trap – Page 7 – Raptor Persecution UK

Police launch National Hen Harrier Taskforce to tackle illegal persecution on grouse moors

Blog readers may recall a press release in April 2024 from North Yorkshire Police detailing the execution of a search warrant on an unnamed grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, in relation to the illegal persecution of hen harriers (see here).

This hen harrier was euthanised after suffering catastrophic injuries in an illegal trap set next to its nest on a grouse moor in Scotland in 2019. Photo by Ruth Tingay

The very first line of that press release said this:

“On Wednesday, (17 April 2024), a National Harrier Task Force operation was held at an undisclosed location in the Yorkshire Dales“.

That was the first time I’d heard of the ‘National Harrier Task Force’ but I’ve since learned much more about it.

I’ll begin this blog with the reproduction of a press article about the new Taskforce that appeared on a relatively obscure website (CandoFM) in May 2024, then I’ll provide some of my own commentary on this new initiative.

Here’s the press article:

Hen Harrier Task Force Launched To Tackle Illegal Persecution

A new task force has been launched to tackle the illegal persecution of hen harriers, one of the rarest bird of prey species in the UK.

The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) will use innovative technology and strategic partnerships to detect, deter and disrupt offenders.

Given the rarity of hen harriers, significant resource is invested in their conservation. Satellite tags are fitted to the birds to research their ecology, but these tags have also revealed a concerning amount of illegal killing.

Criminals are intent on targeting this vulnerable species and operate with impunity. There have been no successful prosecutions in recent years despite the efforts of the police and partners.

In response, the launch of the Hen Harrier Task Force, led by Detective Inspector Mark Harrison of the NWCU, represents a pivotal shift in combating wildlife crime.

“The persecution of birds of prey is not just a wildlife issue; it’s serious crime blighting our countryside,” said DI Harrison. “With the launch of the Hen Harrier Task Force, we are determined to disrupt illegal activity and protect this vulnerable species.”

Central to the bird of prey task force’s approach is standardising reporting practices and improving the police response to incidents. Police and partners will work together to ensure resources are deployed swiftly and investigative opportunities are maximised. The task force will also bring together partners to engage with local communities and raise the profile of hen harrier persecution in a unified effort against wildlife crime.

“We cannot tackle this problem alone,” emphasised DI Harrison. “Through proactive partnerships and community engagement, we can strengthen our response and hold perpetrators to account.”

The task force will tackle crimes involving satellite tagged birds of prey. It is data-led, relying on analysis of police data and hotspot mapping. The NWCU has identified crime hot spots where they can focus enforcement efforts, as well as other areas of historic vulnerabilities where they will be seeking to revisit and raise their presence with landowners and land users. These meetings are an opportunity to highlight the issues/risks and identify ways to prevent further incidents from occurring.

Rather than purely focusing on the wildlife aspect of the crime, DI Harrison has tasked his team with taking a holistic view of the criminality and considering all types of offences. Criminals will often steal and destroy the satellite tags to conceal their offending. This could constitute criminal damage, theft and fraud. In the last few years alone, £100,000 worth of satellite tags have been lost in circumstances suspected to be criminal. The apparent use of firearms adds a further level of seriousness to these cases.

Recent examples of this include Anu, a hen harrier in South Yorkshire, which had its satellite tag deliberately cut off by someone possibly using scissors or a knife. Asta, a hen harrier in North Yorkshire, is another example. Although the dead bird was not found, its tag was recovered from a dead crow. The NWCU suspect that fitting the tag to a crow was an attempt to make it look like the hen harrier was still alive and hide the fact that it had been illegally killed. Unfortunately, the crow also died from unknown causes.

The task force’s multifaceted approach includes:

Improved incident response: Standardised reporting processes enable rapid response to suspicious incidents, ensuring investigative opportunities are maximised.
Innovative technology: From tracking drones to specialised detection dogs, the task force uses innovative tools to overcome logistical challenges and enhance evidence collection in remote areas.
Strategic partnerships: The taskforce brings together law enforcement, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, landowners and communities to tackle crime in hotspot areas.
Community awareness Initiatives: Building on successful models like Operation Owl, the task force seeks to boost public support and encourage vigilance against wildlife crime.

