There are, it seems, several strong proponents for a Hen Harrier brood management scheme, which seem to number the GWCT, BASC, the Moorland Association, the National Gamekeepers Organisation and the Hawk and Owl Trust. There are some people who are dead against the very idea of a brood management scheme, although not, as best I…
BLOG POSTS
Defra – what are you for? 3
Defra – where’s the report of the Lead Ammunition Group, please? The group will be convened for an initial 12-month period…. It’s only been going for five years. Hello? Is there anybody there? Hello??? How long does it take to write ‘We’re heading for a lead-free future as quickly as possible’?
Hawk and Owl losing trust
The Hawk and Owl Trust has failed dismally to explain their position as far as I am concerned. This statement appeared on the Hawk and Owl website which I now intend to analyse: Philip Merricks, Chairman Hawk and Owl Trust 20 Jan 2015 ‘You will be aware that the RSPB formally announced last year that,…
Managing expectations
Let’s take a step back and look at the idea of a brood management scheme for Hen Harriers. The idea of ‘doing something’ to Hen Harrier eggs, chicks and/or adults, to reduce their impacts on driven grouse shooting has been kicking around for years. If the shooting industry had not been so intransigent, and if…
Hen Harrier Day – 9 August 2015
I think I know what will be at least one focus for Hen Harrier Day 2015 so please ‘save the day’ as they say. There is a long way to go before that sunny Sunday before the opening of the grouse shooting season but we have the beginnings of a plan… The full plan will…
So, what is the Hawk and Owl Trust’s position on brood management?
Yesterday I speculated on what might be going on in Tory ministers’ minds to lead them to consider making a highly contentious move in the highly contentious issue of Hen Harrier persecution. Rather than Ministers being exercised about how they could live up to their pre-election promises on marine protected areas, or recovering farmland bird…
Collaboration or collaborationism?
As I understand it, the non-joint non-plan for ‘managing’ the almost non-existent English breeding Hen Harrier population would have involved fiddling about with one of the nests in Bowland this year (had the landowner requested it). The two nests were ‘too close’ together despite the rather large gap to the next pair of breeding Hen…
Defra probably has one more bad decision left in it
Given the dire (egregious, failing, risible, adrift) performance of the Defra Ministers who take our money to make the environment better it is to be hoped that they simply keep their heads down and fade away once the general election campaign starts in earnest. Though I fear that it’s just possible that Defra has one…
Oscar Dewhurst – Bittern fishing
Oscar writes: The recent 4 or 5 days of cold weather in the UK saw me spend most of that time at my local nature reserve hoping to photograph Bitterns. Unfortunately I didn’t have much success, and one morning spent over 4 hours lying on the frozen ground hoping for this bird to come out…
RSPB, Countryside Alliance and the Charity Commission
You might have wondered what happened with the complaint about the RSPB from Sir Ian Botham and others to the Charity Commission. Or maybe you thought it was so daft that you weren’t wondering at all. Well, I was wondering why we hadn’t heard anything about it and now I know why. Although Beefy’s complaint…