osprey Cruises’ to watch foraging Ospreys from boats, which sell out so quickly that more trips have now been scheduled (e.g. here). It’s clear that this particular bird of prey seems to attract a great deal of public affection.

If anyone has any information about the shot Osprey found in Tyne & Wear please contact the RSPCA but I’d also encourage you to contact the RSPB’s Investigations Team who can provide specialist and expert assistance to the investigation.

UPDATE 09.30hrs: A vet has been in touch (thank you!) with the following comment: ‘My very rusty veterinary eyes (20 years out of practice!) can see a fracture on the R proximal humerus – also the head of the humerus appears not to be in the shallow socket. Maybe the vet got the L and R markers the wrong way around. Shame there is not a better x-ray after euthanasia. I might be wrong’.

Man charged in relation to 5 shot goshawks found dumped in forest car park in January

In January this year, Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Unit appealed for information in relation to the discovery of five juvenile goshawks that had been shot and dumped in a car park at the King’s Forest, near Thetford (see here).

The five shot goshawks. Photo: Suffolk Police

This is the investigation that attracted a large reward for information (reward put up by RSPB, Wild Justice, and a crowd funder by Rare Bird Alert, see here).

This is also the investigation about which the shooting industry was ‘offended’ at being asked by the police to help identify the perpetrator (here).

In late March 2023, the police announced that a man had been arrested in relation to this investigation (see here).

A man has now been charged and the police have issued the following statement:

MAN CHARGED WITH OFFENCES IN RELATION TO BIRDS OF PREY FOUND DEAD IN WEST SUFFOLK

A man has been charged with offences in relation to the discovery of five goshawks that were found dead in the west of the county, as well as a number of other offences.

The five birds of prey were found on Monday 16 January, having been left in a parking area just off from the B1106 in Kings Forest, near Wordwell.

X-rays were undertaken which showed all five birds had suffered injuries from multiple pieces of shot.

Officers arrested a 72-year-old man on 27 March in relation to the discovery of the goshawks and on suspicion of breaching firearms license conditions. He was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questioning, before being released under investigation.

Francis Addison, 72, from South Park, Weeting, was subsequently charged with five counts of possession of a dead schedule 1 wild bird (goshawk); one count of killing a non-schedule 1 wild bird (wood pigeon); one count of use of an animal trap in circumstance for which it is not approved; two counts of possession of an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence, namely two air rifles and six animal traps; six counts of failing to comply with the conditions of a firearm certificate; and four counts of failing to comply with the condition of a shotgun certificate.

Addison is due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 29 June. 

ENDS

Well done to Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Unit for what has obviously been a detailed investigation, and also for keeping the public informed.

As Mr Addison has now been charged and criminal proceedings are live, I won’t be accepting any comments on this case until proceedings have concluded.

Buzzard found shot in head in Cambridgeshire garden

The RSPCA is investigating after a female buzzard was found having being shot in the head with an airgun pellet.

The buzzard was found in the front garden of a house in Walpole St Peter near Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. Unfortunately there are no details about when this discovery was made.

Buzzard with head wound. Photo: RSPCA

The RSPCA said the bird was thin and weak and was taken to a vet in Ely where an x-ray revealed the buzzard had an airgun pellet lodged in her head. It was considered ‘a miracle’ that it had missed both the skull and the eye.

The charity said the wound was infected and as the bird was emaciated it was likely she had been shot some time ago.

The buzzard has been put on antibiotics and pain relief and may need an operation to remove the pellet.

Vets think the pellet may be interfering with her eyesight, but hope she will be strong enough to be released into the wild eventually.

Buzzard x-ray showing the airgun pellet. Photo: RSPCA

RSPCA inspector David Podmore said: “It is upsetting to think that this beautiful bird was deliberately targeted and shot. While we do not know where the shooting would have happened, this is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

“We would urge anyone with any information about how this bird came to be harmed to call the RSPCA Inspector appeal line on 0300 123 8018 or the police.”

This news article was originally reported on the ITV website here.

Shot red kite found on a Durham grouse moor is successfully re-habilitated & released back to wild

At the end of March the RSPB issued a press statement about a shot red kite that had been found on a Durham grouse moor (see here).

An x-ray revealed multiple shotgun pellets in the kite’s body, resulting in a fractured wing. The kite was described as ‘fighting for its life’.