As the task force gains momentum, the team will be dedicated to protecting the UK’s hen harriers. Through collaboration and innovation, it is set to make a lasting impact in the fight against wildlife crime.

About the Hen Harrier Task Force

The Hen Harrier Task Force is an initiative led by the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit and supported by seven police forces (Cumbria, Derbyshire, Durham, Northumbria, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire), DEFRA, the RSPB, National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), The Wildlife Trusts, GWCT, national parks, Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Natural England and The Moorland Association to combat the persecution of hen harriers in the UK. The taskforce aims to detect, deter, and disrupt offenders involved in wildlife crime by using technology and improving partnership working.

ENDS

My initial reaction to this new Taskforce was one of deep cynicism. Given some of the organisations involved, it just looks like yet another pseudo-‘partnership’ that will achieve nothing other than providing a convenient vehicle for DEFRA and its raptor-killing mates within the grouse shooting industry to be able to pretend that they have a zero tolerance approach to the illegal killing of hen harriers because they are all ‘cooperating’ on this Taskforce.

It’s a ploy that’s been utilised many times before and has simply facilitated the continued illegal killing of hen harriers (and other raptor species) without anyone being held to account. The RPPDG (Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group) is a prime example – established thirteen years ago in 2011 and has served no useful purpose in terms of tackling raptor persecution, but has provided numerous Government Ministers with an opportunity to appear to be dealing with it. Utter greenwashing.

Those of you with long memories will remember Operation Artemis, another police-led initiative launched twenty years ago in 2004 designed to work in ‘partnership’ with grouse moor owners to tackle the illegal killing of hen harriers. Here’s some info about it from the RSPB’s 2004 Birdcrime Report:

As described by the RSPB, Op Artemis was not well-received by the shooting industry, even resulting in an article published in The Times where the then Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, Simon Hart (who later became Chief Whip for the Conservatives) said the police operation was “part of a wider witch-hunt against gamekeepers“.

Operation Artemis stumbled along until 2007 when it was closed down after achieving nothing at all. Here are two more write-ups about it from the RSPB’s Birdcrime Reports in 2006 and 2007 respectively:

Given the complete failure of Operation Artemis to effectively tackle the illegal killing of hen harriers on driven grouse moors, how will this latest initiative, the National Hen Harrier Taskforce, rolled out some 20 years later, be any different?

Well, there are some positive differences.

This time around, the police have the benefit of access to hen harrier satellite-tracking data (provided by Natural England and the RSPB) which has allowed the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to identify clear persecution hotspots, i.e. the estates where a disproportionate number of hen harriers are killed / ‘go missing’ in comparison to the rest of the species’ range.

These wildlife crime hotspots have been known for years but this time the NWCU has done its own analysis on the tag data and, even though it has drawn the same conclusions as the RSPB previously, because the hotspots have been identified by the Police it cuts off any opportunity for estate owners to claim that the data are ‘biased’ or ‘fabricated’ simply because the data belonged to the RSPB. In other words, the estate owners/managers can’t so easily dismiss the data as not being credible.

Another major difference this time around is that the police officer leading the Taskforce, Detective Inspector Mark Harrison, is taking a much more strategic approach. He’s not only looking at the offence of killing a hen harrier – he’s looking at the wider, associated offences such as theft (of very expensive satellite tags) and firearms offences. In combination, these crimes amount to a considerable and serious level of offending and can open the door to the police receiving permission to undertake covert tactics, including surveillance and communications monitoring.

To reach that stage, certain steps have be taken first as part of a longer-term strategy. These include police visits to the known hotspot estates (and I understand that there have now been several of these visits in addition to the one in the Yorkshire Dales National Park that was reported in April). If, after these visits, hen harrier persecution continues to be suspected at those hotspots, the police will then be in a position to demonstrate to senior officers that the ‘nicely nicely’ approach has been tried but hasn’t worked and so permission to begin more covert tactics is more likely to be granted.

