trap – Raptor Persecution UK

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.

Sparrowhawk euthanised in Scottish Highlands after illegal trap caused ‘catastrophic’ leg injury

A Sparrowhawk has been euthanised after it was found in an illegally-set trap with a “catastrophic” leg injury.

The bird was found with its leg caught in a Fenn trap on Saturday 4 April 2026 near to the Fairy Glen Nature Reserve on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands.

The Scottish SPCA attended the scene and found the Sparrowhawk with a broken leg and in “extreme and unnecessary pain” and a decision was taken to euthanise to prevent further suffering.

Police Scotland Wildlife Crime Officer Detective Constable Daniel Crilley said:

“This protected bird was found in a Fenn trap. Fenn traps are legal only when set in a natural or artificial tunnel that is designed to minimise the risk of harming non target species, however this trap was not, making it an illegal trap.

“Sparrowhawks are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and enquiries are ongoing establish the full circumstances.

“We are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area or who has information that could help our investigation to get in touch.

“If you can help please contact us via 101, quoting incident number 1200 of 8 April, 2026 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111“.

A Scottish SPCA spokesperson said:

“This is a very concerning case and a serious wildlife offence, and we are keen to establish what happened. The bird was found in extreme and unnecessary pain.

“The trap had caused a catastrophic leg-break injury and sadly resulted in the bird having to be put to sleep. We urge anyone with information please contact Police Scotland or call our animal helpline on 03000 999 999“.

A spokesperson for the RSPB said:

“We condemn the injuries caused to a Sparrowhawk in an illegal trap set on land adjacent to our Fairy Glen Nature Reserve, on the Black Isle in April.

“We appeal to the public to provide information either directly to Police Scotland or via Crimestoppers which might assist with their enquiries into this incident. We welcome the swift action of the Scottish SPCA in responding and trying to help save this bird“.

‘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.

Statement from Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on conviction of Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason

Following the news earlier today that Scottish gamekeeper and former convicted sex offender Russell Douglas Mason has been sentenced for beating a Goshawk to death with a stick on a Perthshire shooting estate (here), the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has published the following statement:

GAMEKEEPER FINED AFTER BEATING TO DEATH PROTECTED BIRD OF PREY

A gamekeeper who clubbed a protected bird of prey to death has been sentenced

Hidden camera footage showed Russell Mason, 49, striking the goshawk with a cosh six times after it had been caught inside a crow cage trap on Cockrage Moor, Perthshire.

He then put the dead bird in a carrier bag before driving away from the scene at the Milton of Drummie Estate in a Polaris Ranger motor vehicle.

Mason, who worked on the estate, was sentenced at Perth Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to catching and killing the rare raptor on 12 February 2024.

He also admitted a charge of illegally storing ammunition at his home outwith the terms of his firearms licence.

Mason was handed a 200-hour community payback order for killing the goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.

Prosecutor Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said:

“It is highly important to preserve Scotland’s natural heritage, including the wildlife that forms part of it. As such, wild birds are given strict protection by our law.

“Russell Mason’s brutal and wholly unnecessary actions resulted in the suffering and death of a rare and magnificent bird of prey.

“COPFS takes raptor persecution seriously and will prosecute individuals where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in the public interest to do so.

“The result in this case is a testament to the collaborative working between COPFS, Police Scotland, and Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), who in this case were able to provide vital forensic evidence“.

Staff from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) had set up the static camera on public ground to monitor activity at the trap.

After reviewing the footage on February 14, they saw Mason had entered the trap two days earlier carrying a handheld net.

After catching the goshawk, he is then seen striking it six times with a cudgel or similar instrument.

RSPB officials alerted the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals (SSPCA) who, in turn, informed the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

An avian vet who subsequently reviewed the footage said the bird would have suffered several fractures and died a painful death.

Officers identified Mason from his gamekeeping duties and his vehicle registration.

DNA from the goshawk was found by officers from the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) on a cudgel found at his home.

During a police search of his home on the estate, officers also recovered a quantity of ammunition from his car and on top of set of bedroom drawers, which were not appropriately stored in accordance with his firearms licence.

ENDS

Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason receives derisory sentence for brutal killing of Goshawk

Scottish gamekeeper and former convicted sex offender Russell Douglas Mason, 49, attended a sentencing hearing at Perth Sheriff Court this morning, after pleading guilty last month to the brutal killing of a Goshawk that he battered to death inside a Crow cage trap on a shooting estate in Perthshire (see here for previous blog with case details).

Screen grab from RSPB covert footage showing gamekeeper Mason beating the Goshawk to death inside a Crow cage trap on the Milton of Drimmie Estate, Perthshire

Here is a press release from the RSPB, following sentencing:

GAMEKEEPER FROM PERTHSHIRE SHOOTING ESTATE FINED FOR BEATING PROTECTED BIRD OF PREY TO DEATH

In February 2024, video footage gathered by the RSPB showed gamekeeper Russell Mason brutally killing a protected Goshawk whilst it was caught in a cage trap near Bridge of Cally, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
Mason pleaded guilty to the illegal killing of the Goshawk and a firearms offence on 17 March 2026 and was sentenced today, at Perth Sheriff Court. He was given a 200-hour Community Payback Order for killing the Goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.
Although cage traps can be legally operated under annual government licences, numerous investigations and convictions have demonstrated that these types of traps are frequently used unlawfully to catch and kill birds of prey on gamebird shooting estates in an effort to remove any potential threat to their gamebird stocks and to maximise gamebird numbers.

