I’ve been in London since the evidence session on Tuesday and have met or been in touch with many MPs. The strong message comes back that the grouse shooting industry is rattled and on the back foot because never before has it faced such public scrutiny.
We have posed the questions when will wildlife crime and unsustainable land management practices end? And the grouse shooting industry has no response except denial.
The government position is at the moment practically indistinguishable from that of the grouse shooters and the next 10 days are critical in increasing the pressure on Defra to act. The minister, Therese Coffey (right), should not be allowed to come to the debate on 31 October and continue to prevaricate as she has done in written responses to MPs.
It’s good to see that both the RSPB and League Against Cruel Sports have already asked their supporters to contact MPs on this issue.
So I’m asking you to write to your MP this weekend and ask them to attend the Westminster Hall debate on 31 October and make the following points:
- wildlife crime is rife in the uplands. This has major conservation impacts on birds of prey (see my written evidence). Illegal killing of birds of prey is not caused by a few bad apples but is endemic to the activity of driven grouse shooting.
- intensive management of our hills for driven grouse shooting causes many other problems (increased flooding, increased water treatment costs, culls of Mountain Hares, damage to protected habitats, increased greenhouse gas emissions) which could be tackled by stronger regulation and government should consider that as a serious option for those issues
- but the government is not seriously addressing wildlife crime. The grouse shooting industry has shown no willingness or ability to tackle this issue despite decades of saying that it will. The status quo is not an option. Banning driven grouse shooting is the most effective way to end wildlife crime against birds of prey in our uplands and anything else will be weak and ineffective.
Please write to your MP and ask them to pass on your letter to Defra ahead of the debate if they are unable to attend and make these points themselves. Tell your MP that you will also write to them after the debate and that this is an issue about which you feel very strongly.
If you have told me that you have written to your MP then you will also get an email from me this evening. And, thank you!
I’m an RSPB member and they certainly haven’t been in touch with me – not unless it was just a mention in the magazine that I’ve missed.
Possibly the e-mails from RSPB are only going to people who’ve signed up for e-bulletins of one kind or another, eg. Homes for Wildlife, BGBW etc.
Nor me
You can find a link for it in Jeff Knott’s blog: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/skydancer/b/skydancer/archive/2016/10/20/guest-blog-hen-harriers-and-grouse-shooting-inquiry-and-debate.aspx
I’m member of RSPB campaign group called Campaign Champions) and I’ve had an email asking me to write. Maybe you need to be a member of this to get the email?
If that is correct it doesn’t seem to be a very effective way of harnessing the power of the membership.
Hi Jonathan. Unfortunately due to ever-tightening data protection rules, we’re not allowed to email out to everyone. Only people who have expressly said that we can contact them for campaigning purposes.
Hi Jbc. Unfortunately due to ever-tightening data protection rules, we’re not allowed to email out to everyone. Only people who have expressly said that we can contact them for campaigning purposes.
Mark, this is the first of two TV interviews I carried out dealing with the total annihilation of Hen Harriers and Peregrines from Lancashire’s Forest of Bowland. The second part will be televised on channel 7, 31 October on the day of the parliamentary debate in London.
If both of these protected species can be wiped out on one regional grouse moor with impunity, there is nothing to prevent them being wiped out from all grouse moors across the whole of northern England in my opinion.
http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2016/10/20/terry-pickford-tv-interview-raptor-wipeout-in-the-forest-of-bowland/
Terry, I applaud you! A while back I suggested an approach to Panorama albeit along the lines of the downstream effects of DGS in places like Hebden Bridge and got slapped for it. Could the TV people your talking to advise?
I’ve written twice to my MP and received no reply which is out of character for him. He normally replies within 2 weeks but this issue is obviously a tad tricky!
Mark – any additional thoughts on how to make this issue feel directly relevant to MPs who appear to be indifferent to it?
I’ll give it a go, but as my MP didn’t afford me the courtesy of a reply to my previous communication on DGS, I’m not wholly optimistic…..
This league table of MP responsiveness makes an interesting read https://www.writetothem.com/stats/2015/mps
I don’t believe that this government (with a lower case ‘g’) will act in any way in favour of those who seek to protect wildlife.
Only this morning I received an email from government about their stance on the petition I signed – “Introduce a moratorium on the hunting of critically declining wading birds”.
They say “Shooting is a legitimate activity and in addition to providing jobs and investment in some of our most remote areas, it can offer important benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation. The Government’s manifesto commits to protect shooting for the benefits it brings to individuals, the environment and the rural economy.”
The sooner this government is ousted the better for nature – but that’s not going to happen for a very long time.
