Category Archives: raptor haters?
To do
This morning’s blog has attracted lots of comments – as raptor-related blogs almost always do. If you feel strongly about this issue then why not write to your MP about it. There is an excellent letter in the comments to this morning’s blog (by MK) to his (her? I suspect his) MP Alistair Burt (who …
Why raptor persecution is different
There has been a little burst of correspondence in The Independent over gamekeepers (and raptor persecution)(here, here, here). I note that one of the correspondents, Reece Fowler, crops up in quite a lot of places (including this blog) saying how nice gamekeepers are and how misunderstood (see here, here, here). I thought that Mr Fowler’s …
It’s always nice to hear from you…
I received this letter by email a little while ago. I thought I’d share it with you, without commenting on it (except I couldn’t resist adding a photo (or three) of a magnificent sea eagle (or sea eagles)). Dear Mr. Avery I have never written to you before but have heard a great deal …
Raptor round up
It would be perfectly possible to write about birds of prey, how wonderful they are and their troubled and shortened lives, every day on this blog. I try not to do that because there are other sites that do it so well (raptor politics and raptor persecution Scotland) and because there are other big issues …
Five years on…
On the evening of 24 October 2007 I was on the train to London and received a phone call from one of my staff. He told me that he had received a report from a Natural England staff member who had just seen two hen harriers shot out of the air on or near the …
Golden opportunity for the RSPB
The RSPB’s annual report on people being nasty to birds for 2011 is now published. It tells the usual sorry tale of wildlife crime illustrated with depressing images of trapped, poisoned and shot birds. The report highlights the Law Commission’s review of species legislation as the golden opportunity to improve protection for birds of prey …
A young eagle’s lingering death
I usually stick to one blog each day but this story is just so striking and so horrific that it demands publicity. Here is the link to the RSPB press release. You may have to read the release a few times before you can quite believe it.
Fancy a new job?
A little bird tells me that Songbird Survival is looking for a Chief Executive to work a few days a week running the charity. The little bird seemed to have this on very reliable authority so I attempted to ask Songbird Survival through their website for details and an application form as I may have …
Guest Blog – response to Mark Avery by Magnus Linklater
Magnus Linklater is a former editor of The Scotsman and Scottish Editor of The Times. He is trustee of an estate in Perthshire, and a regular commentator on rural affairs. I knew that taking on the RSPB would be nothing but trouble. But I was not quite prepared for the volume and ferocity of …
The raptor haters? – Magnus Linklater
Magnus Linklater is a clever man as befits some Old Etonians and some former editors of The Scotsman newspaper. I’ve only met him once and we got on quite well as we looked at the heather moors of the Langholm Estate one sunny day. He wouldn’t deserve a place in this occasional series of articles, …