Birdcrime 2018

Of the 87 confirmed persecution incidents recorded in 2018, there were:

• 41 confirmed shooting incidents, including the shocking story of River, a young hen harrier found shot on a North Yorkshire driven grouse moor.
• 28 confirmed poisoning incidents, such as the poisoning of a raven found on a driven grouse moor in the Peak District National Park.
• 16 confirmed trapping incidents, including one involving Rannoch, another hen harrier who was found dead in a trap on a Scottish driven grouse moor.
• Two other confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution.

One bird that is particularly badly affected by illegal persecution is the hen harrier. Studies suggest that there should be around 300 pairs in England, but in 2018 there were only nine successful nests, none of which were on private grouse moors. These beautiful moorland birds are now barely clinging on as a breeding species in England, largely as a result of illegal killing. In Scotland, a recent study found that hen harriers were missing from large areas of suitable habitat on grouse moors.

In 2018, the RSPB fitted satellite tags to over 30 hen harrier chicks in the UK as part of the EU Hen Harrier LIFE Project, to allow us to monitor their movements once they left their nests. Within a year, 11 of these birds had been killed or had disappeared in suspicious circumstances, including Arthur, who was last recorded close to several driven grouse moors in the North York Moors National Park.

Despite widespread searches, no trace of his tag or body has ever been found, and the RSPB believe that Arthur, and many other "missing" birds, were most likely illegally killed.

Satellite tagging technology alerted scientists to the sudden, unexpected disappearance of two golden eagles, on the same morning in April 2019, from the same grouse moor in Scotland. This is also being treated as highly suspicious. A Scottish government review found that, between 2004 and 2016, a third of tagged golden eagles have disappeared in suspicious circumstances, and are thought to have been illegally killed.

Raptor persecution is part of a wider problem with upland management. The UK is facing a climate and ecological emergency, and urgent reform is needed if the government is to meet its own targets in this area. Moorland habitats should support a variety of wildlife. As a result of intensive management with the sole aim of producing vast numbers of red grouse to be shot, huge areas of our uplands now lack biodiversity and feature primarily species that are not seen as a threat to red grouse.

In areas of the eastern Scottish Highlands, the mountain hare population has plummeted by 99% since the 1950s due to unregulated culling, again due to a perceived threat to grouse stocks.

Creating a landscape to purely benefit red grouse has also led to the removal of scrub and woodland, with the burning of protected carbon-rich peatland habitats releasing CO2 into the air, thereby contributing to climate breakdown. Peatland which locks away carbon must be protected not destroyed – our bogs need water not fire.

Urgent change is needed to help tackle the climate crisis, restore biodiversity and end criminality in our uplands.

The RSPB is calling for the following:

• The licensing of driven grouse moors.
  The RSPB believes that the right to shoot should be dependent on legal, sustainable management. Grouse shooting licences could then be removed if illegal activity is identified, which would act as a deterrent. Law-abiding estates have nothing to fear from this.
  
  
• A review of grouse shooting.
  An industry that relies on criminal, unsustainable and environmentally damaging practices should not be allowed to continue operating as it currently is. In Scotland, the government has launched a review of grouse moor management and the RSPB would like to see a similar review in the rest of the UK.
  
  
• Transparency, not secrecy.
  It is a concern that, particularly in Scotland, some raptor persecution incidents are not made public for many months, or even years, despite the release of such information posing no threat to the integrity of an investigation. Members of the public have a right to know if criminal activity is taking place on their doorstep, especially when, as with poisoning incidents, this poses a risk to public health.

The RSPB’s Investigations Team is dedicated to preventing, detecting and exposing crimes against birds of prey through fieldwork, intelligence and advocacy. We provide expert advice to support police investigations and maintain the only reliable centralised records of UK raptor persecution incidents.

In February 2018, the Investigations Team assisted with Operation Owl, an initiative by North Yorkshire Police. Working in partnership with the two national parks authorities and the RSPCA, we engaged with local communities to highlight the illegal killing of birds of prey. We are also members of the PAW Scotland Raptor Group and on the steering group of its “Heads-up for Harriers” project. 

Raptor persecution is one of the UK government’s Wildlife Crime Priorities, and the RSPB supports this as part of the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group for England and Wales. In 2018, this was taken over by a new chair, Superintendent Nick Lyall, who has been proactive in addressing the issue. He is preparing a national rollout for Operation Owl in 2019.

The RSPB also monitors hen harriers as part of the EU Hen Harrier LIFE Project. Fitting birds with satellite tags as part of this project has helped shine a light on the threats facing UK hen harriers after they fledge.

You, the public, have a huge role to play in the fight to protect birds of prey.

Report a crime

If you see suspicious activity, find evidence of illegal traps or find a dead or injured bird of prey, please:

• Call the police on 101.
• Call the RSPB Investigations Team on 01767 680551 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or 0131 3174100 (Scotland). Reports are treated in the strictest confidence.
• If you have information about someone killing raptors and want to remain anonymous, call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101 or report it online.

Raise your voice

Join the conversation on Twitter (follow @RSPBbirders and @RSPB_Skydancer) or at Hen Harrier Day events. We believe that public pressure on the government is crucial in turning the tide for birds of prey and ending the culture of criminality in our uplands.

For detailed information about bird of prey persecution incidents in 2018, please download the Birdcrime 2018 Appendices. If you would like to find out more about studies into raptor persecution, links are provided within the document.