That paper on Mountain Hares summed up by its title, abstract and in two graphs: Title: ‘Seven decades of mountain hare counts show severe declines where high-yield recreational game bird hunting is practised‘ by Adam Watson and Jeremy Wilson, published in Journal of Applied Ecology. Abstract Recreational hunting is widespread and can benefit nature conservation…
BLOG POSTS
Mountain hares (not) on Scottish grouse moors
Do you remember this video (above) about the killing of Mountain Hares on grouse moors? And this photo of a Mountain Hare leveret caught in a trap … …and this one of a truck load of dead Mountain Hares on a Scottish grouse moor… Today the RSPB released the following press release of…
Labour: It’s time to end grouse moor practices that harm the environment
Sue Hayman, the Shadow Environment Secretary has called for an end to rotational heather burning and an independent review into the economic, environmental and wildlife impacts of driven grouse shooting. ‘Driven grouse shooting uses intensive land and wildlife management to create a false environment in which grouse flourish. Natural habitats and ecosystems are managed in…
The thunderous Findlay Wilde is a friend of mine
The thunderous Findlay Wilde is a friend of mine – but so are his parents, Nigel and Heather, and his brother Harley. I stayed with them on Saturday night after travelling up from Rainham and before going with them to Parkgate. I see on my phone that I have some very sweet-looking photos of 12-year-old…
Hen Harrier Days 2018 – a brief summary
A short summary of events over the weekend (and last weekend) ahead of the opening of the grouse shooting season (usually on the Inglorious 12th but this year) on the Inglorious 13th. [Obviously I wasn’t present at them all – any updates or corrections will be welcome]. Sheffield – 4 August About 180 attendees….
Two years ago exactly…
Wuthering Moors 70 – EU infraction proceedings
The Guardian has an excellent story on burning of blanket bogs on grouse moors today. Well done to Guy Shrubsole who has done a better job than I managed in getting these details out of Defra. Read the Guardian story here. The papers released by Defra confirm what you will have heard in this blog:…
What a great weekend!
I’m home again after a great Hen Harrier weekend. Thank you to BAWC and all the individual organisers for the work they put into making it a success. Rainham Marshes was hot and sunny. Parkgate was mild and dry despite the promise of rain – and we saw a ringtail Hen Harrier over the marsh….
Paul Leyland – Black-horned Cleg
Comments Off on Paul Leyland – Black-horned Cleg
Paul writes: I’ve seen a lot in the press lately about an invasion of horseflies, due to the hot weather. Also lots of advice about how to avoid them. I must be one of the few people who actually hope to find one, especially a female. One look at the eyes in this photograph…
Hen Harrier Sunday
Comments Off on Hen Harrier Sunday
I’ll be here today… …because this happens… … and governments aren’t doing nearly enough to stop it. #stopkillinghenharriers