Dr Therese Coffey is the junior minister at Defra. When Gavin Gamble’s e-petition in favour of banning driven grouse shooting passes 10,000 signatures (and it stands at over 9300) then Dr Coffey will need to sign off a government response. In order that she does not make Defra look even more foolish than they do…
Tag: golden eagle
Dr Coffey’s reading list (3)
Dr Therese Coffey is the junior minister at Defra. When Gavin Gamble’s e-petition in favour of banning driven grouse shooting passes 10,000 signatures (and it passed 9000 yesterday) then Dr Coffey will need to sign off a government response. In order that she does not make Defra look even more foolish than they do already…
Dr Coffey’s reading list (1)
Dr Therese Coffey is the junior minister at Defra. When Gavin Gamble’s e-petition in favour of banning driven grouse shooting passes 10,000 signatures then Dr Coffey will need to sign off a government response. In order that she does not make Defra look even more foolish than they do already I am providing a reading…
The Moorland Imbalance (3)
In their little booklet, the GWCT address five areas that they say are commonly-heard criticisms of driven grouse shooting. This week I’ll deal with each of them. The GWCT correctly identify this as an area of criticism ‘There is illegal persecution of raptors by grouse moor keepers‘ but go on to use the ‘few bad…
Scotland’s gun-toting legal system
It’s always difficult to imagine exactly how the other half live – it’s even more difficult for most of us to imagine how most of the establishment live. I came across an interesting article the other day which, based on Freedom of Information requests, documents the arsenal of weapons held by members of the Scottish…
All those tagged raptors, Moll
Driven grouse shooting depends on widespread, systematic and illegal killing of protected wildlife. The original Langholm study showed that raptors, particularly Hen Harriers and Peregrines, are perfectly capable of taking a sufficient toll of Red Grouse before 12 August that there won’t necessarily be enough left to provide the profits to support several gamekeepers’ salaries. …
Calluna lost in the heather
RSPB press release: Satellite-tagged hen harrier disappears on Scottish grouse moor Rare bird of prey vanishes on 12th August The RSPB has issued an appeal for information after a young hen harrier, fitted with a satellite tag as part of the charity’s EU-funded Hen Harrier LIFE project, disappeared on an Aberdeenshire grouse moor. “Calluna”, a…
Guest blog – Bowland: crimes against nature by Eleanor Upstill-Goddard
Eleanor is a wildlife conservationist and raptor enthusiast from Northumberland with an MSc in Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management from Newcastle University. She indulges her passion for wildlife through photography and writing. Twitter: @DaisyEleanorug We have all heard of the expression ‘to turn a blind eye’, meaning to pretend that a particular act…
Bird Fair 2017 – Day 1
Here we go – Day 1 Weather forecast – could get a bit blowy and maybe wet towards very end of day (glad I’m not camping – and best of luck to those who are). Plan for the day – although it will not necessarily happen… 0900 or soon after. Stand in queue even…
Myth-buster from Scottish raptor experts
Ahead of the Glorious Twelfth the Scottish Raptor Study Group has produced a ‘Moorland Myths Busters Guide’ for six of the most popular myths held within the driven grouse shooting sector. ‘Game bird licensing is unnecessary The failure of the intensive end of the game shooting industry to operate within the law over 60 years…