After several weeks of expert care and attention by the brilliant Jean Thorpe (Ryedale Wildlife Rescue) and her equally as brilliant colleagues at Battle Flatts Veterinary Clinic, today the red kite was successfully released back to the wild.

The RSPB has released this short video on Twitter:

Durham Constabulary is still appealing for information about the shooting of this kite.

If you have any information, contact Durham Constabulary’s Wildlife Crime Officer, PC Dave Williamson, by emailing david.williamson@durham.police.uk or calling in to Barnard Castle Police Station.

Alternatively, to share sensitive information in confidence, call the RSPB’s Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.

“The shooting industry is laughing in the face of the legislation it will be fighting tooth & nail to oppose” – opinion piece by Max Wiszniewski

There’s a good opinion piece in the Press & Journal today by Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager for REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform.

It’s reproduced below:

The systematic, illegal persecution of birds of prey has been a blight in Scotland’s countryside now for decades, so much so that it was described by former first minister, Donald Dewar, as a “national disgrace”.

So, the recent publication of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, with the primary purpose of tackling wildlife crime, is something to be welcomed.

Yet, on the same day that our new first minister was sworn into office, news broke that another bird of prey – this time a red kite – had been found dead on a grouse moor [Ed: see here]. The shooting industry is laughing in the face of the legislation it will be fighting tooth and nail to oppose.

The new bill proposes to licence the shooting of grouse. If the terms of that licence are broken – such as a licence holder indulging in wildlife crime – then it can be removed.

So far, it seems sensible. But, beyond the illegal destruction of our protected species, hundreds of thousands of foxes, stoats, weasels, crows and so-called “non-target species” like hedgehogs are killed on grouse estates every year, so more grouse can be shot for sport.

Will this unsustainable practice be addressed by the new bill? The answer is: somewhat.

All legal traps will require a “licence”, serial numbers and, presumably, regular checking. Scottish Government oversight of the monitoring of the many thousands of traps on grouse moors to ensure legality will be no easy feat, and it would be expensive to do effectively. Should we be jumping through hoops just so a few people can shoot more grouse for sport?

Bill is an important intervention that should go further

Some big changes in muirburn could be brought about, though. On grouse moors, burning heather shapes the landscape to make it more suitable for grouse – so more of them can be shot.

About 40% of muirburn for grouse has taken place on deep peat, which is an internationally important carbon sequestration resource. Much of it lies in a degraded state on grouse moors, and continued burning is stopping it from regenerating and from rewetting and, therefore, actually emits carbon.

The Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill proposes an effective ban on peatland burning but, once again, effective monitoring of huge land areas will be difficult and expensive.

Muirburn may still continue under licence in areas with no deep-peat, but should we be dishing out licences when the purpose is increasing grouse numbers for sport shooting? Scotland shouldn’t be pandering to the needs of this cruel, unsustainable and intensively managed industry.

By creating a circle of destruction around huge areas of our land, biodiversity and more diverse economic opportunities are missed for Scottish people and communities.

Overall, this bill as it stands is an important intervention. With a bit more courage to take on large estates and landed interests, it could become the very intervention Scotland’s people, wildlife and environment desperately need.

ENDS

Game-shooting industry’s response to the conviction of Moy Estate gamekeeper Rory Parker

Further to last week’s news that Scottish gamekeeper Rory Parker pleaded guilty to committing raptor persecution crime on a grouse moor on Moy Estate in September 2021 (see here), I’ve been looking to see how the game-shooting industry has responded to this conviction.

You’ll recall that this is the game-shooting industry whose organisations routinely state they have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards raptor persecution, in which case you’d think they’d be quick to condemn this latest crime and call on their members and the wider shooting public to distance themselves from Moy Estate, and especially as the estate is already serving a three-year General Licence restriction imposed in 2022 after Police Scotland found further evidence of wildlife crime (see here), namely a poisoned red kite and ‘incidents in relation to trapping offences’.

Four days on from Parker’s conviction, I haven’t found any statements of condemnation on the websites of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, BASC, or the Countryside Alliance.

