A letter to my MP

Dear Mr Pursglove,

I’d like to bring to your attention the recent remarks of one of your fellow Conservative MPs, Chris Loder. When a White-tailed Eagle was found dead, suspected poisoned, in his Dorset constituency, Mr Loder went onto social media to say that he didn’t want eagles in his constituency, that they didn’t belong there, that they were a plague to farmers and he didn’t want the police to waste their time on this issue.

Mr Loder can, of course, hold whatever views he wishes, and express them too, but it’s a pity that his remarks are so inaccurate (I won’t go into that now) and so undermining of a licensed, officially-sanctioned and ambitious conservation project. Such remarks could be shrugged off as those of an uninformed and prejudiced person but they will be lapped up by the wildlife-haters in the country. It is an uphill struggle to try to bring about a wildlife renaissance in our nature-depleted country without public figures disparaging those actions and giving the impression that crimes against wildlife shouldn’t be investigated with any vigour.

Mr Loder has been corrected by the Dorset Police, the photographer whose work he misused to support his argument, a whole bunch of conservationists and Lord Benyon, a DEFRA minister. But the trouble is that Mr Loder’s ill-informed attitudes are widespread. So this message ends with a request for you to tell me whether you support Mr Loder or not.

There’s no reason why you should know much about White-tailed Eagles so let me give you some background information. They are fantastic birds, native to the UK, but they were driven to extinction early in the twentieth century as a result of human persecution by game interests, farmers and egg collectors. Similar things happened elsewhere in Europe and this large impressive eagle was much reduced in range and numbers. Like many other birds of prey, these eagles eat carrion, much like Red Kites, and White-tailed Eagles suffered when poison baits were liberally scattered around the countryside even though their target was mostly Red Foxes rather than scavenging birds.

We now live in partly more enlightened times when laying indiscriminate poison baits is illegal and birds such as White-tailed Eagles are not only tolerated but welcomed back. I say only partly more enlightened because Mr Loder’s remarks have been a strong reminder of the intolerance that some show to wildlife. It has been suggested that Mr Loder has strong connections with the game shooting industry, and that is often a source of intolerance to native wildlife, but whatever the source of his anti-wildlife stance it has no place in today’s society where we recognise that there is a crisis for wildlife in the UK and that we need to help and restore nature. The White-tailed Eagle found dead in Mr Loder’s constituency had been released by a reintroduction scheme on the Isle of Wight, which seeks to reestablish the White-tailed Eagle on England’s south coast. The birds range widely, some have passed through your own constituency on their travels, so it could have been you reacting to the news of the death, possibly through poisoning (analysis is awaited) of one of these birds.

During lockdown, when some of us stuck strictly to the rules, a White-tailed Eagle roosted one night in south Northamptonshire and then set off, flying over Northampton and along the Nene Valley. It was seen by a birdwatcher friend of mine passing Irthlingborough and I rushed up to the top of our house to see whether I could catch a glimpse of it as it travelled past Stanwick Lakes but didn’t see it. It then travelled past Oundle and Peterborough to the Nene Washes and on to Norfolk that day. We know this because the bird was satellite-tagged and so conservationists could track its progress but despite being a massive bird it was hardly seen by a soul. I wish I had seen it, it would be a thrilling sight to see a once-persecuted bird finding a place in the Northants countryside. I hope I live to see the day when White-tailed Eagles are regular visitors to the Nene Valley, catching waterfowl including geese, Rabbits, a few fish and feeding on carrion such as dead sheep and some of the vast numbers of Pheasants killed on our roads and injured by recreational shooters. The Red Kites which are proudly featured on the logo of North Northants (after a public vote) should be a daily reminder that persecuted birds of prey can be returned to our countryside and be a source of joy and pride to many. Red Kites benefitted from a reintroduction project similar to the one now in play for White-tailed Eagles and in fact Fineshade was one of the early release sites in a chain of such sites from Scotland to the Chilterns. When Red Kites were reintroduced there was much muttering about them, along the lines of Mr Loder’s remarks several decades later, but no-one would now want to see these birds extirpated again from our skies as they once were. Would they?

And so I now, after all these words (which I realise you probably won’t read but someone in your team will have done) ask you what you think about White-tailed Eagles. Do you support Mr Loder’s views which seem to me to be yet another example of Conservative politicians clinging on to the intolerances of the past instead of embracing a better future? Or would you welcome White-tailed Eagles to the Nene Valley, the Northamptonshire countryside and to our skies? I’d really like to hear your views please.

It might help you put your response in context to see the results of the first day of a simple poll, asking much the same question, set up by Wild Justice (the not-for-profit company established by myself, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay, and whose registered office is in your constituency) here. Of the first 3000 respondents to that poll, in a single day, the vast majority are in favour of birds of prey. You could add your vote to that poll, feel free to do so, it is open to all, but as my elected MP I’d really like to learn your views. My hope is that you can be publicly enthusiastic about reintroducing White-tailed Eagles as a counterpoint to Mr Loder’s views.

I know this is a long message, but the ‘ask’ of you is short and easy – do you support White-tailed Eagle reintroductions?

Yours sincerely,

Wild Justice has published a standard letter that could form the basis of a letter to your elected representative regardless of where you live in the UK. It would be great if all elected representatives were asked where they stand on this issue. But, as you can see, it’s perfectly easy to draft a more personal letter to your own MP (or similar) and such messages will make MPs think of wildlife and bring to their attention the pro-wildlife views of their constituents. Please have a go yourself, it’s easy and the more messages, the more it will make a difference. Thank you.

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