In early 2024, RSPB Investigations staff deployed a covert camera to monitor the use of a crow cage trap on the Milton of Drimmie Estate near Bridge of Cally, Perthshire. The footage recorded on 12 February 2024, showed a Goshawk, a specially protected bird of prey, enter the trap and fly around, unable to escape.

Later that day, Russell Mason, a gamekeeper employed by the estate, arrived at the trap in a vehicle. He then unlocked and entered the trap whilst carrying a large, long-handled net in one hand and a short stick in the other. He then captured the Goshawk in the net, pinning it against the ground, and began beating it with the stick. After striking the bird six times he can be seen prodding the bird’s body, then removing the now dead Goshawk from the net and placing it in a plastic bag. After picking up the net and stick, with the bird’s bagged remains held under his arm, he left the trap locking it behind him. He returned to the vehicle and left the scene.

The RSPB’s recording can be viewed below: WARNING, CONTAINS DISTRESSING FOOTAGE

Goshawks are a rare and elusive species. In the late 19^th Century Goshawks became extinct in the UK as a result of persecution associated with gamebird shooting and widespread deforestation. Though their population has been recovering in recent decades, Goshawks are still relatively scarce, with an estimated 700-1,200 breeding pairs in the UK. Despite their scarcity, they are regularly illegally killed, with 49 confirmed incidents recorded between 2015 and 2024 in the UK. Two thirds of these incidents occurred on land managed for gamebird shooting where birds of prey continue to be targeted to remove any perceived threat of predation to gamebird stocks despite full legal protection across the UK.

Crow cage traps can be operated legally to control stipulated corvid species (such as Carrion Crows) under the conditions of general licences, issued annually by the UK countries statutory nature conservation agencies. Permitted target species can be legally controlled for specific purposes including the conservation of other wild birds, flora or fauna, the protection of crops/livestock, or public health. As multiple previous cases have revealed, including some resulting in successful prosecutions, on some gamebird shooting estates crow cage traps are often illegally used to intentionally trap birds of prey that are subsequently killed.

Functioning like a large lobster pot, birds enter these large live-capture traps by way of an opening in the roof, often like a funnel. Once inside, it is impossible for a bird to escape. Non-target species, including birds of prey, are regularly and routinely trapped in these types of cage traps.

While under the general licence conditions, it is not an offence to catch a non-target species, it must be released unharmed within 24 hours, and at the time of discovery. However, many trap operators do not adhere to these conditions and will either kill trapped birds of prey or bag and remove them from site, potentially to be killed in another location. Both killing and taking a bird of prey is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

On 17 March 2026 at Perth Sheriff Court, Mason pleaded guilty to the illegal killing of a Goshawk. Sentencing took place today (24 April 2026). He was given a 200-hour Community Payback Order for killing the Goshawk and fined £890 for firearm offences.

This case marks the sixth successful conviction for Goshawk persecution in the UK since 2015. In all of these cases the individuals convicted were associated with the gamebird shooting industry when the crime was committed.

Ian Thomson, RSPB’s Investigations Manager said:

“Crimes such as this give unequivocal proof that these types of traps are incredibly effective at catching non-target species such as birds of prey, which are then routinely killed.

“We welcome the conviction of Mr Mason and are pleased that our video evidence was again key in detecting a crime against one of our rarest raptors and in securing this result. We are, however, disappointed that the penalty imposed will have little in the way of a deterrent effect on others considering committing similar offences.

“There are hundreds of these traps in use across our countryside, and this case shows, yet again, that the indiscriminate nature of such traps encourages their misuse and deliberate abuse; this in turn poses a significant threat to protected species.

“For those wanting to undertake licensed control of species such as crows, other more selective options are available, posing considerably less risk to non-target species such as protected birds of prey. We have been raising these concerns with the licensing authorities for over 30 years, and cases such as this again pose significant questions about the legitimacy of using indiscriminate cage traps in our countryside“.

The RSPB would like to thank Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, National Wildlife Crime Unit, the Wildlife Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for their roles in investigating and prosecuting this case.

Members of the public are urged to report any suspected incidents of bird of prey persecution to the police by calling 101 and by submitting a report to the RSPB by visiting www.rspb.org.uk/report-crimes or by calling the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101. Reports via the RSPB’s reporting form and RSPB Raptor Crime Hotline can be made anonymously.

ENDS

My commentary:

First of all, congratulations and thanks are due to the RSPB’s Investigations Team. This is the third successful prosecution for raptor persecution offences so far this year where covert video evidence provided by the RSPB has been pivotal to securing a conviction.

