FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

A number of blog readers sent me links about the conviction of a former gamekeeper who was jailed on Friday for depraved animal fighting cruelty. Luke Rix, 32, of Gilks Lane, Oxhill, Warwickshire, was jailed for 18 weeks and banned from keeping dogs for ten years after video evidence was found of him stabbing a … Continue reading "Another (former) gamekeeper jailed for depraved animal fighting cruelty" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/h3GFODs

REVIVE coalition partners OneKind and the League Against Cruel Sports are joining forces with Scottish Badgers today for a demonstration at the Scottish Parliament, calling for a ban on snares and a real ban on foxhunting. OneKind had planned to host a demonstration against snaring in September (here) but the event was postponed after the … Continue reading "March for the Foxes, in Edinburgh today" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/ACfo0lL

  Two men were caught illegally digging at an active badger sett near Wrexham. A member of the public alerted the police after spotting them on land at Cross Lanes on 30 August 2021. One of the men was lying on his stomach in a large rectangular hole which had been dug into a bank. Two quad bikes – one of which had a box attached with a terrier-type dog called Rosie inside – were also found at the scene. Jamie Barnes of Caernarvon Place, Beeston, Nottingham and Ben Davies of Cwm Mawr, Belan, Welshpool, had both denied one offence contrary to the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, but were found guilty at a trial in August 2021. Appearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court last Tuesday (18 October 2022), both men were fined £1,000 and each ordered to pay costs of £600, following a prosecution brought by the RSPCA. The court heard how the men thought the sett wasn’t active, despite the fact there were three access tunnels into it with clear badger trails leading in and out, small h...

Following on from yesterday’s news that the Scottish Government has finally launched a public consultation on its proposed grouse moor licensing scheme in an attempt to address the ongoing issue of illegal raptor persecution, amongst other things (here), the grouse shooting lobby is quietly seething in response. A joint statement has been issued by the … Continue reading "Grouse shooting lobby quietly seething over proposed licensing scheme" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/evZAutP

Further to the news today that the Scottish Government has launched a public consultation on its proposals for a grouse-shooting licensing scheme (here), REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform, has cautiously welcomed the proposals. The statement, published on REVIVE’s website (here) notes that ‘the consultation is the start of a process which will significantly … Continue reading "REVIVE coalition cautiously welcomes Scot Gov’s consultation on grouse moor licensing" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/6tBfjx3

Further to the news today that the Scottish Government has launched a public consultation on its proposals for a grouse-shooting licensing scheme (here), REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform, has cautiously welcomed the proposals. The statement, published on REVIVE’s website (here) notes that ‘the consultation is the start of a process which will significantly … Continue reading "REVIVE coalition cautiously welcomes Scot Gov’s consultation on grouse moor licensing" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/8NJwFkn via IFTTT

Today, the Scottish Government has launched a public consultation as the start of its commitment to introduce a licensing scheme for grouse moor management, following the publication of the Werritty Review in 2019, which was commissioned in 2017 after unequivocal evidence was published of the on-going illegal killing of golden eagles on some Scottish grouse … Continue reading "Grouse moor management in Scotland: Government launches public consultation" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/cKjMYlX

Today, the Scottish Government has launched a public consultation as the start of its commitment to introduce a licensing scheme for grouse moor management, following the publication of the Werritty Review in 2019, which was commissioned in 2017 after unequivocal evidence was published of the on-going illegal killing of golden eagles on some Scottish grouse … Continue reading "Grouse moor management in Scotland: Government launches public consultation" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/mYKQ30g via IFTTT

A Weeting gamekeeper admitted shooting and poisoning several birds of prey. Matthew Stroud, age 46, of Fengate in Weeting, appeared at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 5 October 2022 and admitted: Six counts of killing a Common Buzzard Three counts of using poisoned bait One count of intentionally killing a Northern Goshawk One count of possessing a regulated substance – Strychnine Hydrochloride – without a licence One count of possessing 4 shotguns to kill a Schedule 1 wild bird One count of releasing 3,400 Common Pheasants into the wild One count of incorrectly storing a biocidal product – Rentokil Phostoxin He received a 12-month Community Order and was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work, fined £692 and ordered to pay costs of £145, compensation of £288.72 and a victim surcharge of £95. The court also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of all Stroud’s firearms, mobile phones and any chemicals. The court heard how the investigation started when RSPB off...

