Given that the Moorland Association has been strangely quiet recently it is worth noting that they are now trying hard to appear very very reasonable. It’s all a bit odd. Their responses to the RSPB statement on burning and Birdcrime report are rather moderately worded. I will be interested to see what the Moorland Association…
Tag: hen harrier
RSPB’s busy day (2)
The annual RSPB Birdcrime report is published online today – much of the meat of the report is in the Appendices (which I almost missed – search them out). There is a wealth of detail there, including this updated graph which should be widely copied and reused by all. But it is essentially, and sadly,…
RSPB Birdcrime report
Birdcrime: The law has failed our birds of prey RSPB Birdcrime report reveals 85 confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution in the UK in 2019 including shooting, trapping and poisoning RSPB data, peer-reviewed science and population surveys prove these crimes are concentrated on and near driven grouse moors Between 2012-2019 half (49%) of the…
Law Pod UK – reintroductions podcast
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Here’s a discussion of which I was a part, talking about reintroductions of Red Kites, White-tailed Eagles and potentially of Hen Harriers and listening to the story of the Short-haired Bumblebee. I’d have liked more on the bumblebee!
RSPB press release – the eagle, the satellite tag, the lead sheeting and the river
Recovered satellite tag provides answer to what happens when birds of prey ‘disappear’ on Scotland’s grouse moors A satellite tag removed from a ‘disappeared’ golden eagle has been recovered from a Highland river. The discovery sheds new light on the activities that criminals will go to in a bid to cover up the illegal killing…
Press release – Langholm Initiative
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£300,000 game-changer for southern Scotland’s biggest community buyout as deadline looms A “game-changing” £300,000 has boosted a small community’s attempt to secure southern Scotland’s biggest community land buyout – bringing its funding total to £3.1 million – as a 31 October deadline looms. The Langholm Moor Community Buyout – led by the award-winning Langholm Initiative charity –…
Dear Marian Spain, CEO of Natural England
Dear Marian I am writing to you to ask that you carry out an urgent, independent review of the functioning of Natural England’s wildlife licensing work. I believe that is clearly underperforming and in some very serious ways. Since the bits of your licensing system that I can see are only a few, and since…
News from Scotland
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And a belated piece of news from Scotland – a pair of Hen Harriers, after many years, has finally produced some young in the Angus glens. You can tell this was big news because it appeared in The Courier on 5 August and the Press and Journal on 6 August. You’ll notice that the coverage…
Mr Slater of Natural England – a star blogger
Natural England has been forced into some wise back-tracking which they call clarification and some unconvincing verbal contortions through the pressure put on them by blogs such as this and the social media storm into which they often blunder. They are, after all, No-Mates Natural England. Their attempt to shore up their reputation came in…
Driven grouse shooting – a mingle underpinned by wildlife crime
Coverage of the government ruling on whether Red Grouse shooting (open season 12 Aug- 10 Dec) and Pheasant shooting (open season 1 Oct – 1 Feb in England, Wales and Scotland) can go ahead has been phenomenal. I’ve had journalists phone me up today struggling to understand why their editor is wanting another piece on…