Their collective silence says a lot, I think. In my opinion it’s related to an ongoing, industry-wide damage limitation exercise as the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill begins its passage through the Scottish Parliament. Drawing attention to criminal activity on grouse moors at a time when MSPs are considering the extent of proposed regulation in the form of a grouse-shooting licence is not in their interests, although I’d argue that if they were as resolute about stamping out raptor persecution crimes as they claim to be, they should have been at the forefront of leading the condemnation.

The only game-shooting organisation that has responded to the news of Parker’s conviction is landowners’ lobby group, Scottish Land & Estates (SLE).

I’ve already written about a media quote attributed to grouse moor owner Dee Ward, who’s also Vice Chair (Policy) at SLE, who seemed keen to distance Parker’s crime from grouse moor management (see here), and this was repeated in a statement that SLE published on its website on the day of Parker’s conviction.

Credit to SLE for not shying away from the news, but its manipulation of the narrative is all too obvious:

I’m not sure what the ‘progress’ is to which Dee refers. I haven’t seen any evidence of ‘the sector driving down raptor crime in recent years‘. What I have seen is an increasing number of shooting estates having General Licence restrictions imposed after Police Scotland has confirmed evidence of continued raptor persecution crimes (there are currently six GL restrictions in place – Leadhills Estate (here), Lochan Estate (here), Leadhills Estate [again] (here), Invercauld Estate (here), Moy Estate (here) and Millden Estate (here)).

The Scottish Government doesn’t appear to have seen the evidence, either, given the Environment Minister’s statement in 2020 when she announced that there could be no further delay to the introduction of a grouse moor licensing scheme because:

“…despite our many attempts to address this issue, every year birds of prey continue to be killed or disappear in suspicious circumstances on or around grouse moors“.

Time will tell if SLE sticks with Dee’s claim that, “We will continue to do all that we can to prevent, detect and condemn anyone who thinks this kind of abhorrent behaviour is acceptable“.

Will that include boycotting the Highland Game Fair, held each year on the Moy Estate? This is an event that SLE, and the other shooting organisations, routinely attend, with apparently total disregard for sanctions imposed on the estate for wildlife crime (see here).

It’s actions, not mere words, that will determine whether the industry’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy is seen as credible, and as far as I’m concerned, the industry’s actions haven’t come close.

The sentencing of raptor-killing Moy Estate gamekeeper Rory Parker

On Friday (31st March 2023), gamekeeper Rory Parker, 24, of Drumbain Cottage, Tomatin, pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a sparrowhawk on 16th September 2021 whilst employed on Moy Estate (see here).

Parker was filmed by an RSPB Investigator as the (at the time 22-year-old) gamekeeper hid in a bush on the grouse moor, a few feet away from a large plastic owl that had been placed on a fencepost. It’s well-known that raptors will be drawn to an owl decoy and will try to mob / attack it. If someone sits quietly nearby with a gun they’ll have a good chance at shooting and killing the raptor whilst it’s distracted by the owl.

We’ve seen this technique deployed on grouse moors many times before, sometimes with plastic decoys, sometimes with live eagle owls (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here, here).

It looks like that’s what happened that September day in 2021. Here’s a screen grab from the RSPB’s video showing the position of Parker and the decoy owl:

If you haven’t yet seen the full video, there’s a copy of it embedded in this tweet below. I’d encourage you to watch it, and take note of Parker’s body language when he goes over to the sparrowhawk he’s just shot, as it’s flapping around, wounded, on the ground. He’s calm and proficient as he stamps his foot/knee on the bird to crush it, before casually picking it up and retuning to his hiding place in the bush. It appears to be quite routine and he does not look at all disturbed at having just committed a serious wildlife crime.

In court, Parker was defended by Mark Moir KC. The KC stands for King’s Counsel and denotes an experienced, high-ranking lawyer considered to be of exceptional ability. I wonder who paid for his services? In mitigation for Parker’s offending, Mr Moir KC reportedly told Sheriff Sara Matheson that his client had been in his job since he left school.

“He is deeply shameful of what he has done. He has brought the estate into disrepute and has now resigned.

“His firearms certificate is likely to be revoked as a result of this conviction. He should have been shooting pigeons and crows that day. Feral pigeons are a problem on the estate.

“However, the sparrowhawk flew over and there was a rush of blood. He says it was a stupid thing to do.”

After watching the video, it didn’t look like ‘a rush of blood‘ to me. It looked entirely premeditated.

