Many readers of this blog and of my newsletter have written to Nicola Sturgeon and/or Roseanna Cunningham about the finding of a poisoned White-tailed Eagle on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park. Here are just some examples of ones that I have been sent. You notice they are all polite, personal and well-written. And between them (and all the others) deploy a range of views and arguments that no one person could cover. They are also all from the heart (and the head) and are not simply standard letters or an email campaign where people put their names to others’ words. There’s nothing wrong with theat form of campaigning but wevery one of these emails is from a real person who has clearly thought bout the subject and cares enough about it to make their views known. Thank you again for writing.
And if you have not had the time to do it yet, then please add your voice now. Yes, it’s true that the First Minister has, I guess, already had thousands upon thousands of emails already, but she hasn’t had yours. Just think, the first people to email didn’t know that thousands would follow and emailed all the same, you know that you are adding to the strength of an enormous shout-out for justice for wildlife.
So, please find a few minutes to email Nicola Sturgeon ([email protected]) and Roseanna Cunningham ([email protected]) as the two Scottish politicians who can do the most to sort out the crime based on driven grouse moors in Scotland. You can’t do it, but you can ask them to act, now.
Dear First Minister and Environment Cabinet Secretary
The latest report of eagle poisoning in the Cairngorms is tragic.
Scotland has wonderful wildlife and scenery and we’ve had many great holidays in your country. I’m not sure we will visit again while you fail to get to grips with such wildlife crime committed by a determined minority of the rural population. It’s extremely damaging to Scotland’s image.
Seemingly, the great majority, of these poisonings are committed by people associated with the grouse hunting industry. If a significant section of any other industry persistently defied the law and the will of the government and people, I believe it would be brought to heel.
Given that these people do not want to be detected, we must assume that each poisoned bird that is found represents a great many more whose bodies are never found.
If grouse hunting cannot take place without wildlife crime, it should not take place at all.
The statements from Police Scotland are encouraging but statements alone do not solve the problem. The police need a strong government lead and sufficient resources to tackle this.
Dear Ms Sturgeon
I am writing in relation to the killing of a Sea Eagle on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park. It is appalling that such actions are still happening in modern day Scotland. Really you should take this as a personal attack by the shooting industry on law and order and your authority. They are taking liberties and after all these years you and the SNP are still fawning over these medieval Lords! And all they need to do is pretend they care, issue a few meaningless words that they condemn all such atrocities and then carry on regardless.
For over 40 years I, and presumably many many more have holidayed in Scotland because of its rich natural heritage. But the selfish, arrogant, entitled actions of the shooting industry decides that it is the only thing that matters as they destroy native wildlife with wanton abandon. All they need to do is compromise the tiniest bit so that others can enjoy their hobbies too.
Already, we are now spending our time on the Isle of Harris where the local community manages the land and the wildlife and takes its role seriously in protecting their environment.This will be the future for holiday makers wanting to enjoy Scottish wildlife if you do not take serious and meaningful action against the perpetrators. And what we see is likely to be a small percentage of the killing that is actually taking place.
Please show that the SNP is a progressive voice for change and ensure that these types of senseless killings are finally dealt with.
Yours sincerely
I was in Scotland last week on holiday (and putting some money into the local economy. We were the first post-lockdown guests at the lodge we visited) and was delighted to enjoy some of the wildlife. This included seeing White-tailed and Golden Eagles. So I was appalled to hear that yet another raptor – a White-tailed Eagle – has been found killed by poisoners in Cairngorms National Park. It is clear that many operators of grouse moors treat the law – and wildlife – with utter contempt and continue to kill raptors and other wildlife. When will the Scottish Government – which has acted with such admirable decisiveness on Covid – act on this ongoing atrocity? Yours sincerely
Dear First Minister,
I am horrified and saddened as I read about the latest killing of a White-Tailed Sea Eagle in the Cairngorms National Park. I wish that I could say surprised, but regretfully the unlawful filling of birds of prey on grouse moors in both Scotland and England is a regular occurrence.
It is entirely right that the justice system in the UK is based on the principle of innocence until proven guilty but how many more instances of illegal killing of raptors is it going to take before justice is served on those responsible for these appalling crimes?
