After eating a pesticide forbidden for outdoor use in England, a rare white-tailed eagle was killed in West Sussex. Conservationists had been hearing rumors of the bird’s death for a long time, but police had yet to confirm it. A laboratory report confirming the usage of the prohibited herbicide bendiocarb has now proven that the […]
Tag: driven grouse shooting
POLL: Should the ‘Glorious Twelfth’, which is on the brink after a poor grouse breeding season, be cancelled and permanently banned?
The “Glorious Twelfth” may be effectively cancelled this year, shooting estates have said, as the grouse breeding season has been so poor. Hard frosts while the birds were laying has meant that fewer were born, and some eggs are still yet to hatch. Sleet and cold rain during the hatching season earlier this summer caused […]
MPs to debate intensive grouse hunting after 111,000 people sign petition
MPs will debate banning intensive grouse shooting after 111,000 people signed a petition demanding curbs. Campaigners, including TV presenter Chris Packham, want the bloodsport axed, warning it harms the environment and wildlife. The petition says: “It’s time to provide an opportunity to implement immediate, legislative and meaningful measures to address this abhorrently destructive practice.” MPs […]
Vanished hen harriers prompt RSPB call for local community vigils
People in Cumbria are being urged to watch over a pair of hen harriers who have begun nesting on a nature reserve as police investigate the disappearance of two other of the endangered raptors. Two male hen harriers vanished from RSPB Geltsdale last week in what the police described as “suspicious circumstances”, just when both […]
Wild lynx could be reintroduced into Scottish Highlands
A consortium of conservationists that hopes to release wild lynx into the Scottish Highlands has launched a year-long study to see whether the public supports their reintroduction. The study, part-funded by two billionaire Danish estate owners in the Highlands, Anders Povlsen and Lisbet Rausing, will test whether farmers, landowners and rural communities will agree to […]
Call for grouse shooting to be licensed amid rise in bird of prey deaths
Labour has called for grouse shooting to be licensed after a big increase in illegal killings of birds of prey during the coronavirus lockdown, the majority of which, investigators say, are linked to the sport. As the grouse shooting season, known as the Glorious 12th, officially began on Wednesday, the shadow environment secretary, Luke Pollard, […]
Tracking technology confirms controversial cause of Hen Harrier decline
In the UK, Hen Harriers Circus cyaneus spend their summers on upland moors, nesting amongst the deep heather. They are one of our most treasured upland species, famous for their spectacular displays of sky-dancing and aerial exchanges of food during the breeding season. Sadly, Hen Harriers are also one of our most persecuted birds of […]
87 bird crime incidents last year and just one conviction, says RSPB
Birds of prey were shot, poisoned, trapped or illegally killed in 87 confirmed incidents in 2018 that led to just one successful conviction, according to the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report. This persecution of raptors including peregrines, buzzards, red kites and owls is the tip of the iceberg, with many more birds vanishing in mysterious circumstances, […]