Raptor Persecution UK lift the lid on a can of worms in two blogs today (here and here). It’s all about the puzzling tale of Rowan who was ‘likely to have been shot’ (see RPUK blog of 7 November, and my own of 11 November) – and now we know, as if we didn’t before…
Category: Grouse and harriers
Wildlife barbecue
Here’s an example of wildlife benefitting from moorland burning (which is done to produce unnaturally high densities of Red Grouse for shooting for fun). Can anyone identify this scorched caterpillar please? The best guesses so far are Northern Eggar (but perhaps Fox Moth). Help me out please if you are an expert on barbecued…
Burning issues 2
George Eustice was right to suggest that we (for it is our money) should withdraw subsidies from grouse moors. Take a look at this fine crop of burned ground and realise that you are probably paying £56/ha to its owner every year. That £56/yr certainly pays for the matches needed to set this land alight….
Burning issues
From the heather and grass burning code: Areas within 5 metres of watercourses. There can be an increased risk of soil erosion close to watercourses (e.g. once vegetation has been removed by burning, soil could be washed into a watercourse by rainwater, or the watercourse might flow with sufficient force that its banks could…
Hen Harrier InAction Plan
Sometimes something is so awful that you just hope it will go away – and that’s how I feel about the Defra Hen Harrier InAction Plan which fails to address the real problem for the Hen Harrier – that it is illegally killed by grouse shooting interests because it eats Red Grouse that they would…