RSPB: Martin Harper helpfully sets out the RSPB case on driven grouse shooting in his blog today ahead of the evidence session tomorrow at 2:15pm. There is not much between the RSPB and my position when it comes to the litany of problems associated with driven grouse shooting. These arguments have been well rehearsed and…
Tag: golden eagle
What Defra would have had to admit
After cogitating (aka as delaying) for a month, Defra finally told me it wouldn’t answer questions about its response to our successful e-petition on banning driven grouse shooting (123,076 signatures). The House of Commons Petitions Committee will hold an evidence session, jointly with the EFRA Committee, on this subject next Tuesday (see here and here)…
Questions for Defra
I submitted this request for information to Defra on 12 September. I am looking forward to receiving their full response on or before 12 October so that I can refer to it in my oral evidence to the inquiry into grouse shooting. This email is a request for information ahead of an evidence…
Birdwatch magazine
In the October issue of Birdwatch magazine (available in all good newsagents, by subscription and in digital format) readers will find a cut-out letter to send to their MPs asking them to ask Defra what measures the government intends to put forward in the Westminster Hall debate on banning driven grouse to deal with the…
Did you write to your Labour MP? Firm Briefing 18
Around 120 of you have told me that you have written to your Labour MPs on the subject of the debate on driven grouse shooting that will happen on a Monday afternoon after the 18 October (date tbc). So far, some of you have had responses from c22 Labour MPs but another 68 or so…
The SNP standard response – Firm Briefing 9
Before tackling the tricky issue of SNP MPs in the Westminster parliament, let me just say that support for our e-petition has been very strong in Scotland: it has received c12,000 signatures from Scotland out of a UK total so far of 118,000 – that’s c10% of all signature compared with Scotland representing c8.4% of…
The PM didn’t say this – but she should
We will see. The Conservative Party positioning on the hobby of driven grouse shooting is currently pretty much unreservedly in favour of it and apologists for it. When Defra, under the previous Prime Minister of course, responded to our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting after it passed 10,000 signatures, the then minister at Defra,…
Hawk and Owl Trust being destroyed from within
At the Bird Fair I walked past the large stand of the Hawk and Owl Trust many times – there was a small group of volunteers there but I saw no visitors (in contrast to the small BAWC stand which was very, very busy). Several others commented on the same thing. One claimed to see…
Hen Harrier missing over…guess what?…a grouse moor
The RSPB announced today that a young male Hen Harrier, fitted with a satellite transmitter as part of the Hen Harrier LIFE+ Project, has gone missing on a grouse moor in the Monadhliath Mountains, south-east of Inverness. The bird, named Elwood, was the only chick to fledge from a nest in Banffshire, which was being…
Countryfile last night
I didn’t watch Countryfile live last night as I was doing some work – but I caught up with it in the evening. I thought Bob Elliot from the RSPB was great (as always) and I also thought that the edit was fair. It was filmed on 28 July at Geltsdale in Cumbria (and the…