21st October 2022: A Cwmbran man has been ordered to pay a total of £279 after being caught fishing on a private stretch of the River Wye without permission or a valid rod licence. In a joint operation between Natural Resources Wales and Gwent Police, Kyle Moses, of Summerhill, Cwmbran, was seen by officers fishing on a private stretch of the river known as ‘The Dukes Water’ near the Duke of Beaufort Bridge at Wyesham, Monmouth, on 19 May. When questioned, Mr Moses initially told the officers that he had a rod licence but after being informed that checks would be carried out, he admitted this was not the case. The officers also found that Mr Moses was using an illegal treble barbed hook, commonly used when fishing for salmon, which is banned on all Welsh rivers. Mr Moses told the officers he was fishing for trout, but they noted that the method he was using was more suited to salmon fishing. The privately-owned Dukes Water fishery is a well-known salmon pool and Mr Moses admitted...

I attended the UK Wildlife Crime Conference over the weekend, where law enforcers, statutory agencies and NGOs gather to hear the latest views, approaches, successes and challenges of combating wildlife crime in the UK.  A feature of this annual event is the WWF-sponsored awards given to those whose work deserves national recognition. This year, I … Continue reading "Raptor persecution crime fighters win national awards" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/pwUkqHg

A legal challenge by conservation group Wild Justice has secured significant changes to General Licences issued for bird killing in Northern Ireland. Last year, Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) was forced by Wild Justice to revoke its General Licences as they were unlawful. Interim licences have been in place since … Continue reading "Wild Justice legal challenge secures significant changes to General Licences in Northern Ireland" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/qPM9lrd

The RSPB has announced it is to call for further regulation of gamebird shooting and wants better enforcement of existing rules. The announcement was made at its AGM on 15th October 2022 and follows on from an internal review process first initiated in October 2019 (e.g. see here, here, here and here). The ‘announcement’ itself … Continue reading "RSPB calls for further regulation of gamebird shooting & better enforcement of existing rules" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/12FYWa8

There was a good column in The Scotsman yesterday, written by Dr Richard Dixon, a campaigner and consultant with 30 years of environmental campaigning experience, including as Director of both Friends of the Earth Scotland and WWF Scotland. It’s reproduced here: ‘We are in a Climate Emergency. The recent reports from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel … Continue reading "Management of Scottish grouse moors ‘must change radically’ to cut emissions from peatlands – Dr Richard Dixon" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/w5C6b0i

Last week I wrote about how REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform, had held a successful fringe event at the SNP’s annual conference (here). REVIVE was also at the Scottish Green’s conference, receiving an equal amount of support from delegates and the Minister. There’s now a write-up on the REVIVE website about both these … Continue reading "REVIVE coalition for grouse moor reform well received by SNP & Scottish Greens conferences" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/atbwV69

Yesterday the Chief Veterinary Officers from England, Scotland and Wales declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across Great Britain to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading amongst poultry and captive birds. As of midday on 17th October, it is now a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Great Britain to follow strict … Continue reading "Will avian flu restrictions result in even more mass dumping of shot gamebirds?" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/phFUsrf

Yesterday the Chief Veterinary Officers from England, Scotland and Wales declared an Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across Great Britain to mitigate the risk of the disease spreading amongst poultry and captive birds. As of midday on 17th October, it is now a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Great Britain to follow strict … Continue reading "Will avian flu restrictions result in even more mass dumping of shot gamebirds?" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/lFheQtY via IFTTT