Permission should be granted just on the basis of suspected firearms offences taking place. If the estate owners / managers / gamekeepers are denying any knowledge of the offences (which is what they’ve been doing for 30+ years) then the police can legitimately conclude that ‘someone’ [apparently unidentified] is running around an estate committing firearms offences and is clearly a threat to the public. As the fundamental role of the police is a duty to protect the public then I can’t see how permission to deploy more covert tactics can legitimately be withheld under these circumstances.

Of course none of these ideas are anything new – we’ve all been saying for years that if estate owners / managers / gamekeepers claim not to know who’s committing firearms offences on their land then there’s a serious concern that armed individuals are running amok and those estate owners / managers / gamekeepers should be fully supportive of the police doing everything they can to find them, just as any of us would if armed criminals were operating on our property.

However, the difference this time is that here we have a senior police officer, with a background specialism in covert surveillance (and thus a deep understanding of what hoops need to be jumped through to get permission for covert ops), prepared to push the envelope and take a more radical approach and actually implement this strategy instead of just talking about it, and I applaud him for that. Whether he’ll be allowed to stay in post for long enough to carry through with this strategy remains to be seen.

Another new initiative with this Hen Harrier Taskforce is a ‘mutual aid agreement’ between a number of police forces. One of the big issues in tackling wildlife crime, and particularly raptor persecution, has always been the availability of a wildlife crime officer to attend the scene promptly to secure evidence. We all know that the police are stretched, budgets are stretched, and it’s not always possible to get an officer on scene quickly – sometimes delays run into days and weeks, which is ridiculous. The mutual aid agreement means that a number of regional police forces have committed to making officers available at short notice for cross-border searches if the local officers can’t attend in time. If that works in practice, it should be good.

Once on scene, the Taskforce is also utilising a wide array of new techniques and equipment to aid any searches. These include the use of drones working within the range of satellite tag signals and the use of specialised detection dogs trained to search for bird corpses, amongst other things.

This all sounds very promising, on paper. Although to be fair, the Taskforce has already started the strategic plan by paying visits to those known persecution hotspots and has given fair warning to the estates about what they can expect if the persecution continues.

The only issue I have with that approach at the moment is that those crime hotspot estates have not been publicly named. The police say this is because they’re trying to build relationships of trust. I say they’re shielding the criminals. I have been told that the decision not to name hotspot estates is ‘not set in stone’ and may be revisited.

Let’s see.

I wish the Taskforce well and, given the current rate of ongoing hen harrier persecution on grouse moors, I’ll expect to see results in the not-too distant future.

UPDATE 17 July 2024: Is the Moorland Association already trying to sabotage the police’s new National Hen Harrier Taskforce? (here)

Case discontinued against Ruabon Moor gamekeeper Stuart Hart

The case against Ruabon Moor gamekeeper Stuart Hart has been discontinued.

Hart, 47, had faced two charges – Using a trap to kill or take a wild bird (in this case, a Goshawk) and possession of an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence (see here and here for earlier blogs).

*Young goshawk in a cage trap. Photo by RSPB (file photo, not linked to this case)*

The first hearing in this case was held at Wrexham Magistrates on 28 March 2024. Hart had not entered a plea as his defence solicitor told the court he considered there had been procedural errors in the way the case had been brought. He also told the court that he wanted to challenge the admissibility of the RSPB’s video evidence (here).

The case was adjourned and was due to be heard again today (30 April 2024). However, according to the court, the case has now been discontinued.

Interesting. More to come on this…

UPDATE 26 November 2024: Ruabon Moor gamekeeper prosecution – why the case was discontinued (here)

Defence solicitor in prosecution against gamekeeper Stuart Hart wants to challenge admissibility of RSPB video evidence

The first hearing in the case against gamekeeper Stuart Hart was heard at Wrexham Magistrates, North Wales last Thursday (28 March 2024).

Hart, 47, faces two charges – Using a trap to kill or take a wild bird (in this case, a Goshawk) and possession of an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence (see here for earlier blog).

