The RSPB Skydancer project released this map yesterday showing the last known locations of the missing Hen Harriers, Sky and Hope. A quick look at Google maps, entering ‘Forest of Bowland’ and looking at the northern area, north of Wolfhole Crag, will get you to the right area. Switch from ‘map’ to ‘satellite image’ and…
Category: BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING
This is what it is like to be on the front foot.
The debate has changed dramatically over the last few months – let’s say since 28 May when this e-petition was launched to ban driven grouse shooting. In that time: M&S have been persuaded to change their mind about selling Red Grouse on their shelves until they can assure the world of the sustainability of…
Gamekeepers
Yesterday evening’s blog did not overflow with complimentary remarks about gamekeepers – it could have done, but it didn’t. An occupation which evokes such strong and negative responses has an image problem – and that is true however fair or unfair are the comments. We don’t hear that much from gamekeepers in the debates over…
Selfridges will not stock Red Grouse this year.
Selfridges have confirmed to their customers that they will not stock Red Grouse in their Food Hall. Good for them! Looks like I’ll have to get out my credit card. This was in response to an excellent letter from a reader of this blog which quoted from the Ethical Consumer report ‘Turn your back on…
And it’s not even worth a bean to the economy
The grouse shooting industry is having a torrid time of it – and I can assure them that there is more to come. Grouse shooting is a ‘sport’ or an ‘industry’. Over the years it has tried to justify itself on the grounds that it either doesn’t do any harm or it does do some…
An ecosystem disservice
The nature conservation case for driven grouse shooting is pretty much bankrupt and today’s significant report on the ecosystem disservices of rotational burning bangs home a wider point. If you live in a city or the country, shoot or don’t shoot, vote UKIP or Green, are vegan or live on raw meat, whoever you are…
Important new study on impacts of moorland burning on river catchments
The EMBER study by the University of Leeds (funded by NERC and Yorkshire Water) has been a five-year study of 10 river catchments – five that have lots of heather burning for driven grouse shooting and five that do not. The study area was the North Pennines. The British uplands collect and distribute rainwater, sequester…
That pile of postcards
Comments Off on That pile of postcards
There’s a big pile of postcards waiting to be delivered to HM The Queen – 20,000 of them, signed by LUSH customers. By the way, this morning I used one of the bath bombs I bought in the LUSH shop in Northampton in the days just before Hen Harrier Day (seems like a long time…
FoI request to Defra
Dear Defra Please supply me with copies of any communications (emails or letters dated April-September 2014) between Defra and the participants in the Defra Hen Harrier Sub-Group of the Uplands Stakeholder Forum concerning Hen Harriers and/or grouse shooting and/or the progress on the drafting of a joint report. Thank you, Dr Mark Avery (mark@markavery.info) …
It’s not very complicated…
…they kill our Stoats our Mountain Hares our Hen Harriers our Peregrines our Badgers our Goshawks our Ravens and much more… …so that they can kill our Red Grouse. And this is a ‘sport’ and a ‘business’? Show your abhorrence at the slaughter in our…