The other two cases were:

12 January 2026, Scarborough Magistrates’ Court: gamekeeper Thomas Munday pleaded guilty to battering to death a Buzzard that had been caught inside a Crow cage trap on a Pheasant shoot at Hovingham, North Yorkshire (here)

and

29 January 2026, York Magistrates’ Court: gamekeeper Racster Dingwall pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a Hen Harrier as it came in to roost on a grouse moor on the Conistone & Grassington Estate in the Yorkshire Dales National Park (here).

Secondly, congratulations and thanks are due to Police Scotland, RSPB, Scottish SPCA, National Wildlife Crime Unit, Wildlife Forensics team at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit at the Crown Office & Fiscal Service for an exemplary investigation and prosecution. This is what effective partnership-working looks like.

However, congratulations and thanks are not due to the sentencing Sheriff. Mason’s sentence can only be described as derisory, given the circumstances of his offences. Trapping and then battering to death a supposedly protected species meets the threshold for a custodial sentence (e.g. see here for a similar case in Scotland where a gamekeeper was filmed trapping and then beating a Goshawk to death with a stick). Mason’s additional firearms offences should have seen him imprisoned.

Mitigation provided to the court by Mason’s defence agent included the fact that he’d lost his job, his home and his guns.

Some of us would argue that he should never have had a firearms and shotgun certificate anyway, given his previous conviction and placement on the sex offenders register. That’s hardly indicative of being of ‘good character’ and being entrusted to own guns.

As Ian Thomson pointed out in the RSPB press release, Mason’s sentence will be of no deterrent whatsoever. There will be other gamekeepers watching all this and who will decide that the risk is very much worth taking because the consequences are minimal. Mason may well have lost his job but I daresay he’ll find another one, in the same industry – there are plenty of examples of this.

If those committing raptor persecution offences continue to receive pitiful sentences, it shouldn’t be any surprise that these crimes will continue.

And what of the shooting industry itself? How will it respond? So far, all the shooting and gamekeeping organisations have remained silent about Mason’s conviction (see here), which is surprising given the industry’s repeated claims of having ‘zero tolerance’ for raptor persecution.

Where are their statements of condemnation?

Was Mason a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association? If so, has he now been expelled?

Was Mason a member of BASC? If so, has he now been expelled?

Was the Milton of Drimmie Estate a member of Scottish Land & Estates? If so, has it now been expelled?

It’ll be interesting to see whether there is now a prosecution for alleged vicarious liability against the estate. We’re also waiting to see whether NatureScot imposes a three-year General Licence restriction on the estate. It’s my understanding that consideration of this process was paused whilst the criminal prosecution against Mason was underway.

UPDATE 16.00hrs: Statement from Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) on conviction of Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason (here)

Convicted Scottish gamekeeper & former sex offender Russell Mason due to be sentenced

A Scottish gamekeeper who last month pleaded guilty to bludgeoning to death a trapped Goshawk on a shooting estate in Perthshire, is due to be sentenced tomorrow at Perth Sheriff Court.

Russell Douglas Mason, 49, was filmed covertly by the RSPB, beating a Goshawk to death with a stick after it became trapped inside a Crow cage trap on Cochrage Muir (Moor), believed to be part of the Milton of Drimmie and Strone estate near Blairgowrie, on 12 February 2024.

On the opening day of his trial on 17 March 2026, Mason changed his plea to guilty and also admitted to various firearms offences. Sentencing was deferred for background reports and it emerged Mason had previously been added to the sex offenders register.

So far, the gamebird shooting industry, which unconvincingly claims to have a zero tolerance policy for raptor persecution and immediate expulsion policies for anyone convicted of those crimes, has remained silent about Mason’s guilty plea (see here).

UPDATE 24 April 2026: Scottish gamekeeper Russell Mason receives derisory sentence for brutal killing of Goshawk (here)

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.

Game-shooting industry’s response to the recent conviction of Perthshire gamekeeper Russell Mason

Further to last week’s news that Scottish gamekeeper and convicted sex offender Russell Mason had pleaded guilty to battering a trapped Goshawk to death on a shooting estate in Perthshire, in addition to firearms offences (see here), I’ve been looking to see how the game-shooting industry has responded to this latest conviction of a member of its community.

Goshawk with Pheasant. Photo by Ronnie Gilbert

You’ll recall that this is the game-shooting industry whose organisations routinely state they have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards raptor persecution, and many of them are members of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Raptor Group, in which case you’d think they’d be quick to condemn this latest crime, and reassure the public that if Mason and/or the estate was a member of any of these organisations they’ve now been expelled, right?

Six days on from Mason’s conviction, here’s how those shooting organisations have responded to the news:

Scottish Gamekeepers Association – silence

Scottish Land & Estates – silence

Scottish Association for Country Sports – silence

British Association for Shooting & Conservation – silence

Countryside Alliance – silence

Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust – silence

Perhaps they’re all waiting for Mason to be sentenced next month before they denounce his criminal activities? Although I can’t think of any reasonable argument for a delay.

Or perhaps they’ll wait for the inevitable public revulsion when the RSPB publishes the video nasty showing Mason bludgeoning the Goshawk to death, before they bother to comment?

Their current collective silence speaks volumes.

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