Hart’s defence solicitor, Michael Kenyon, told the court there were procedural errors in the way the case had been brought, and in addition he wanted to challenge the admissibility of the RSPB’s video evidence, so the case was adjourned to be heard by a District Judge. (A District Judge is legally-qualified, usually a former solicitor or barrister, whereas magistrates are non-legally-qualified volunteers who depend on a qualified legal advisor in the court to direct them on the relevant law).

Hart has not yet entered a plea.

Michael Kenyon will be a familiar name to those who follow raptor persecution prosecutions. He represented gamekeeper Timothy Cowin in 2018 who was accused of shooting dead two short-eared owls on Whernside, Cumbria after being caught on camera by RSPB Investigations staff. Kenyon challenged the procedural basis of that case (e.g. see here), resulting in an extraordinary series of hearings at five different courts across NW England (here). Eventually Cowin was convicted (here).

Hart’s case will next be heard on 30 April 2024.

NB: Comments are turned off for legal reasons until criminal proceedings have concluded.

UPDATE 30 April 2024: Case discontinued against Ruabon Moor gamekeeper Stuart Hart (here)

UPDATE 26 November 2024: Ruabon Moor gamekeeper prosecution – why the case was discontinued (here)

Gamekeeper Stuart Hart due in court tomorrow to face charges of alleged wildlife crime

A gamekeeper is due to appear before Wrexham Magistrates tomorrow (Thurs, 28 March 2024) after being charged with alleged wildlife crime offences.

According to court documents, Stuart Hart, 47, faces two charges – Using a trap to kill or take a wild bird (in this case, a Goshawk) and possession of an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence.

A press release about this case issued by North Wales Police earlier this month (here) was quite vague, with no details about the date of the alleged offences and no detail about the location other than ‘on the outskirts of Wrexham‘.

Hopefully more detail will be available after tomorrow’s hearing. This will be the defendant’s first court appearance and he’s yet to enter a plea.

NB: Comments are closed until criminal proceedings have concluded.

UPDATE 31 March 2024: Defence solicitor in prosecution against gamekeeper Stuart Hart wants to challenge admissibility of RSPB video evidence (here)

UPDATE 30 April 2024: Case discontinued against Ruabon Moor gamekeeper Stuart Hart (here)

123 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, a satellite-tagged hen harrier called ‘Shalimar’ that disappeared in suspicious circumstances on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens on 15 February 2024 (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). Incidentally, 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 is 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.

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 123 hen harriers gone since 2018, and 27 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 DEFRA Ministers remain silent.

*n/a – no hen harriers were brood meddled in 2018

‘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 has finally decided to act by introducing a grouse moor licensing scheme under the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill. This new legislation, due to be voted on by the Scottish Parliament today, will mean that grouse shooting estates will have their licences suspended/revoked if, on the balance of probability, it is shown that any new raptor persecution crimes are linked with grouse moor management on that estate.

So here’s the latest gruesome list. Note that the majority of these birds (but not all) were fitted with satellite tags. How many more [untagged] harriers have been killed?

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).

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).

December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2020, #R2-F2-20) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in Cumbria (here).

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

14 December 2022: Hen harrier female (brood meddled in 2022, #R3-F1-22) ‘disappeared’ on moorland in the North Pennines AONB (here).

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).

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).

To be continued…….

Not one of these 123 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 TWENTY THREE hen harriers, and still Govt ministers remain silent. 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 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).

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).

33 hen harriers are known to have gone ‘missing’/been deliberately killed in 2023, making it the worst year for hen harrier persecution since brood meddling began in 2018.

Will 2024 be any better?

Gamekeeper charged with attempting to trap goshawks in North Wales

Press release from North Wales Police (7th March 2024):

Wrexham man charged with wildlife offences

A man has been charged with attempting to take Goshawks in a cage trap on land on the outskirts of Wrexham.

Birds of prey such as Goshawk are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The 47 year old man from the Wrexham area was postal charged with using a trap for the purpose of killing or taking a wild bird and possessing an article capable of being used to kill or take a wild bird.

He is due to appear before Wrexham Magistrates Court on Thursday, March 28th.

