Rumour has it that Natural England has agreed a highly contentious Moorland Plan with the Walshaw Estate – the famous grouse moor, owned by millionaire businessman Richard Bannister, which sits above Hebden Bridge. I wrote in this blog on 2 October 2017 ‘It remains to be seen whether NE will really dig their heels…
Tag: grouse moor
YFTB attacks the RSPB again
Presumably as a result of the RSPB’s strong criticism of Natural England’s decision to license a trial of brood meddling and the RSPB’s support for Ed Hutchings’s e-petition in favour of licensing of driven grouse shooting (other e-petitions are available) YFTB has dusted off its attacks on the RSPB. In a press release issued by…
Out birding
I’ve just come back from a day in Norfolk – that’s why this post is a little after 1800. I like birdwatching! I went birdwatching yesterday, I went birdwatching today, and I expect I will do some birdwatching tomorrow. Most of my birding today was at the RSPB nature reserve at Titchwell – I like…
Sunday book review – A Wild Life by Anthony Milbank
Sir Anthony Milbank who passed away in 2016 was a lovely man whose family’s grouse moor is at Barningham on the North Yorkshire/Durham border. He started this project, a photographic record of the impressive wildlife of his grouse moor, and the book was completed by the family after his passing. The words are by…
Defra maintains destructive ambiguity
You may remember that the Defra response to Gavin Gamble’s e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting referred in an alarming way to control of problem species. I asked Defra what they meant and have only just (yesterday) received a response. Here it is: Dear Dr Avery, Thank you for your email of 27 November about…
Guest blog – Driven Grouse Shooting on Borrowed Time by RSPB chair Kevin Cox
Kevin Cox was appointed Chair of RSPB Council in October 2017, having previously served on Council from 2011-2016. He has been a Council member and trustee of World Land Trust for the past 12 years, as well as Chair of its trading company. He helped Birdlife Bolivia set up a protected area for the critically-endangered…
Brood meddling in the Guardian
Patrick Barkham in the Guardian: Conservationists say government scheme, aimed at placating grouse moor land owners who object to the birds breeding on their land, will not boost numbers of the endangered birds. There’s a good quote from the RSPB but we are all wondering what the RSPB will actually do now. There’s a very…
Brood meddling – a mad muddle
Yesterday Natural England announced that it had issued licences for Defra’s highly controversial Hen Harrier brood management scheme (but this blog by Raptor Persecution UK is a much better description of what is going on). Natural England was once a statutory nature conservation organisation of high repute but it is no longer fit for purpose. …
An end to grouse shooting on Ilkley Moor
Bradford Council Labour group voted overwhelmingly last night not to renew the grouse-shooting lease on Ilkley Moor. Result! The Labour group (48 councillors) holds a majority on the Council (89 councillors in all) and the move to end grouse shooting is also supported by the LibDems (10 councillors) and Greens (3 councillors). This makes it…
Press release
Press release by Ban Bloodsports on Ilkley Moor On the eve of a key decision which could spell the end for grouse shooting on Yorkshire’s iconic beauty spot Ilkley Moor, Naz Shah MP (Bradford West) has joined some of the region’s most prominent politicians in giving her backing to ending the practice on Ilkley Moor….