You may recall, back in August 2022, the Countryside Alliance launched its latest vindictive attack on Chris Packham and set up yet another petition calling for him to be gagged or sacked by the BBC; the latest move in a long-running and obsessive hate campaign against Chris by this bloodsport’s lobby group. The latest attack … Continue reading "Public support for Chris Packham overwhelms Countryside Alliance’s latest vindictive attack" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/52E9I8G

You may recall, back in August 2022, the Countryside Alliance launched its latest vindictive attack on Chris Packham and set up yet another petition calling for him to be gagged or sacked by the BBC; the latest move in a long-running and obsessive hate campaign against Chris by this bloodsport’s lobby group. The latest attack … Continue reading "Public support for Chris Packham overwhelms Countryside Alliance’s latest vindictive attack" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/B4OFfoL via IFTTT

REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform hosted another successful fringe event at the SNP’s Annual National Conference over the weekend, where the discussion centred on land reform and grouse moors. Panellists included Scottish Environment Minister Màiri McAllan, Max Wiszniewski (Campaign Manager at REVIVE), Amanda Burgauer (Executive Director of Common Weal), Robbie Marsland (Director of … Continue reading "Environment Minister speaks at SNP fringe event hosted by REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/GrxJBVy

For anyone who wants to learn more about the life history and ecology of the hen harrier, but has been put off by dry, academic scripts, this is the book for you. Ian Carter has done a wonderful job of assimilating the scientific knowledge about the hen harrier and presenting it in such an engaging … Continue reading "Book review: The Hen Harrier’s Year by Ian Carter & Dan Powell" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/6u1TNjU via IFTTT

For anyone who wants to learn more about the life history and ecology of the hen harrier, but has been put off by dry, academic scripts, this is the book for you. Ian Carter has done a wonderful job of assimilating the scientific knowledge about the hen harrier and presenting it in such an engaging … Continue reading "Book review: The Hen Harrier’s Year by Ian Carter & Dan Powell" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/QtcREwL

Hot on the heels of a multi-agency raid in Lincolnshire earlier this week in relation to the suspected poisoning of three birds of prey (here), news has emerged that ANOTHER multi-agency raid took place on Friday 7th October, this time in Shropshire. The team included police officers from the Shropshire Rural Crime & Wildlife Team, … Continue reading "Multi-agency raid in Shropshire after suspected persecution of birds of prey" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/NZiqIEe via IFTTT

Hot on the heels of a multi-agency raid in Lincolnshire earlier this week in relation to the suspected poisoning of three birds of prey (here), news has emerged that ANOTHER multi-agency raid took place on Friday 7th October, this time in Shropshire. The team included police officers from the Shropshire Rural Crime & Wildlife Team, … Continue reading "Multi-agency raid in Shropshire after suspected persecution of birds of prey" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/I7R2LTS

Press release from Lincolnshire Police (6th October 2022): Bird of prey poisoned, Horncastle Our Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) are investigating the suspected poisoning of three birds of prey in the Belchford area of Horncastle.  On 4 October, the team conducted multi agency searches in the area along with officers from the National Wildlife Crime … Continue reading "Multi-agency raid in Lincolnshire after suspected poisoning of three birds of prey" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/f5NEpJt

Press release from Lincolnshire Police (6th October 2022): Bird of prey poisoned, Horncastle Our Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) are investigating the suspected poisoning of three birds of prey in the Belchford area of Horncastle.  On 4 October, the team conducted multi agency searches in the area along with officers from the National Wildlife Crime … Continue reading "Multi-agency raid in Lincolnshire after suspected poisoning of three birds of prey" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/DBVajrR via IFTTT

Following yesterday’s news that 46-year-old gamekeeper Matthew Stroud had been convicted, amongst other things, of shooting and poisoning at least five buzzards and a goshawk on a pheasant shoot in Norfolk (see here), Norfolk Constabulary has issued a press statement which provides a bit more detail about the case. [One the buzzards that gamekeeper Matthew … Continue reading "Conviction of gamekeeper Matthew Stroud: statement from Norfolk Constabulary" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/vmlQEP5 via IFTTT