North Wales Police rural crime team will pursue anyone targeting wildlife and continue to work with our partners the RSPB and National Wildlife Crime Unit.

ENDS

This press release is quite vague, and I believe deliberately so. Definitely one to watch. Comments are closed until criminal proceedings have concluded.

UPDATE 9th March 2024: This blog article has been picked up by Nation Cymru, the Welsh news service, here.

UPDATE 27th March 2024: Gamekeeper Stuart Hart due in court tomorrow to face charges of alleged wildlife crime (here)

Scottish gamekeeper convicted for causing unnecessary suffering to trapped magpies

Press release from Scottish SPCA (7th March 2023):

Penicuik man receives ban from keeping animals for five years after trapping and killing magpies

Alexander Hamilton was sentenced to a five-year ban from owning and keeping animals and 100 hours of community service at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday, 5 March.

64-year-old Hamilton of Windsor Drive, Penicuik pled guilty to trapping magpies in illegal traps in his garden causing them distress. The birds were also deprived of adequate food water and shelter.

Scottish SPCA Chief Inspector Mark Rafferty, Special Investigation Unit, said:

“On 29 July 2022 our animal helpline received a call from a resident in Windsor Drive, Penicuik reporting two magpies caught in cages in the back garden of a neighbour.

We attended that same day but found no one at home. On looking over the fence into the back garden, we observed a Larsen Mate trap and two other cages. The two cages had no suitable shelter, food or water and no visible tag attached to them.

We attended later that day at the address and the occupier, Hamilton, let us into his garden. We found a dead magpie lying on the paving slabs in the back garden, just inside the gate.

In the bottom corner of the garden, screened off from the rest of the garden by a large unsecured fencing panel, was an area where there were three traps.

Three of the magpie traps in Hamilton’s garden. Photo: SSPCA

The first trap was a Larsen Mate trap containing one Magpie. The bird was in a distressed state due to being confined within the trap and was in poor condition. This trap was of a manufactured type, and was specifically designed for the purpose of catching targeted species.

Crow cage traps and Larsen traps are bird traps used to catch various territorial members of the crow family most commonly used by gamekeepers or sheep farmers.

Trap operators are responsible for traps carrying their Trap Registration Number and all traps used must only display a single tag or sign showing one NatureScot Trap Registration Number. These conditions were not being adhered to rendering this trap illegal.

The second trap contained one magpie and there was also a cage containing a magpie in poor body condition.

The magpie within this cage was distressed and managed to squeeze through the mesh on the floor of the cage and enter a space underneath the adjacent shed. The bird could be heard scraping and pecking at the wooden floor of the shed and was clearly distressed.

The birds were released from the cages and the traps and were released back into the wild.

We’re pleased with the five-year ban at the sentencing result. All animals should be protected from suffering and this includes magpies. Our team treat these cases seriously and it is good to see that the courts share this view. We will continue to investigate this type of offending, to ensure people like Hamilton are caught and stopped from further cruelty acts. I would like to thank the Procurator Fiscal Karon Rollo and the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit.

If anyone is concerned about an animal, they can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999.”

ENDS

This is a good conviction for the Scottish SPCA, who reported Hamilton to the Crown Office using their powers under the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 and without needing support from Police Scotland (contrary to MSP Edward Mountain’s ludicrous claims that the SSPCA lacks the qualifications and training to implement the law).

There looks to have been some plea bargaining on the sentencing. According to this article in Edinburgh Evening News, Hamilton’s defence lawyer told the court that Hamilton owned two gundogs and asked for any animal ban imposed by the court to exclude those animals.

Sheriff Gillian Sharp obliged by sentencing Hamilton to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the community and disqualified him from owning or keeping animals, with the exemption of his two dogs, for five years.

Hamilton is reportedly no longer a gamekeeper and is now employed as a labourer. His conviction means he can no longer operate under the terms of a General Licence until the conviction is considered spent.

Prosecution rate for crimes against birds of prey less than 4% – Sky News

This weekend Sky News ran several pieces about raptor persecution and how the wildlife killers are getting with these crimes, with a prosecution rate of less than 4%.