So get Writing this weekend!
Had that as well Andy. Just shows how far we still have to go but then everyone battling for changes has probably thought that. They didnt stop (otherwise we’d still have slaves, women wouldn’t be allowed to vote and children would still be working up chimneys) and neither should we. Onwards and upwards!
“Not going to happen for a very long time” – really?
The Tories lost 20k seats at Witney yesterday and Ken Clarke referred to anti-establishment sentiments last night on QT – he is obviously aware and there are signs of a (government) response to this danger on other issues (eg Philip Green)!
The key is to publicise, publicise, publicise big league! The readership think 123k petition signatures and this blog is public awareness but pick out a random sample of 10 in the high street and ask if they are aware (of Hen Harriers and DGS)!!
btw, Has anyone yet found a national newspaper/tv reference to the Select Committee session?
To quote: “It is unlikely that hunting has had a significant impact on recent population trends for woodcock, snipe and golden plover; trends are likely to be influenced more by the quality and extent of habitat”
IMHO they need to cite the evidence upon which they base that assessment so that it can be understood and if necessary challenged?
We should seek the source of data, perhaps through this excellent website:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/
Cumbria Wildlife Trust has also asked their twitter followers and facebook users to write to MPs after I lobbied them – not sure about other Wildlife Trusts – it seems they are all autonomous ( to a degree at least ).
I think we need to work on gaining a few more influential advocates. It’s interesting how frequently the grouse lobbyists mention the use of celebrities to promote the ban. They find it hard not to include a few thinly veiled insults in the process and this, more than anything shows that they don’t like it. They are rattled by the whole process and don’t like the idea of public scrutiny. After all this is a hobby that is designed for wealthy individuals to mix together, away from the spotlight, and do whatever they want with “their” uplands. Their obsession with Chris Packham, who has probably been on the receiving end of the most insults, is interesting because he is certainly one of the people who is most qualified to speak on the subject. If you have made a lot of money in the city or have been brought up in a wealthy family and are used to dictating your own path through life, it must me annoying when Mr Packham turns up with the facts.
Been thinking on those lines myself since the hearing.
Like PD above I have yet to see a mention of the hearing in the media.
I was impressed by Marks figure the other day that 500 of us had written to our MPs.
How about if 500 of us were to write to a decent paper, say the Guardian. They could ignore a few letters, but many on the same subject?
Your right, we need more influential advocates, a top paper may make things a whole lot easier.
If the government can write the load of tosh they did this morning on Simon Kings petition, then at least we can show the top names that we will support them.
It seems to me that Marks DGS petition, supported by Chris Packam and Bill Oddie is giving confidence to others. I’m not saying that Simon King would not have started his petition, only that it must help that 123k signed DGS.
Does anyone else feel this approach would work? Maybe we could cc our letters to MPs to the media? Having lit the fuse, it would be a shame not to keep fanning the flame.
The only way to get this government to listen is to get 1,230,000 people interested. That would certainly get their attention. But for that we need the RSPB, the Wildlife trusts and other NGOs to get behind these petitions. First, we need a big paper to run with us.
Badgers, Woodcock, Hen harriers, toads, this government will see them all wiped out if we don’t rise up now. They won’t care about losing voles, but they may care more about losing votes.
Momentum!
Publicity is part of the answer, but it’s not a magic wand. The RSPB used to get over 15,000 pieces of media coverage annually across the UK – probably still does. And still people, including keen members, said they never saw it in the media and others said they’d never even heard of it.
So, it’s about impact not just volume. And impact means coming up with something fresh and surprising, alongside plugging away through the usual channels. Getting a vociferous high profile supporter who isn’t a ‘usual suspect’ could be one route. Getting large volumes of casual visitors to national parks to lobby park authorities could be another. As could making life uncomfortable for the companies that organise driven grouse shoots for bankers and the like.
Paul, the one aspect of DGS that has real human interest potential is the flooding. It’s not Hen Harriers! It is clear to me that Hebden Bridge has suffered atypically and hideously in recent times and how many people know that the first line of defence has been seriously eroded by an activity that is hardly vital to the wellbeing of people locally or nationally, is essentially an “establishment” pastime and the cleanup bills are expected to be taken up by the voting public?
And as if to underline the point, a 100k signature petition calling for further protection for police dogs has just been featured on BBC Breakfast. GB is a nation of dog lovers. Human interest!!
If only the RSPB would get stuck in – really stuck in!
Yes, we need the RSPB to headline the DGS issue instead of putting it inside blogs that only the already converted will see. I told Vanessa Amaral-Rogers ( RSPB campaigns person ) I was disappointed in the low profile response of the RSPB – she replied that she completely understood my disappointment !! My email to Martin Harper c.c. Mike Clarke along the same lines has had no reply. I think more of us need to lobby the RSPB and press for firmer action.
