Following the excellent response from Tim Farron MP to his constituents contacting him through the joint Wild Justice, Hen Harrier Action, RSPB e-action here is a response from another LibDem MP, Wera Hobhouse from Bath. It’s not as good as Tim Farron’s, but it is better than the residents of Bath would have had if they had voted back their Conservative MP at the 2017 general election. It seems to have been partly based on a response that the LibDems used when in the coalition government. You can imagine someone, perhaps an intern or an assistant, looking for anything on which to base a response and falling with glee on something several years old just because it is there.
That’s the reality of things. The LibDems are a relatively small parliamentary party these days and lack resources. Bath is a long way from grouse moors too – it’s hardly a local issue! But Wera Hobhouse has passed her constituents’ emails on to DEFRA and she, no doubt, will pass the expected hopeless responses back to her constituents. She will gain some understanding of the issue through this process and the fact that she had lots of constituents contacting her about it will degfinitely stick in her mind the next time she hears the words ‘grouse shooting’. And this is happening across the UK in all our nations with all elected politicians in Westminster, Holyrood, Cardiff and Stormont. That’s how, together, we build political awareness and momentum.
If you have already contacted your elected politician – thank you! You are one of over 56,000 who have done so.
But if you want to give your elected politician a nudge to act for change then please send them a message through this e-action which is a joint campaign by the RSPB, Hen Harrier Action and Wild Justice. Click here to have a look please thank you!
Here is the letter from Ms Hobhouse:
Many thanks for emailing me in support of the campaign to protect hen harriers.
I very much share the strong concerns that have been raised regarding the decline in the UK’s population of wild hen harriers. As we know, hen harriers are a protected species. While 2019 saw an improvement in the number of hen harriers reared in England, numbers are still far below where they should be, so it is crucial that everything is done to protect these birds.
Under provisions in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, killing a hen harrier constitutes a wildlife crime. Despite this, the illegal killing of wild birds of prey continues. Given this, I am glad that raptor persecution (including a concentration on hen harriers) is listed as a priority for the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
With this in mind, I believe it is imperative that the National Wildlife Crime Unit receives permanent funding so it is able to fulfil its role in prevention and detection of wildlife-related crimes. This was why my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I called for proper funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit in our 2019 manifesto. I have since also signed EDM 139 on this subject. You can view this here.
Proposing an outright ban on driven grouse shooting is an emotive issue, and I do recognise that there are strong views held on both sides of the argument. Where conducted within the law, it can offer benefits to rural communities, including job creation and supporting peatland environmental management if carried out in a manner that is sensitive to the environment.
That being said, I would like to see the British Association of Shooting and Conservation, and the Government, do even more to promote best practice and step up efforts to stamp out illegal and bad practice. This would include a tightening of rules surrounding the sport, as well as the monitoring of the developments and options surrounding it. This might, for instance, include licensing. My priority would be to encourage partnership working between conservationists and the shooting industry.
I have, as requested, written to the Environment Secretary to outline your concerns and ask what steps his Department is taking to protect the hen harrier population. I will be in touch again once I have received a response. In the meantime, however, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.
Here is the response from my Labour MP, well researched, and totally gets the point that is being made:
Thank you for your recent email in relation to the illegal killing of hen harriers and other birds of prey. I apologise for the earlier confusion with your email.
I recognise that these iconic birds of prey are intensively persecuted and are in danger of being lost as a breeding species in England. Indeed, I am very concerned that the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) believes that there are only a small number of breeding pairs left in England.
I understand that there are many factors behind the falling harrier population, such as cold and wet weather over several breeding seasons; habitat changes; and low numbers of their prey. However, I also know that the RSPB has warned that the most significant factor is the illegal killing associated with grouse moors.
As you are aware, many people, such as yourself are concerned about the impact that grouse shooting has on protected birds of prey, such as the hen harrier. I share these concerns and in my view, taking no action over driven grouse shooting is not an option.
In January 2016, the Government published its plan to increase the hen harrier population. Measures in the plan include fieldwork to locate breeding attempts, tagging of nestlings, remote monitoring work to gain information about habitat use and threats, and satellite tagging and tracking. However, the RSPB withdrew its support for the plan, arguing that the plan’s voluntary approach has failed.
It is clear that the action plan is not working in delivering an increased hen harrier population. I believe we need tougher penalties for the illegal killing of hen harriers, including removing the right to manage a grouse moor.
I also share people’s concerns at the impact of grouse shooting on flood risk. I note, for example, research that shows that the burning of heather to improve grouse moors reduces the land’s retention of water. The Government needs to address the impact of grouse moor management on soil, drainage and hydration and we need more research on this issue.
Thank you once again for contacting me and for sharing your views. I can assure you I will continue to support efforts to protect hen harriers and I will press the current Government to ensure that raptor protection and the wider management of moorland are sustainable.