They produced a written piece (here) featuring quotes from the RSPB’s Investigations Team and they also conducted several interviews, one with Howard Jones, RSPB Senior Investigations Officer, one with Mark Thomas, Head of RSPB Investigations and one with Chris Packham.

The interview with Mark Thomas showed some covert video footage by the RSPB showing two gamekeepers removing live buzzards from a crow cage trap, putting them inside fertiliser sacks, tying the top and putting the bags inside a vehicle. It doesn’t show what happened to them next but you can probably imagine; there have been enough previous cases where gamekeepers have been caught on camera bludgeoning trapped birds of prey to death (e.g. see here, here, here) to make an educated guess. These earlier convictions probably explain why these days its common to see the trapped birds being removed from the trap and taken away, presumably to be killed away from potential covert cameras. It’s also telling that the gamekeepers involved in more recent cases typically wear face masks in an attempt to hide their identities. They’ve learned from the mistakes of others.

As Mark discusses during the interview, it’s not an offence to catch birds of prey in crow cage traps – they often get in and can’t then find a way out. If the trap operator releases them, unharmed, immediately after discovering them, then no offence has been committed. Putting them inside a sack and taking them away is a clear offence and is indicative of further offences (i.e. killing the birds elsewhere).

This particular footage hasn’t previously been published, and there’s a reason for that. I’ll return to this case in a separate blog.

I can’t find the full interviews in one place but there are various clips that can be watched via Twitter, which I’ve linked below.

pic.twitter.com/L5YaDp5KYr
— RSPB Birders (@RSPBbirders) February 10, 2024

The UK is in the 'midst of a biodiversity crisis' and is 'one of the most nature depleted' countries on earth.

Wildlife conservationist and activist @ChrisGPackham explains what needs to be done in order to clamp down on bird of prey crimes. https://t.co/FNOmsuMjyK pic.twitter.com/gK80pvS90h
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 10, 2024

A conservation charity has found that people who commit crimes against birds of prey face a less than 4% prosecution rate.

Chris Packham says some police officers "don't consider it to be quite as serious a crime as we think it is"

Story: https://t.co/FNOmsuMjyK

📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/6j2HZZ45je
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 10, 2024

Wildlife Management Bill – stage 2: the noose tightens around the neck of Scottish grouse moor criminals

Yesterday the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs & Islands Committee finally started its two-day consideration of the Stage 2 amendments of the Wildlife Management (grouse moor reform) Bill after a two week delay to proceedings.

For new readers, this is proposed new legislation to regulate grouse shooting and its associated management practices by way of licensing schemes, introduced because of the continued illegal persecution of birds of prey on many Scottish grouse moors.

Rural Affairs & Islands Committee, 7 February 2024. Screengrab from Scottish Parliament TV.

The Committee was joined by Environment Minister Gillian Martin MSP and some of her civil servants, and there were other MSPs in attendance (Edward Mountain MSP (Conservative), Stephen Kerr MSP (Conservative), Colin Smyth MSP (Labour) and John Mason MSP (SNP), none of whom were eligible to vote on the Stage 2 amendments but who were present to speak to amendments they have lodged.

There weren’t any big surprises in this first session and it soon became clear that Committee members were voting along party lines.

The Committee dealt with glue traps (nothing to do with grouse moor management but included in the Bill as a sort of related topic in terms of wildlife management) and then got into the nitty gritty of wildlife traps. There are still a few amendments to deal with on wildlife traps at the start of the next session but then it’ll move on to the big issues of grouse moor management and muirburn.

I won’t go through each amendment in turn because I’d be here for hours and besides, those interested will be able to read the transcript when it’s published in the next few days [update – now published at foot of this blog], but I will highlight some of the big decisions made at yesterday’s session.

The main ‘win’ from our perspective was the Minister’s decision to ban all snares on welfare grounds, including the cynically rebranded so-called ‘humane cable restraints‘ (rebranded to make them sound less archaic). The grouse shooting industry’s aggressive campaign to try and have ‘humane cable restraints’ exempted from the ban has failed miserably. Only two Committee members opposed the amendment for a ban – the two Tories, Finlay Carson and Rachael Hamilton. It was a pattern that was repeated throughout the proceedings.

