Proposals by RSPB to impose some form of statutory control on the activities of game shoots is not without it’s merit, in theory such proposals are long over due. From a practical stand point I have my doubts how such a scheme would be policed; the financial cost would be substantial and any success difficult to quantify in the absence of suitably on site qualified people. Clearly the present situation can not and must not be allowed to continue!
Take the current position on moorlands in Lancashire owned by United Utilities considered by many to be the jewel in the crown for nesting birds of prey like the hen harrier. In reality the present situation is not what it at first appears to be. It is a well known fact among local conservationists, field workers have been telling United Utilities that in two areas on their estate leased for shooting, raptors in both locations have been under performing for many years but these concerns have not been taken seriously or acted upon.
Continue reading Are Politics being placed first ahead of Raptors and their Conservation in Bowland?
Crimes against wild birds throughout the UK remained at near record highs in 2008.
The RSPB received 1,206 reports of shooting, poisoning, trapping and disturbance of birds and of the theft of birds and their eggs. While the figure is slightly down from the all-time high of 1,228 reports in 2007, it remains the second highest we’ve ever recorded. Many more are believed to have gone undetected and unreported. The following link will take you to the PDf file Bird Crime 2008 published by the RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/birdcrime_tcm9-226049.pdf
Continue reading UK’s Birds Continue to Suffer at the Hands of Criminals.
Yesterday, as today I need to be based at home with no opportunity for active birding. It has provided me with the opportunity of reflecting heavily on the raptor persecution subject yet again and to work through a vast amount of information I’ve been sent or gained access to via the net. I also managed to unearth some, not all, of the notebooks I kept during the 1980-90′s relating to bird of prey surveys, ringing and persecution reports. Such make depressing reading as they clearly demonstrate that old habits die hard and that the situation is little different today than in those past days. The overall total of birds of prey destroyed, or their breeding attempts interefered with, from that period to the present is difficult to comprehend in this day and age when conserving species and their habitats is so much to the fore.
Continue reading Frustration, as in yesteryear!
This week raptor politics has been alerted by one of our thousands of web site readers of a very interesting article featured in the Country Week section of the Yorkshire Post published on Saturday 15th August. To read the complete text follow the [...]
“Police, camera, no appropriate licence to be at raptor nest” might be a better title for the puff piece we’ve just received from colleagues down South – Chris Visser of the Lancashire Evening Post interviewing Duncan Thomas, Police Wildlife Liaison Officer and saviour of our planet – or at least the Lancashire bit of it, if the article is to be believed. http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Police-protection-of-wildlife.5532271.jp
Hello, Natural England – that photograph accompanying the article: breach of police licence conditions or what? Necessary visit? Is there a crime going on there (apart from the obvious)? Bona fide raptor workers would be severely taken to task for showboating like that, and rightly so too.
Continue reading When we practice to deceive …
Harriers dead and gone within days of warden leaving estate
This morning I was dragged out for a walk by Mrs Admin. She maintains I spend far too much time in front of the computer, and she’s probably right. I do need some exercise, but important news of a disaster on a United Utilities estate in Bowland needed a write-up. So, as we trudged along over hill and dale, I tried to explain to her what had happened.
Continue reading Hen Harrier Disaster on United Utilities Land
Updated 7 August 2009 – see footnote*
On Friday 7th August, representatives of Lancashire Police Force will be meeting the conservation worker – wrongly cautioned under s59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 – at his solicitor’s office.
Will they, I wonder, have the integrity to own up that the charge was nothing more than an attempt to intimidate and harass somebody who was only trying to see that the law is upheld with regards to protecting our wildlife? Or will they ‘close ranks’ as is so often the case?
Continue reading Let’s persecute the conservationists – Part 3
Yes, this is a very early post covering both yesterday and today!! Both days will have been devoted to writing various articles and comments about raptor persecution and what is needed in the future!
Within 24 hours of my talking about such matters in Angus a Golden Eagle was found poisoned on a private estate within the county. Found, because it was fitted with a satellite transmitter that allowed the corpse to be located. Sad, because this individual was the one whose transmitter was fitted around two years ago at a site in the Highlands by Roy Dennis and whose movements have been followed and enjoyed by many via a web site link. Obviously the police will investigate and one hopes those who are guilty will be brought to book. Yet another demonstration of the management activities employed on grouse moors gaining another victim! Strong words from politicians and lots of hand wringing from others , but what action will result to bring about change? A difficult problem admittedly but one that , quite frankly, is ludicrous if it continues . It’s not just the fact that the law is being broken, but that is being broken deliberately and persistently by a minority who obviously believe they are above its constraints. Such arrogance usually precedes a major fall from grace in my opinion, however long one has to wait for the result!!
Continue reading Does anyone “Care”.
Take the current position on moorlands in Lancashire owned by United Utilities considered by many to be the jewel in the crown for nesting birds of prey like the hen harrier. In reality the present situation is not what it at first appears to be. It is a well known fact among local conservationists, field workers have been telling United Utilities that in two areas on their estate leased for shooting, raptors in both locations have been under performing for many years but these concerns have not been taken seriously or acted upon.
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