STARTS RSPB Scotland has dismissed a press release issued today by the “Gift of Grouse” campaign that attempts to draw a veil over the continued persecution of birds of prey on areas of land managed intensively for driven grouse shooting. The reports on which these assertions are based are not in the public domain, and…
Category: BAN DRIVEN GROUSE SHOOTING
The minister’s speech
On the last day of October our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting (123,077 signatures) was debated alongside another, so-called rival, e-petition to protect grouse shooting (which still languishes under 25,000 signatures despite being over half way through its allotted time). Having let a month pass I’ll now return to what was said on that…
It’s time for Ian Botham to be a winner again
Ian Botham deserves to be a winner again – and he deserves to win Birdwatch magazine’s guano award for environmental harm as part of the YFTB team. So please vote for him here. You’ll have to vote in each of the other categories too, but I bet you’ll find some familiar names and events to…
Now then, now then!
Now Then magazine features an article about grouse shooting and raptor persecution in the Peak District. And do remember that you can help the National Trust move rapidly away from intensive moorland management by signing this local petition.
This is ludicrous and funny
Oropendola productions – good for them! Oropendola Productions and Playfuel recently delivered an interactive street game for the Manchester Science Festival which took place on the streets of the city in order to raise awareness of the impact and causes of flooding. Think escapes rooms meets crystal maze with a treasure hunt thrown in, all…
The RSPB and driven grouse shooting
It’s certainly not my place to be setting out the RSPB’s position on driven grouse shooting but there have been signs, some public and some less obvious, that the RSPB is losing patience with driven grouse shooting and with Defra. Let’s just recognise that the RSPB has come a long and slightly difficult way since…
Likely lads
Rowan the Hen Harrier ‘was likely to have been shot’ – likely? That’s an odd phrase and it’s been bothering me (and others, I see). I tend to start from the supposition that all Hen Harriers are likely to be shot and have to keep telling myself that there are other perfectly natural causes of…
RSPB getting tough?
There are two recent RSPB blogs which are well worth a read – aren’t they all, always? Martin Harper’s blog is pretty outspoken as these quotes will make clear (but please read it all): it was a deeply frustrating debate – especially to the 123,000 that called for a ban and of course those seeking…
Golden Eagles on a weak thermal
There ought to be a lot more Golden Eagles in the UK and the results of the most recent survey (2015) show that there are more than in 2003 so that’s good news. There are 508 pairs of Golden Eagles in Scotland which represents an increase of 15% which isn’t bad at all and is…
Rory Stewart – this one is in your constituency
Rory Stewart has moved on from Defra but his legacy of inactivity on wildlife crime lives on and its impacts are manifest in his own constituency. A case of dead birds coming home to roost? I didn’t have any takers for my 100/1 bet that Rowan died of natural causes. It’s hardly surprising. He couldn’t…