That would require strong leadership and not being afraid of upsetting people.
Ref AH & CH comments
Natures Voice? Deafeningly silent but we’ve ‘discussed this’ issue ad nauseum ditto WTs.
Mike McCarthy took a swipe at all of us in “Apocalypse unseen” (Oct edtn British Wildlife Magazine). He writes of the fate of insects and the lack of interest and that “…. basically, no-one cares.” But I think the usual suspect NGOs should take particular note as it is they who claim to be ‘Natures Voice’ etc.? Sadly he offers rallying cry as did Packham, Oddie and not least Avery!
Mention is made of mainstream media engagement / interest, are they part of the problem as well as potentially part of the solution?
Can someone please tell me that these satellite tags fitted are not a complete waste as for instance there seems to be a awful lot just disappear obviously shot but no evidence of any sort.No evidence they stop crime or make it easier to catch those responsible for their disappearance.
I even wonder that it may help those with illegal acts against HHs to track them as someone recently traced a Osprey that was 500 miles from Loch Garten where it was from(just a ordinary member of public).
It is just possible I suppose that it had rings on but this person seems to have equipment that tracks a lot of Ospreys.
Those are valid questions Dennis. Satellite tags can’t stop crime by themselves but if lots of birds are tagged then a picture of where they all go can be built up. If large numbers of them just disappear in grouse shooting areas that is strong evidence that persecution is going on in these areas. The more evidence there is of persecution the stronger the pressure on government to do something effective about it.
I don’t think that satellite tags can actually help criminals bump off hen harriers in the way you suggest. At the moment the details of where the hen harriers all go are not publicised in the way that the cuckoo tracking data has been, for example, so someone would need to be very closely associated with the tagging team if they were to use the data, say, to pinpoint the location of a winter roost and then go and shoot the birds. I may be wrong but I don’t think that is a very likely scenario.
Aside from the implications for crime prevention, satellite tagging is also a powerful tool for learning about aspects of the birds movements and behaviour that cannot be obtained in any other way. As a tax payer I for one am happy to have my money spent on this.
The pattern of suddenly vanishing satellite tags is one of the key things putting fire under the arse of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament right now. A pattern which has proven very hard for the usual suspects to counter too, they are seriously worried about this one and it looks like this latest investigation by Scottish Government into the patter of disappearances might really be it for game shooting without a license. Even if it isn’t, the issue is not going to go away because every time a bird of prey’s tag stops transmitting the first thing everyone does is get the map out and comment about which shooting estate it was on. The issue is not going away, not unless the usual suspects can get sat tags banned, which I imagine is something they will probably try at some point if they haven’t already.
If we could get the courts to accept the evidence from trap cameras… you know when you actually film the criminals breaking the law… then sat tags would return to pure scientific investigation. Maybe this could be one of the issues that MP’s discuss…..
The Sat Tags are a great idea and we need more of them. It’s a pity that it seems to take so long for people to respond to then when things go wrong. It would be great if a team of people were added to a database and were able to respond much quicker when things go wrong. They wouldn’t need to have live data, they would just be able to go to a grid reference when needed as anybody can report a crime and it would give the killers less time to hide any evidence.
Not convinced tags do any good whatsoever.
It is the same old problem experts know already everything that is happening.
The only thing that would be valid to take anything forward would be solid evidence otherwise it is all heresay.
In my opinion the only thing that would justify tags is if the police were willing to take over the system otherwise it is just the same as these groups of locals getting a speed camera trap and catching speeders.
No conviction ever follows.
For sure even if the tags show a area blackspot just think of some of the excuses.
Not on my patch gov that is a winter roost.
Must have got taken by predator
Just coincidence.
There must be loads more excuses ready on the tips of their tongues and worse still I would guess a shot bird with tag could quickly have tag removed and placed in another remote location.
I even doubt there are enough HHs to tag to get shot in any one area to make any case anyway.
Guess you think me a pessimist but really a realistic thought.
Dennis – those are fair points. But the accumulation of evidence of losses of tagged birds under suspicious circumstances is better than not having that evidence. I agree that it would be a good idea if the enforcement agencies were trained to do this work and then had a major role in it.
Those who know more about tracking than I, and I’m pretty sure than you, would say that you can tell a lot about the likelihood of tag failure versus sudden death from the behaviour of the tag.
