The Hawk and Owl Trust has failed dismally to explain their position as far as I am concerned. This statement appeared on the Hawk and Owl website which I now intend to analyse: Philip Merricks, Chairman Hawk and Owl Trust 20 Jan 2015 ‘You will be aware that the RSPB formally announced last year that,…
Tag: grouse moor
Managing expectations
Let’s take a step back and look at the idea of a brood management scheme for Hen Harriers. The idea of ‘doing something’ to Hen Harrier eggs, chicks and/or adults, to reduce their impacts on driven grouse shooting has been kicking around for years. If the shooting industry had not been so intransigent, and if…
So, what is the Hawk and Owl Trust’s position on brood management?
Yesterday I speculated on what might be going on in Tory ministers’ minds to lead them to consider making a highly contentious move in the highly contentious issue of Hen Harrier persecution. Rather than Ministers being exercised about how they could live up to their pre-election promises on marine protected areas, or recovering farmland bird…
Collaboration or collaborationism?
As I understand it, the non-joint non-plan for ‘managing’ the almost non-existent English breeding Hen Harrier population would have involved fiddling about with one of the nests in Bowland this year (had the landowner requested it). The two nests were ‘too close’ together despite the rather large gap to the next pair of breeding Hen…
Defra probably has one more bad decision left in it
Given the dire (egregious, failing, risible, adrift) performance of the Defra Ministers who take our money to make the environment better it is to be hoped that they simply keep their heads down and fade away once the general election campaign starts in earnest. Though I fear that it’s just possible that Defra has one…
RSPB, Countryside Alliance and the Charity Commission
You might have wondered what happened with the complaint about the RSPB from Sir Ian Botham and others to the Charity Commission. Or maybe you thought it was so daft that you weren’t wondering at all. Well, I was wondering why we hadn’t heard anything about it and now I know why. Although Beefy’s complaint…
Guest blog by Hugh Webster: response to Tim Bidie
Mark writes; this was originally posted as a comment on yesterday’s Guest Blog by Tim Bidie but it seemed so good to me (and so long) that it might be better to publish it this way. Hugh Webster is a a biology teacher with a PhD in Behavioural Ecology, earned studying competition between large…
Guest Blog – The Good Intentions Paving Company by Tim Bidie (aka as ‘Monro’)
‘Monro’ posted over 100 comments on this blog between 11 October and 14 December on the subject of Hen Harriers and grouse shooting’. On 14 December, because I was getting a bit fed up with his repetitive comments, I offered him a Guest Blog to get it all off his chest in one go. I…
Hare today and gone tomorrow?
Just when the grouse shooters thought that things might get a bit quieter for them, another e-petition related to grouse shooting emerges that is bound to get a lot of support. This one is directed at the SNH Director of Policy and Advice, Ron Macdonald, and asks SNH to protect Mountain Hares from widespread unregulated…
Your feedback on this blog
Here is a selection (every 10th comment, listed chronologically (earliest at top of list)) of the free-text comments in answer to ‘Your opportunity to give feedback of any kind on my blog or anything else you like’. Excellent, well informed. Always very interesting and refreshing to read what needs to be said unencumbered by…