I live in Oxfordshire and have been a lover of wildlife all my life and especially birds and a supporter and fundraiser for the RSPB and Wildlife Trust. During the covid19 crisis connecting with the wildlife in my garden and locally has kept me sane and it seems to have been the case throughout the UK.
The cautious and consistent approach to covid19 in Scotland has impressed me to a far greater degree than the UK government’s handling of the pandemic. I would like to think that the Scottish government could also lead by example when it comes to the banning of driven grouse shooting so that our consistently persecuted raptors could achieve their rightful presence in the UK countryside.
I realise that money talks but justice for raptors should have a louder voice.
Yours sincerely,
Although I live in Suffolk, I have a long-standing love of Scotland and have enjoyed many amazing holidays in the Highlands and Islands. I wrote to you last year in connection with the planning application to convert Coul Links at Embo into yet another golf course and was so pleased that this was called in by your Minister and the decision made to refuse the application. True to our word, my wife and I stayed in Dornoch last year and visited Coul to marvel at the wildlife and habitats there – something we would never have done if it had been turned into a sterile golf course.
Like many others who I know are writing to you, the image of a poisoned White-tailed Eagle found on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms (a National Park no less) sickens me to the core. Last summer I had the amazing privilege on Skye of watching close-up as licensed bird ringers tagged a juvenile White-tailed Eagle. To think that another Scottish citizen – in all probability an employee of some large landowner, possibly living far away from Scotland – has deliberately laced a carcass with poison for the express reason of eliminating a bird of prey or predatory mammal fills me with disgust. It prompts me to ask: if the Scottish Government will not now place significant and meaningful controls on the grouse shooting industry, when will you ever have the evidence and the political will to do this?
Intensively managed grouse moors are not only an anachronism, they are economically insignificant. In 2010 grouse shooting was estimated by Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust Scotland to contribute £23.3 million to your economy, which adjusted for inflation would be £30.1 million in 2019.
According to your latest National Statistics Office report, in 2019 – not accounting for offshore oil and gas production – the annual value of Scotland’s onshore GDP was £168.1 billion. This means grouse moor management contributes a tiny 0.02% to the overall Scottish economy and yet is the presumed source of a vast proportion of the crimes against wildlife across the country.
Much of the wildlife that tries to survive on moorland managed for grouse is fully protected under legislation from many quarters. You have rightly stood up at Coul for highly protected coastal habitats and their associated wildlife – and I applaud you for this.
Please act now and urgently to protect the wildlife of the glorious Scottish uplands.
Our family is desperate to visit Scotland again when we feel it is safe to do so – for you as well as for us. We want to do this secure in the knowledge that you have acted in the absolute best interests of your wildlife, which we can all take solace from in these amazingly challenging times.
I hope you feel able to respond to this letter, but if not I look forward to hearing that you have taken significant action soon.
Yours sincerely
Dear First Minister and Cabinet Secretary During my 36 years at Aberdeen University, I worked extensively on the ecology of mountain hares and witnessed mass culls which were gamekeepers’ perks at the end of the shooting season and contributed to the decline in numbers. I am therefore delighted by the protection that the Scottish Parliament has recently given to this species. I am however distressed to see a recent photo of a poisoned eagle in the Cairngorms National Park. The only stakeholders with an interest in poisoning eagles are the managers of grouse moors and I am writing to urge you to ban grouse shooting which is the only effective way of preventing such poisoning in future. Such affirmative action will further show the Scottish government’s commitment to preserving the unique biodiversity of Scotland. I remain Yours faithfully
I am writing to you to express my abhorrence at the picture of a poisoned sea eagle on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms. Time and time again we find Driven Grouse Shooting is associated with criminal acts against our wildlife, especially birds of prey.
A lot of people work so hard to protect and enhance our wildlife yet this hard work is so often put to nought by foul and illegal acts such as this.
These persistent and never ending crimes shame Scotland.
Please, please take action to ban Driven Grouse Shooting which is not only associated with criminality but which severely damages and degrades the ecology of our moorlands and kills other moorland wildlife,
Thank you ,
I am glad to have added my voice to these.