Following yesterday’s news that 46-year-old gamekeeper Matthew Stroud had been convicted, amongst other things, of shooting and poisoning at least five buzzards and a goshawk on a pheasant shoot in Norfolk (see here), Norfolk Constabulary has issued a press statement which provides a bit more detail about the case. [One the buzzards that gamekeeper Matthew … Continue reading "Conviction of gamekeeper Matthew Stroud: statement from Norfolk Constabulary" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/twq43hV

Press release from the RSPB today (5th October 2022): Gamekeeper escapes jail after killing birds of prey *Six buzzards and a goshawk were found illegally killed on a gamebird shoot near Thetford, along with lethal poison baits. *Gamekeeper Matthew Stroud pleads guilty to multiple offences *The RSPB is increasingly concerned about raptor persecution linked to … Continue reading "Norfolk gamekeeper convicted after shooting & poisoning multiple birds of prey" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/UlKGRvY

Press release from the RSPB today (5th October 2022): Gamekeeper escapes jail after killing birds of prey *Six buzzards and a goshawk were found illegally killed on a gamebird shoot near Thetford, along with lethal poison baits. *Gamekeeper Matthew Stroud pleads guilty to multiple offences *The RSPB is increasingly concerned about raptor persecution linked to … Continue reading "Norfolk gamekeeper convicted after shooting & poisoning multiple birds of prey" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/CzHW6V5 via IFTTT

Many thanks to several blog readers who attended Leadhills Estate’s ‘Information Day‘ yesterday and sent reports. [Grouse moor on Leadhills Estate. Photo by Ruth Tingay] A number of people have told me that the rumours about the sale of the estate and/or the estate’s shooting rights were ‘categorically denied’ by Lord Andrew Hopetoun himself. Hmm. … Continue reading "Leadhills Estate ‘information day’ – an update" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/4LZJ6j1

Many thanks to several blog readers who attended Leadhills Estate’s ‘Information Day‘ yesterday and sent reports. [Grouse moor on Leadhills Estate. Photo by Ruth Tingay] A number of people have told me that the rumours about the sale of the estate and/or the estate’s shooting rights were ‘categorically denied’ by Lord Andrew Hopetoun himself. Hmm. … Continue reading "Leadhills Estate ‘information day’ – an update" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/Xph2i0U via IFTTT

Rumours have been circulating for several weeks that ‘something’ is going on at Leadhills Estate in South Lanarkshire. This estate, currently serving TWO General Licence restrictions after police found ‘clear evidence’ of wildlife crime (see here and here), has featured on this blog for years. The rumours suggest that either the estate has been sold … Continue reading "Something afoot at Leadhills Estate?" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/rkLln7V

The BBC’s Landward programme last week included a six minute feature on goshawk monitoring in the Scottish highlands. Presenter Rosie Morton accompanied Dave Pierce and Brian Etheridge, two long-standing members of the Highland Raptor Study Group, to a goshawk nest to ring three chicks. The programme is available on the BBC iPlayer (here) for 11 … Continue reading "Goshawk monitoring in Scottish highlands features on BBC Landward" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/xHfbTEF

The BBC’s Landward programme last week included a six minute feature on goshawk monitoring in the Scottish highlands. Presenter Rosie Morton accompanied Dave Pierce and Brian Etheridge, two long-standing members of the Highland Raptor Study Group, to a goshawk nest to ring three chicks. The programme is available on the BBC iPlayer (here) for 11 … Continue reading "Goshawk monitoring in Scottish highlands features on BBC Landward" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/bjtF1Hh via IFTTT

In the last blog post where I wrote about the nine shot birds of prey found wrapped in bags on Millden Estate and just over the estate boundary, I included a quote from Tim Baynes of Scottish Land & Estates, who had written the following in a comment piece for The Field, published in August … Continue reading "Scottish Land & Estates still refusing to acknowledge extent of raptor persecution on grouse moors" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/AqCc23Y