It’s been a really bad few days for the grouse shooters (4)

Mark 12 Comments

This video of tweed-clad armed men repeatedly visiting a Marsh Harrier nest on a Yorkshire moor, released by the RSPB last week, is being investigated by the police.

Let’s hope it is seen many more times than the 5000 so far – the RSPB needs to promote these hard-won pieces of evidence much more forcefully.

 

Here’s the fate of another harrier on another grouse moor, this time in Cabrach, Scotland, which needs to be seen by many more than the 17,000 folk so far.

 

Yes, it’s been a really bad few days for the grouse shooters Bad days (1), Bad days (2), Bad days (3).

 

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12 Replies to “It’s been a really bad few days for the grouse shooters (4)”

  1. There’s been an astonishing silence from the shooting industry over these incidents. The marsh harrier incident is in the mainstream media, giving them the ideal opportunity to speak out. Not a word!

      1. They’re all too busy taking the heat off it, by going after that very well known and popular Naturalist and Broadcaster – again.

  2. A specious comment one often hears from the grousers is “how many Hen Harriers on RSPB land?”.
    I wonder if any of them will be brave (or stupid) enough to ask “how many Marsh Harriers on RSPB land?”. That would be awkward.

  4. I’m back on an old hobby-horse of mine.
    At the Rainham HH day, Mark Thomas of RSPB investigations gave an excellent speech in which he said (among other things) that while prosecutions were important, the really crucial battle was for public opinion. Afterwards, I asked him whether he got full support from more senior RSPB staff in bringing the excellent evidence that he and his team work so hard to obtain to the attention of the public. He assured me that he got total support and that the RSPB were doing everything they could to publicise his amazing work.
    If this is indeed the case, how is it that the video of the (alleged) shooting of the HH has been watched only 18,000 times, representing about 1.5% of the membership of the RSPB, the Marsh Harrier video has been watched by less than 0.5% of the membership, and the terrific ‘snaring’ video from the Hunt Investigation Team has only been watched by about the same number of people as attended the London march on Saturday?
    Mark – I’m delighted that you are highlighting the lack of exposure that this quite shocking evidence has received, but do you really believe that the RSPB is straining every sinew on this? If I were Mark Thomas, I might seriously wonder why I bother at all.

    1. AlanTwo – the RSPB is certainly not straining every sinew, you’re right.

      It is your hobby horse but, due to you, I am riding it hard too! I mentioned it at the Highland Hen Harrier Day and have done so in other places – and, as you have seen, on this blog. You can take the credit.

      1. Thanks, Mark – I really appreciate it.
        But is there anything more that can be done? I’m ashamed to admit I’m pretty ignorant about social media, but would it be possible to send the links to all the people who signed up to the excellent Findlay Wilde’s thunderclap, for example? Is there anything to be learned from the techniques used by Momentum for the recent election?
        Could pressure be put on the RSPB to up its game, perhaps at an AGM? I absolutely do not want to undermine the RSPB in any general way, but I am really disappointed with how they are handling this particular issue.

        1. AlanTwo – Momentum have a membership list – I’d love to have access to the RSPB list of members’ email addresses for half a day!

  5. Problem is that surely the magazine is the principal means of informing the membership and its wish washy on this theme and has a time lag through copy date and few copies so it can’t keep pace with social media and can’t provide a resume of these events long after they have happened.

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