‘Defending our way of life’

In this month’s copy of The Field there is a page about the role of the the GWCT’s science in defending  ‘our way of life’ which is surely a misprint for ‘our hobby of death’. The article is written by the GWCT’s chair, the tadpole conserver himself, Mr Ian Coghill, and it is basically an…

Defra – a shameful government department

One of the more reasonable aspects of the dreadful government response to our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting is that it regards the fact that there were a few more Hen Harriers this year (although many of the males disappeared of course) as encouraging. It is a little bit encouraging – but not very….

The two successful Northumberland Hen Harrier nests

Following the nonsense in The Telegraph and the correction to the misinformation in the Guardian yesterday, it is good to see a press release from the Northumberland Hen Harrier Protection Partnership with information about the two successful nests of Hen Harriers that have nested on FC land this year. First, note that this partnership involves…

More on the Game Fair

Yesterday I didn’t go to the Game Fair but the Today programme did. And Farming Today were there too. Farming Today repeated C(W)TG’s Andrew Gilruth’s inability to answer a question here after about 15 minutes. Did you notice how Andrew claimed that grouse moors had been designated because they were teeming with wildlife? He’s such…

Henry’s Game Fair

I’ve been to many Game Fairs but this was Henry’s first.  He was a little bit nervous but he had a gaggle of burly minders with him. As well as myself there were Lawrie and Phil from BAWC and Alan Davies from The Biggest Twitch. It was a rather quiet Game Fair I felt, fewer…

In your August copy of…(2)

Whereas Birdwatch magazine has a ringtail Hen Harrier on its cover this month, The Field has a marvellous image of a Red Grouse on its cover. Don’t you just want to…errr…shoot it? As a graphic example of the crisis of confidence in the British grouse shooting industry, Max Hastings calls on readers of The Field…

Join the Hen Harrier Day thunderclap please

Whether you can or can’t attend Hen Harrier Eve, and whether you can or can’t attend Hen Harrier Day, you can, if you use social media, add your name to a message that will go around the world at 10am on Hen Harrier Day saying: “We’re missing our Hen Harriers – and we want them…

Burning for grouse shooting, a threat to habitat, in the Observer today

Today the Observer has a piece on the Climate Change Committee’s report to parliament (mentioned on this blog on Wednesday) which raised the issue of intensive grouse moor management ‘The damaging practice of burning peat to increase grouse yields continues, including on internationally protected sites.’. The article was interesting for a number of reasons. The…

Not very new, and not very statesmanlike

In the New Statesman this week, there is an excellent and long article by Mark Cocker on shooting (Unfair game: why Britain’s birds of prey are being killed). I recommend it as an interesting read and because it will bring the plight of the Hen Harrier to a new readership. The most interesting quote in…

GWCT, very forgetful

Advertising Standards Authority Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn London WC1V 6QT I was recently considering making a donation to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, using their website, and I was concerned when I was unable to discover what percentage of my donation would be spent on the cause.  https://www.gwct.org.uk/donate/general-donation/ When I managed to…