I’ve been asked to take part in a Game Fair ‘debate’ a month today – and I’ve said yes. I am clearly the token leftie on the panel whose other members are Owen Paterson MP (the former Secretary of State at Defra), Philip Merricks (Chair of the Hawk and Owl Trust) and Ian Coghill (Chair…
Category: BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING
Does everyone think they are losing?
I’m developing a new theory of advocacy – it’s not a very useful theory but it is keeping me amused, thinking about it. My theory is that everyone, on all sides, thinks that they are losing the advocacy war on most issues. What do you think of my theory? It’s just a theory but it’s…
The desperation of Doug McAdam
It may be that Scottish Land and Estates has been slumbering for quite a while but their Chief Exec, Doug McAdam, seems to have been roused from his snooze. It may well have been the sight of a six foot Hen Harrier looking in through his office window that did it… Mr McAdam (@DougMcAdam) occasionally…
Four weeks today
Four weeks today, Inglorious – conflict in the uplands will be published by Bloomsbury. Inglorious has a Foreword by Chris Packham that is hard-hitting and passionate and makes the rest of the book look rather meek and mild. Inglorious starts with the Hen Harrier and its persecution by game interests, partly because many of us…
Henry, true grit and SuNH
Henry looks puzzled. And well might he be puzzled. Red Grouse shooting is often described as the shooting of ‘wild’ game – and it is certainly true that grouse, unlike pheasants, are not reared and released to bump up the numbers for shooting. However, a grouse moor is about as natural as a wheat field…
Interesting news on e-petition
This has recently appeared on the government website. Watch this space.
Henry occupies the butts
Looking very snug there Henry! Occupy the butts! Go to a grouse moor, find a grouse butt, take a photograph of yourself occupying the butt, send in the photograph to this website. Finding one of these butts is easy – you don’t have to walk for miles across the moors – a lot of them…
Bowland – signs of the times
Let’s not forget that four male Hen Harriers have ‘disappeared’ this breeding season from active nests in the AONB of the Forest of Bowland whose logo is a Hen Harrier. The Duke of Westminster owns the grouse moor of Abbeystead in the Trough of Bowland but there are a couple of other sporting estates there…
That pigeon plague
I hadn’t realised there are so many pigeons pecking away at the heather in our National Parks. Above is a Fairbang gas gun set up in the Peak District – is it really fair to have gas guns banging away in our National Parks? Is this what National Parks are for? I gather you can…
The ghostly male Hen Harrier
That’s a bloody enormous male Hen Harrier flying across the Cairngorms! It took us, that’s me and Henry, weeks to pile the snow up like that but everyone on the A9 saw it…didn’t they? #HaveYouSeenHenry? Keep in touch with Hen Harrier Day events through this website.