October 22, 2024
The RSPB launched its Birdcrime report this week. He said that the last two years have seen the rarest number of Hen Harriers disappear, and killed in suspicious circumstances, since records began.
One thing is clear, the passing Swaledale sheep must have seen the hidden camera.
But what is this?
A few minutes later, a man appeared in full camouflage.
He wears binoculars and also carries a gun. A tad overdressed, you might think, for a bird watching spot. Unlike the sheep, they don’t see the secret cameras placed around the RSPB.
What happened after this is what the RSPB says is groundbreaking evidence in the fight against the killing of rare Hen Harriers in the English highlands.
This evidence has been passed to the police, and because of the investigation, we will not tell you who these people are or where in the north of England this happened, but we can say that this is the head gamekeeper with his two assistants, and this is on a grouse shooting estate .
Hen Harriers in England have been shot, trapped and poisoned to extinction in the past. This is an amazing bird, for any size, it can fly during the breeding season, but there is no doubt that it eats and disturbs the red grouse and that means it earns money, big money.
To put half a dozen or more guns into the grouse moor may cost more than 20 or 30,000 pounds a day, and that means gamekeepers feel under enormous pressure from the rich owners of shooting estates to produce as many game birds as possible.
Back on the moors, the three discuss over the walkie-talkies the birds they are about to kill. They are near the Hen Harrier’s roost, but they are afraid to take the bird with the “box”. This means that a satellite tracker is monitored, which is attached to the back of the bird that can lead to finding where and when it was killed.
When they were in position with the gun, they discussed how the two men had committed a crime that day, taking crows and buzzards, which are two protected species.
He finally got what he wanted. The first Hen Harrier he saw had a tracking device, so he took to the sky to scare him. But when dusk fell, it was clear that another Harrier fatally followed the same route, and they laughed when they discussed how this bird was taken and how they were relieved that it was “clean” ie not carrying a “box” or satellite tracker.
The RSPB launched its Birdcrime report this week. It said that the past two years have seen the highest number of rare Hen Harriers disappear and die under suspicious circumstances, since records began.
The number remains far below the sustainable figure of 300 couples across the UK. The Moorland Association, which looks after the interests of the shooting estates, hotly disputed the RSPB’s claims and rightly said the number of birds of prey was higher than it had been since records began.
That is true, but as the association also knows, which includes, of course, many Buzzards and Red Kites, whose population has increased significantly after reintroductions in recent decades in England.
Hen Harriers remain on the critical Red List, so now the RSPB and other conservation organizations are pushing England and Wales to bring them in line with Scotland. There, the new law means that all shooting estates must be licensed, and it is critical, because it means that if the crime is committed, it is no longer the responsibility of the individual shooter, which is often very hard to prove.
Now in Scotland, all shooting areas can lose their license if a crime is found to have been committed, and that means closing the shooting. The stakes are high. It is too early to say what effect this law has had, but pressure is growing to take estates across England and Wales to be brought to the same situation.
Critics like the RSPB say the industry has demonstrated its inability to police itself, not a question of a few bad apples, and this incredible footage, they say, is more comprehensive and conclusive evidence that shootings have failed police. self.
Shooting bodies like the Moorland Association hate it. They say licensing doesn’t work when used in other industries and will only add another layer of red tape. But there’s no question, they’re wary and very concerned about what the license might do.
So far, all eyes are on Scotland on this issue. But of course, the secret eyes, the secret cameras, will be out as usual in the highlands and moorlands of England and Wales too. Statistics from the RSPB Birdcrime report show that over a 15-year period, 68% of people successfully convicted of crimes against birds of prey were gamekeepers on shooting estates.