I welcome the reduction in offences but it is disappointing that wildlife crime and raptor persecution continue to threaten Scotland’s natural heritage and damage the reputation of our country.
Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
This review of wildlife crime cases is worth a look as it puts the raptor persecution cases into wider perspective.
Here’s another quote:
Raptor, or bird of prey, persecution is the most high profile type of wildlife crime in Scotland and it can have serious impacts on the populations of some bird of prey species at local, regional or (if carried out more widely) national level.
https://www2.gov.scot/Resource/0054/00544670.pdf
There are accounts for some of the raptor species, and they are a bit mealy-mouthed about the importance of wildlife crime in my view. However, there is no getting away from the issue for Hen Harriers:
… the species has been at the centre of the raptor game management conflict and regionally illegal persecution is the most significant factor affecting the species.
https://www2.gov.scot/Resource/0054/00544670.pdf
Although it is, of course, disappointing to see that the ‘largest single project’ for the PAW Scotland Raptor Group is the rather pointless and ridiculous (and ridiculed see here and here) Heads Up for Harriers project. The aim of the project is ‘to understand more about the distribution of hen harriers and why nests fail.‘. Well, it’s hardly going to replace the Bird Atlas is it? Or do a better job than the Hen Harrier Conservation Framework? Or replace the first Langholm Study? In fact, what is it for? It’s an utter waste of money and one of so many projects dreamt up to make it look as though landowners are incredibly eager to help the Hen Harrier.
The report is interesting though is rather amateurish, badly punctuated and contains quite a few spelling mistakes. But even in this report you get a strong message that raptor persecution is a big issue in Scotland. Despite its weaknesses, it is better than anything that Defra produce on the same subject.
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No direct connection with this post, but for anyone interested, today’s Shooting Times has a piece on
Chris Packhams CBE.
Tim Bonner, of the Countryside Alliance, thinks it should have gone to ” a more deserving practical
conservationist, who promotes unity not division”.
The much derided Andrew Gilruth GWCT, however, reflected : “This award is long overdue.I remember
my surprise when he defended my position during a panel debate held at the Royal Society.
I feel conservation needs more people who are willing to show respect to those with differing views.”
Liam Bell, chairman of the National Gamekeepers Organisation, added: “Any award presented for
conservation has to be a good thing, especially as we all know that wildlife and the environment in
this country is in a perilous state.
However, the only way we are going to reverse this trend is if those working together in the conservation field put facts and science ahead of personal assumptions and agendas”.
Fairly balanced, I thought.
Trapit – thanks for this. Bonner stands out as an honest nasty person at least. It would be hypocritical for him to say anything else though he could, better, have said nothing perhaps. Whereas Gilruth is a spin doctor by profession. I hope that Andrew has always defended Chris’s right to speak out and that GWCT has never written to the BBC encouraging them to sack Chris or complaining about his views…
So the Countryside Alliance say they don’t think Chris deserves his honour, GWCT pretend (that would be my guess) that they think he should have got it and the NGO say Chris should have been further down the queue? Quite balanced considering, I agree.