Incidentally, as an aside, I keep reading arguments from the game shooting industry to justify the continued use of ‘humane cable restraints’ because they’re used by researchers and conservationists to trap wildlife, notably foxes, for example to fit radio collars, and the foxes are subsequently released unharmed. Therefore, they argue, ‘humane cable restraints’ are fine to use. What they don’t explain is for how long those foxes are ‘held’ in the ‘humane cable restraint’ (snare) – I’d wager that it’s not for up to 24 hours without access to food, water or shelter (the permitted time a fox can currently be held in a snare in Scotland until this Bill passes). No self-respecting scientific ethics committee would support a research application on that basis.

Another big ‘win’ was an amendment lodged by Karen Adam MSP (SNP) who successfully argued that offences committed under the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 should be considered as relevant for a potential suspension or revocation of a wildlife trapping licence (and also for a grouse moor management licence, although that part won’t be considered until the second session). This is a really important amendment because it means that when, for example, someone has been convicted of, say, the sadistic crime of badger-baiting (like the recent conviction of depraved Millden Estate gamekeeper Rhys Davies employed on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens), that person should not be considered fit to hold a trapping or grouse moor management licence. I was astonished (but not really) to see that Tories Finlay Carson and Rachael Hamilton opposed this amendment.

On the issue of full cost recovery for trap licences (i.e. that trap licence applicants should have to pay a fee to cover NatureScot’s administration of the licensing scheme, an amendment lodged by John Mason MSP (SNP)), Rachael Hamilton had lodged a counter amendment to remove this provision. The ensuing debate was hilarious, and Rachael’s argument was muddled and frankly, idiotic. She berated John Mason:

“He [John Mason] also should not, with respect, castigate assertions that illegal behaviours have been related to rural stakeholders“

She then went on a politicking spree, accusing the Scottish Government of “kow-towing” to another party (the Scottish Greens) as part of the Bute House Agreement (the shared policy agreement between the Scottish Greens and the SNP) but by this stage, Jim Fairlie MSP (SNP) had heard enough. He spoke to her directly, barely suppressing his exasperation:

“By the stakeholders’ own acceptance, this Bill was brought forward as a result of raptor persecution, which has been going on for decades, and the fact that there are going to be consequential wildlife benefits of bringing in this Bill does not necessitate the fact that the public purse should pay for it. Now I’m not saying one way or another how or where I’m going to vote on this at this moment in time, but to sit here today, you’re almost, sorry, the Member is almost trying to say that this has been brought forward as a result of the Bute House Agreement on the drive of the Greens. No, it’s not. It’s been brought forward because raptor persecution has been happening in this country, for decades, and the landowners who were responsible, or whose employees were responsible, did not shut it down. So I’m afraid I’ll be supporting the landowners and the rural workers more than most, but on this point I’m afraid I fundamentally disagree with you“.

Jim Fairlie’s facial expression when listening to Rachael Hamilton said it all.

Rachael Hamilton responded:

“Well, thank you to Jim Fairlie for that intervention. I mean of course, the whole objective is to ensure that we get those people who are operating illegally and that is the most important part of this Bill, but there’s no connection between raptor persecution and grouse moors. There are other reasons for persecution and those reasons would be predation, intraguild predation, the habitat etc, so we can agree to disagree on that“.

Eh?? After all the evidence presented to this Committee on the absolutely unequivocal link between grouse moor management and illegal raptor persecution, Rachael Hamilton is STILL denying the link exists, at this late stage of the Bill??! That’s either wilful blindness or embarrassing stupidity. And then describing the ‘reasons for persecution’ as being ‘intraguild predation’ and ‘habitat’ – it’s just mumbo jumbo.

Unsurprisingly, Rachael’s amendment was not supported by other Committee members (apart from Finlay Carson).

