Inglorious without a doubt

Mark 20 Comments

A spreadeagled, poisoned White-tailed Eagle on the heather of a grouse moor surely tolls the death knell for driven grouse shooting.

Politicians cannot continue wilfully to ignore the scale of crime against nature that is so closely associated with the niche hobby of shooting Red Grouse for fun. At least they cannot if we all speak up.

Please add your condemnation of the track record of driven grouse shooting by emailing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon [email protected] and Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham [email protected] . Both seem, to me, to be a cut above the average politician (particularly those we elected south of the border) and they will feel more compelled to act if they receive a large number of polite but passionate messages.

Please add your voice to the outcry now, or at least before you go to bed tonight please.

‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good [people] do nothing‘. Please send an email this evening. Thank you.

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20 Replies to “Inglorious without a doubt”

  1. Emails sent.
    I applaud you (Mark, Ruth And Chris) for being able to keep your cool in interviews when discussing DGS.
    All I’ve done is sent an assertive email to the First Minister and I’m vibrating with anger.
    I’m glad I didn’t have to talk to anyone in person.

  2. Done. I would urge all of the readers of this blog to do the same, we cannot sit by on this and do nothing!

  3. I emailed Nicola Sturgeon and Roseanna Cunningham last night after seeing the RPUK blog. I’m also in the process – for what it’s worth and I suspect not much – of emailing the 19 trustees for the Cairngorms National Park Authority, politely asking what is the point of them and indeed of the National Park if raptor persecution continues unabated and the NP is a particular hotspot for this activity.

    1. Well done Francis,
      Please post their email addresses here so others can do the same.

        1. Thanks Francis – I have copied them all my letter to the First Minister and Cabinet Secretary

  4. This is an appalling scene to see and will shock many i’m sure. I have emailed them both accordingly to express my thoughts.

    It does make me think more and more though if we should not be campaigning for an actionable two-tiered raptor policy. I know you don’t like the concept, Mark, but it is shocking that anyone would seek to kill an eagle like this and we should do whatever steps we can to protect them.

    We must be realistic and accept that it is highly unlikely that there will ever be a ban on DGS in yours or my lifetimes; the economic and social benefits are just too great, particularly in this economic environment. But, perhaps we would have more luck in stopping the perpetrators of these heinous crimes if say a limited number of common buzzards were allowed to be controlled, therefore minimising the overall impact of predation, and then we really threw the book at anyone killing eagles with a serious jail term.

    1. Brian – did you ever tell us which species of conservation concern are so badly affeted by Buzzards that you want their legal protection to be greatly reduced? Remind me, please?

      1. How many times is it now, that Mr Wilson has failed to answer this simple question?

    3. Sorry Brian these sociology economic benefits can you explain what exactly and how they could not be replaced by properly managed and marketed eco tourism?

      Also in what other context does the alleged economic benefits of an activity justify allowing clear crimes to take place on a regular basis?

      If for example I ran a car dealership network which employed x number of people and contributed x £million to the economy but was based on stealing cars and reselling them would such criminal acts be ignored on the basis I employed x number of people and contributed x £million to the local economy?

      Of course not so why is the blatant and clear criminality of raptor persecution justified on this basis? I mean it’s not as if there are thousands of gamekeepers or estate staff to track is it?

      Emails duly sent.

    4. Brian apart from the fact that I think you are wrong about the survival of DGS. Knowing as I do various Dales communities in the heart of DGS country where the locals are beginning to be vociferous in the antipathy towards it and in reality it contributes little to life in the uplands for most folk. Your suggested policy smacks of appeasement. We’ll let the criminals ( because that is what they are) kill some less important normally protected birds in the hope that this sop will stop them killing some more valuable, rarer or more iconic birds. It won’t work besides being totally unacceptable.
      We need do deal with this criminality more harshly with much stiffer penalties including real long jail time and huge Spain type fines and compensation payments. We also need to up the anti in the detection rates to get these criminals and their employers in court more often.
      I’m pleased you find the killing of this WTE so reprehensible but killing all raptors is just wrong if not quite so gut wrenchingly abhorrent. What the hell is wrong with Buzzards?

  6. And I just came across petition – it makes a statement at least https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/321425?fbclid=IwAR00QhuOfDoJ0Fm8noUreIXEC8ZREGcFMbeq_TM1PfGQFXqqQw7KkYNny0E

    Well past time now that we looked at safe, legal direct action just when the thousands of pounds fee paying guests turn up for their ‘fun’. It wouldn’t take much to take the shine off their day. Flying giant raptor shaped kites (a kite kite?), a colliery band who for a nice change would like to do their practice on an inglorious moor, ‘foreign’ ramblers with no English who wander into a line of beaters? They’ve been giving us and the rest of the world the two finger salute and probably chuckling away to themselves at the same time, so time to return the gesture and get them fuming instead. Any thoughts if and how to take this forward? Just has to be the occasional day so all bad estates (and their clients) wonder if they will be one of the chosen – a landscape of fear?

    1. Just name the time and date and we will make it up there.
      Peaceful direct action is needed now.

  7. I normally write to my MSP but he is not SNP (and in the Scottish PR system I don’t have a representative who is). So I wrote to Roseanna, copied to the First Minister, recognising that weight of postbag matters most. Even so an individual letter works best, who knows they might read a few.

    It seems to me that the immediate objective here is a political decision that the time for the basically groundless political influence of Fergus Ewing and his mates has passed.

  9. I’ve sent the emails, thank you for the prompt. This should be the final straw for the RSPB, the time is now for them to step up to the plate. As they complete their game bird policy review, this sends the RSPB Board, Council and staff a very clear message.

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