Apparently the RSPB video wasn’t shown in open court but I’m not sure whether Sheriff Matheson had an opportunity to see it behind closed doors. I suspect she didn’t, given the sentence she handed down to Parker – a pathetic £1,575 fine and three months in which to pay it.

This should have been a test case of the new Animals & Wildlife (Penalties, Protections & Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020; legislation that was introduced to increase the penalties available for certain wildlife crimes, including those under Section 1(1)(a) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act – ‘Intentionally, or recklessly, killing, injuring, or taking a wild bird‘. Parker committed his offence after the enactment of this new legislation.

Prior to the new legislation, the maximum penalty available for the type of offence Parker committed was up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.

The new legislation increased the maximum penalty available (on summary conviction, as in Parker’s case) to a maximum of 12 months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £40,000.

So why was Rory Parker only given a £1,575 fine??*

The penalty increases in the new Act were introduced by the Scottish Government because the previous penalties were not considered sufficient to recognise the seriousness of wildlife crime(s) [and animal cruelty offences].

This view was supported by an independent review by Professor Poustie, published in 2015, which concluded that the then maximum penalties available to the courts may not have been serving as a sufficient deterrent to would-be offenders, nor reflecting the seriousness of the crime(s).

The Poustie Review was first commissioned in 2013 by then Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, and as part of a series of measures aimed at tackling the continued persecution of birds of prey (see here). It was his response to growing levels of public concern and a lack of confidence in the judiciary to deal with raptor-killing criminals. Criticisms of the system had often centred around perceived corruption, vested-interests and biased Sheriffs, and we had come to expect unduly lenient and inconsistent sentencing in most cases (e.g. see here).

The new legislation was supposed to address those concerns with a significant increase in the severity of penalties available for courts to hand down to offenders.

I don’t see any evidence of that in the sentencing of raptor-killing gamekeeper Rory Parker.

*UPDATE: Someone who was in court on Friday has just been in touch to provide further insight into sentencing. They told me:

‘When the defence KC was summing up he repeatedly suggested to the sheriff what penalty might be most appropriate, i.e. a fine and maybe a community payback order. He also told her Mr Parker had savings of £2,000. It was therefore no surprise at all she then issued a £1,800 fine (discounted to £1,500 because he wasn’t considered an adult when he committed the crime. Since when is a 22 year old not an adult?!!!) In my opinion, therefore, the Sheriff was basically spoon-fed the sentence by the KC‘.

Arrest made in relation to red kite shooting on Lochindorb Estate grouse moor

Police Scotland have arrested a 56-year old man as part of their investigation into the shooting of a red kite on a grouse moor on Lochindorb Estate earlier this week.

A rough estimation of Lochindorb Estate boundary at the edge of the Cairngorms National Park

It’s hard to keep up with all the raptor persecution news this week, but this is the red kite that members of the public witnessed being shot on the grouse moor on Monday 27th March 2023 at around 11.15am. The Scottish SPCA attended the scene along with Police Scotland but unfortunately the kite’s injuries were so devastating that the bird had to be euthanised (see here).

Police Scotland issued a very fast appeal for information on Tuesday, saying they were particularly interested in finding witnesses who might have seen quad bikes or off-road vehicles in the area on Monday morning.

Yesterday afternoon (Friday 31st March 2023) Police Scotland issued the following short statement:

Arrest after bird of prey shot near Grantown-on-Spey

A 56-year-old man has been arrested and released pending further investigation after a bird of prey was shot near Grantown-on-Spey.

Officers received a report of a bird being shot around 11.15am on Monday, 27 March, 2023, at the Lochindorb Estate.

ENDS

Great work by Police Scotland. Let’s hope they find sufficient evidence to charge someone for this latest shooting.

Moy gamekeeper convicted: cue damage limitation exercise by grouse shooting industry

Further to today’s news that gamekeeper Rory Parker (24) has pleaded guilty to shooting a sparrowhawk on Moy Estate in September 2021 (see here), it’s worth examining the narrative that’s being pumped out by the grouse-shooting industry representatives in a desperate attempt to distance the industry from yet another raptor persecution crime.

This conviction couldn’t have come at a worse time for the industry, as the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill begins its passage through the Scottish Parliament. Obviously, the industry won’t like the media attention of yet another raptor persecution crime being committed on a grouse-shooting estate so they’ll want to manipulate the media narrative to influence/minimise the scope of the forthcoming grouse shoot licensing scheme.

