There will be a peaceful protest against Hen Harrier persecution somewhere in the north of England on or around (probably before) the ‘Glorious’ 12th August this year. Let me know if you would be interested in taking part and wish to be kept informed by emailing mark@markavery.info The number of people expressing an interest is…
Tag: persecution
Golden Eagle – Scotland’s favourite animal (but not on grouse moors)
The Golden Eagle is Scotland’s favourite wild animal – by quite a long way according to the voting. It claimed the top spot ahead of four lovely mammals; Red Squirrel, Red Deer, Otter and Harbour Seal. What a shame then that so many places ideally suited to Golden Eagles lack their presence. Only three of…
Wuthering Moors 35 – response to Defra’s case
Here are a few points on Defra’s response to the RSPB’s complaint to the EU Commission in the Walshaw Moor affair (see blog of 12 noon today). 1. Five tracks, five car parks, two ponds dug out of the peat, earthworks? 2. Some of the alleged damage may not ultimately be restored. 3. NE has…
Grouse – various
Isn’t nature wonderful – the image at the head of this post is of strongylid worms (the white things) crawling out of some red grouse poo. It’s possible that quite a few people and organisations feel like they are in the ‘grouse poo’ at the moment but, on the other hand, maybe they are all…
M&S: the smoking gunner?
How interesting that the meat buyer for M&S, Tom Harvey, is, in his own words ‘a massive fan of anything shooting/game or wine related‘ according to his Twitter account. There is nothing wrong with that, of course. If he’d like to buy me a glass of decent Rioja then I’d be very happy to…
How (and why?) M&S are getting it wrong
Yesterday’s blog seemed to hit the right note with many people but the lack of responses from M&S are not going down well. Selling game in a couple of stores is hardly a make or break decision for M&S – you’d think that a bit of unfavourable reaction would persuade their accountants not to bother….
M&S, the grouse, the lead and the hen harriers
I am a fan of Marks and Spencer (M&S) – but maybe that is going to change. I am signed up to their email newsletter (which only yesterday was telling me about offers on champagne and lingerie – how sadly they misread my lifestyle!), I tend to seek out their stores in London to buy…
Not so glorious… and what about BanGS?
It’s the Glorious 12th! Woohoo! And this year is the first year since the 1960s, according to the RSPB, that hen harriers have not nested successfully anywhere in England. Martin Harper, the RSPB’s Conservation Director said last week: “We are only a few days away from ‘the Glorious 12th’ – the traditional August start of…
Why raptor persecution is different
There has been a little burst of correspondence in The Independent over gamekeepers (and raptor persecution)(here, here, here). I note that one of the correspondents, Reece Fowler, crops up in quite a lot of places (including this blog) saying how nice gamekeepers are and how misunderstood (see here, here, here). I thought that Mr Fowler’s…
Lancashire’s ‘Bowland Betty’ bites the Yorkshire dust
A female hen harrier raised in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire, last year, and fitted with a satellite tag, was found dead on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales in June this year. I hadn’t realised the trans-Pennine rivalry was so strong that the War of the Roses included shooting each other’s hen harriers….