Also, just as an example, with a decent sample of data (which maybe NE have already but have not published in any useful way), it would be possible to estimate life expectancy of HH and compare that with other studies. It would also be possible to calculate risk of death in different habitats (given that you know where the birds are and can relate that to habitat maps).
You are quite keen to say that things won’t work, Dennis. I think this one would.
Mark,I do not think I am keen to say things will not work but in this instance I dislike tagging for good reasons as I see it even the science seems wrong to me.Beg your forgiveness if my maths are wrong.
Hen Harriers have evolved over millions of years with a very light frame,lets say some tags go on 300 grm birds which seems to equate to 3% bodyweight.
Assuming you back a horse I feel sure you would be angry if a extra 3% was slapped into the saddlebags as that seems to be 13kgs even for a few minutes we both know that would make a huge difference.
Of course it does not matter however many(of course it will not be many as none hardly around)Hen Harriers disappear in any area.The police will only deal in hard facts.That is a undisputable fact and it is quite impossible anyway to lay the blame on any one person.
My guess is that these people even get a perverse pleasure at having the bragging rights of specially targeting sat tags.
Of course in certain instances tags of done a great job but just about the only permissible evidence of Hen Harrier shooting is if police see it and then the tag is irrelevant.
For instance the cast iron evidence needed is explained in the following instance.It is something like this.
A pair of young eagles built a nest unknown to observers but some guesswork led them to it in a tree on a estate forest so they went back after a few days to check on progress.
Guess what the tree was felled probably of course I would guess by a woodpecker,beaver or most likely person unknown gov.
If you cannot get a conviction for that how much chance for tags.zero
I believe that data on missing satellite tags is, and hopefully will increasingly become, a very valuable in the propaganda war against those who cynically break the law by killing protected birds. As they reveal that hotspots of persecution are coterminous with intensively managed grouse moors, as they have and will increasingly do, there comes a point where repeatedly conjuring up more and more spurious excuses for not accepting the blindingly obvious makes the pro-shooting lobby look either very dense or simply knowing collaborators in crime. Nothing will undermine their case and irritate the wider populace more than the feeling that those involved are either stupid or regard themselves as above the law.
How far are we from gathering and transmitting biometric data via the kind of tags fitted to hen harriers? Or video images? Or enabling sampling at higher rates in certain circumstances? All of these are possible now with larger animals, it would be great if one or more of them quickly became possible for hen harriers.
I have a very long email chain, but I am not getting very far. Not giving up yet though.
Terry Pickford
Just watched your film. Thank you, just whats needed. Eventually we will see our wildlife coming back and films like these are what will make it happen.
I too have not been prompted by the RSPB to write to my MP. I was disappointed that the best my local MP (Labour) could come up with was to forward the standard response from Dr. Coffey, confirming the Government’s position on grouse shooting. I feel I’m already aware of this…dah…! I’m hoping my second letter will yield a more considered response. What I fear, however, is that I’m probably the only one ? in my constituency to raise this with her and therefore it’s low on her priorities or not on her radar because we are in an inner city area….moorlands, HHs, etc don’t really feature.
My MP never responded. Nevertheless, sent him a brief, polite reminder of my existence and requested he passes on my concerns to DEFRA and represents my views at the debate.
I won’t be writing to my MP. I did once, and he sent me a standard reply to the effect that the Government were spending squillions on urban cycleways and that apart from that they didn’t actually care if motor vehicles ran down and killed cyclists.
As he has no concerns over the killing of people, and might well suffer a nosebleed if he went up on Cockey Down, not much hope of him getting fussed-up about some moorland birds, look.
MPs are probably aware of this: earlier this year a new House of Commons code of conduct proposed forcing MPs to be polite to anyone they met as part of their duties as an elected representative. The draft code suggested that MPs should “treat others, whom they meet in the course of their work with courtesy and respect”. However … … it has been watered down to a requirement that they merely “show courtesy to others”. An MP said the original wording would “create a charter for obsessives and misogynists to further torment their representatives and their staff. I see no duty to be courteous and respectful towards such individuals. However well-intentioned, a new requirement to show ‘courtesy and respect’ will result in Members and their staff being subjected to vexatious complaints from bullies and obsessives and I suspect it will make the position of some colleagues intolerable. Be assured … … [this] will further distort the role of a MP to that of servicing the demands of the few, as opposed to representing the interest of the many.”
Done. We’ll see what happens. I’m guessing it will be a “sorry but I have other things to do” but I might be surprised.
I wrote to my local mp Marcus Fysh but he did not reply, I have written again to him but I am not holding out much hope of a reply, even though at the Yeovil in bloom presentation he spoke of being committed to conservation issues. I am not giving up on this issue, it is far too important to be swept under the carpet.