However, the issue of full cost recovery for trap licences was not resolved during this session because the Minister stated that her colleague, Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater MSP, had recently (in January) commissioned a formal review of all species licensing undertaken by NatureScot, which will include assessing the potential for full cost recovery of licences. The review/report is expected within six months. I don’t know how that will impact on the progression of this Bill, given the Government’s stated intention to see the Bill passed before summer recess.

Conservative MSP Edward Mountain’s amendment suggesting that the withdrawal of wildlife trap licences should be based on the criminal burden of proof rather than the civil burden of proof was not supported. Neither was his amendment calling for an exemption from requiring a trapping licence if an applicant was (a) born before 31st December 1983 AND (b) had been using traps for 10 years consecutively. To be fair to him, although I thought his amendments were unsupportable, he did argue coherently and politely without the barbed sniping that was evident from some of his Conservative colleagues.

Labour MSP Colin Smyth didn’t find much support for his amendments on trap licensing, including a proposed condition that a trap licence shouldn’t be issued if its primary purpose was to manage the number of wild birds (Red Grouse) available for sport shooting. His arguments were passionate and eloquent and based on REVIVE’s campaign against ‘Killing to Kill‘ but he accused the Tories of making false claims about the impact of his amendments (it was argued that the amendments would effectively introduce a ban on grouse shooting) – they wouldn’t, and Colin announced his intention to press these amendments again at Stage 3.

The Minister’s amendment to create a specific offence of interfering with a lawfully set trap was approved, with an important caveat, ‘unless a person has reasonable cause to do so’. I’m guessing that a ‘reasonable cause’ may include concern about the immediate welfare of a trapped animal in distress, although a recent case in England based on those grounds led to the prosecution of a person who had released two highly distressed non-target species (a hare and a deer) from snares on the Duke of Norfolk’s estate in West Sussex. The person was subsequently found not guilty on all charges (see here). I may come back to that case in another blog because it’s interesting on a number of levels.

I note with some amusement that several grouse shooting organisations are trumpeting what they perceived as ‘a significant victory’ yesterday after the Minister removed a provision in the Bill that would have allowed the suspension of a trapping licence on the basis that a police investigation had started (into alleged trapping offences). Some of you may recall the Stage 1 discussions during the evidence sessions about the definition of an ‘investigation’ and when an ‘investigation’ could be deemed to have started (e.g. When someone reports an alleged offence? Or when the police issue a crime number? etc). It was a painful process that didn’t actually provide much clarity, even from the police, so for the purposes of having a water-tight Bill I think it was reasonable for this provision to be removed.

But is it a ‘significant victory’ as the grouse industry is claiming? I don’t think so. I think what the removal of this provision actually does is provide the police and NatureScot with a far less prescriptive regime and instead allows them more discretion when making an assessment of whether an offence has been committed and therefore whether a licence suspension or revocation is appropriate. That seems like a bit of an own goal by the grouse shooting industry, but if they want to declare it a victory, in what looks like a desperate attempt to appease their members amidst what is otherwise a catastrophic Bill for them (in their view), then good luck to them.

It’s been anticipated that the Committee will require two sessions to consider all the amendments at Stage 2 of this Bill, although judging by the pace of yesterday’s session I’d be surprised if they get through it all on time. The second session will take place on the morning of 21 February 2024.

The Scottish Parliament has agreed to extend consideration of Stage 2 to 23rd February 2024 so if they don’t manage to finish on the morning of the 21st there’s a small window in which to potentially squeeze a further session:

You can watch yesterday’s proceedings on a video archived on Scottish Parliament TV (here) and I’ll post the transcript when it becomes available (usually a few days after the meeting).

UPDATE: Here is the transcript of the meeting:

officialreport-rai-committee-7feb2024 Download

UPDATE 25th February 2024: Wildlife Management Bill – stage 2: further restrictions on grouse moor management agreed (here)

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

[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 nine most recently reported victims, all satellite tagged by Natural England and all ‘vanished’ between September and November 2023, including four more brood meddled harriers (here).

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

With at least 122 hen harriers gone since 2018, and 27 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 DEFRA Ministers remain silent.