And so it begins.

It actually began this morning prior to the court hearing. I received a message from an individual within the industry (I won’t name him, he’s generally one of the good guys and I value his willingness to converse). He told me that, ‘in the spirit of accuracy and transparency’, that the shooting of this raptor hadn’t taken place on a grouse moor (as I’d previously reported) but that it was in fact in an area managed for pheasant and partridge. I told him that wasn’t my understanding but that I’d be happy to clarify this detail once the evidence had been heard in court. He told me this particular issue would be clarified during today’s hearing.

As it turns out, it wasn’t really clarified in court. But the RSPB has since published its video footage of the shooting (see link at foot of the RSPB press release, here) and it looks very much like a grouse moor to me.

Here’s a screengrab I took from the RSPB video, where incidentally I’ve highlighted the position of the gamekeeper, close to a large plastic decoy eagle owl that had been placed on a fencepost, presumably to try and draw in raptors to shoot at close quarters – we’ve seen gamekeepers using this technique many times before (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here, here).

The location of the shooting was given in court as a hill called Tom na Slaite. Here it is on an OS map – complete with a track leading up to some grouse butts:

Now, it’s quite possible that pheasants and partridge have been released on this part of the grouse-shooting estate – it’s becoming a common theme to release these birds for shooting on grouse moors (e.g. see here), either to supplement the grouse shooting days or, in some circumstances, to replace the grouse-shoot days when grouse stocks are too low to attract paying guests. It’s one of the significant faults in the proposed grouse shoot licensing Bill, in my opinion, but that’s a bigger discussion for another day.

The bottom line is that this gamekeeper, Rory Parker, shot this sparrowhawk on an upland grouse moor, not on a lowland game shoot as the industry would have us believe.

The narrative continues with a quote for the media from Moy Estate’s unnamed shooting tenant (I’ll return to the identity of the tenant/sporting agent in a future blog). His statement, quoted in the Scottish Daily Mirror, includes this line:

“As the sporting tenant on this area of land, which is used for pheasant and partridge shoots, we were shocked when made aware of the incident….blah blah”.

It appears to be casual, but that phrase “….which is used for pheasant and partridge shoots…” is carefully and deliberately placed, in my opinion.

As is the phrase quoted in the same article given by Dee Ward from landowners’ lobby group Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), whose statement includes the line:

“In this case, the illegal persecution of a sparrowhawk near pheasant and partridge release pens is particularly disappointing….”

It’s slick PR, designed to be consumed by an unassuming, uninformed audience who wouldn’t otherwise link the crime to grouse moor management.

It’s nothing new. We saw it in 2021 when a poisoned golden eagle was found dead, next to a poisoned bait, on a grouse moor on Invercauld Estate in the Cairngorms National Park. Estate Manager Angus McNicol was quoted in the press, claiming:

“The area where the bird was found is on a let farm in an area which is managed for sheep farming and is on the edge of an area of native woodland regeneration. It is not managed for driven grouse shooting” (see here).

This claim was swiftly rebutted by Ian Thomson, Head of RSPB Investigations in Scotland (who was directly involved in the investigation) who said:

“For the avoidance of doubt, the eagle was found poisoned next to a mountain hare bait, in an area of strip muirburn within 200m of a line of grouse butts and a landrover track” (see here).

The most blatant example of damage limitation by the grouse shooting industry I’ve seen was when SLE issued a statement in response to the appalling crimes committed by gamekeeper Alan Wilson on the Longformacus Estate a few years ago.

In that statement, SLE described the Longformacus Estate as being ‘managed for low ground pheasant shooting‘ (see here). It may well have been, but strangely, they forgot to mention that the crime scene (Henlaw Wood) also just happened to be at the foot of a driven grouse moor! This omission was probably just an innocent, forgetful moment, and nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that the Werritty Review on grouse moor management was imminent.

I’ll write more about today’s conviction of the Moy Estate gamekeeper in another blog, shortly.

UPDATE 1st April 2023: The sentencing of raptor-killing Moy Estate gamekeeper Rory Parker (here)

UPDATE 4th April 2023: Game-shooting industry’s response to the conviction of Moy Estate gamekeeper Rory Parker (here)