FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

The RSPB is recruiting for eight seasonal fieldworkers (six in Scotland, two in Wales) for the 2023 National Hen Harrier Survey. These temporary research assistant positions begin in March 2023, for four months, for 37.5 hours per week. Job description: These posts require considerable experience of conducting fieldwork in upland areas. The post holders should … Continue reading "Job opportunity: seasonal fieldworkers for national hen harrier survey" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/nC0pxl7

The taskforce established by the Scottish Government earlier this year to consider whether the Scottish SPCA should be granted additional powers to help investigate raptor persecution and other wildlife crime has completed its review, which ‘will be published within weeks’, according to an article in yesterday’s Scotsman. As a quick recap, the SSPCA’s current powers … Continue reading "Taskforce review on extra powers for SSPCA ‘will be published within weeks’" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/nxTi0jZ

Guest blog written by conservation campaigner Bob Berzins, who has featured previously on this blog here, here and here. The Raptor Persecution UK blog recently reported the most horrific cruelty towards hen harriers with four chicks stamped to death in a nest on a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park [here] and this … Continue reading "Peak District National Park – who is it for & who runs it? Guest blog by Bob Berzins" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/IfBxgKw

A member of the public out for a Christmas Day walk yesterday on the edge of the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in North Yorkshire found a mass of dead pheasants floating in the River Derwent by the Howsham Bridge. Presumably these are pheasants that have been shot and then dumped. It … Continue reading "Dead pheasants found dumped in river in North Yorkshire" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/kNxleFq

A member of the public out for a Christmas Day walk yesterday on the edge of the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in North Yorkshire found a mass of dead pheasants floating in the River Derwent by the Howsham Bridge. Presumably these are pheasants that have been shot and then dumped. It … Continue reading "Dead pheasants found dumped in river in North Yorkshire" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/z7pl8yg via IFTTT

Warwickshire Hunt has been served with a three-year notice from police amid concerns about dangers on roads. Warwickshire Rural Crime Team has revealed that it served Community Protection Notice (CPN) to Warwickshire Hunt Limited. This notice will be in place for three years and, if conditions are breached, it could lead to criminal action. The Rural Crime Team said the CPN has been served after Warwickshire Hunt was given a warning notice in back in May about antisocial use of the county road network. This initial warning appears to have been ignored as the team said that they continue to see ‘unreasonable and dangerous’ use of the roads. The CPN imposed conditions to tackle this, under the scope of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. The conditions are: Warwickshire Hunt to give advance notice of events, and details of the times and locations of road crossing points. There are also requirements for them to inform police who will control dogs during the event...

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) held a Board meeting earlier this week to discuss proposals for determining several ‘priority species’ that need additional help to thrive within the National Park. The draft list includes a number of raptor species, including hen harrier, red kite and peregrine. There is a long and well-documented history … Continue reading "Yorkshire Dales National Park “not natural country for hen harriers & red kites” according to National Park Authority Board member" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/FBduokH

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) held a Board meeting earlier this week to discuss proposals for determining several ‘priority species’ that need additional help to thrive within the National Park. The draft list includes a number of raptor species, including hen harrier, red kite and peregrine. There is a long and well-documented history … Continue reading "Yorkshire Dales National Park “not natural country for hen harriers & red kites” according to National Park Authority Board member" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/SrPVhci via IFTTT

Further to the news this week that four hen harrier chicks were stamped to death in their nest on an unnamed grouse moor inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park (see here), the Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey ‘partnership’ has published the following statement: The Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey Partnership is shocked to hear of … Continue reading "Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey ‘partnership’ responds to news of hen harriers stamped to death in nest" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/WNmE3PM

Further to the news this week that four hen harrier chicks were stamped to death in their nest on an unnamed grouse moor inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park (see here), the Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey ‘partnership’ has published the following statement: The Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey Partnership is shocked to hear of … Continue reading "Yorkshire Dales Bird of Prey ‘partnership’ responds to news of hen harriers stamped to death in nest" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/e2QO3AC via IFTTT

A man has been fined more than £1000 after a joint investigation by Rural Crime teams uncovered messages which showed him bragging and admitting to the illegal hunting of foxes. The investigation saw John Oliver Finnegan, aged 37 and of Northwich in Cheshire, plead guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on 6th December 2022 to hunting a wild mammal with dogs. Finnegan, who was the Huntsman for a group based in Leicestershire, gave the guilty plea on the first day of a trial and was ordered to pay £1331 within 28 days after being convicted under the Hunting Act of 2004. On the afternoon of Friday 7 January, police were contacted as local hunt monitors had seen a group illegally hunting on land in the village of Hartpury. The group were filmed on a digital camcorder and this showed Finnegan taking a number of hounds into woodland whilst the rest of the hunt stayed around the perimeter. The hounds were then seen running out of the woodland while loudly and aggressively barking....

For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of hen harriers on grouse moors across the UK, here’s the latest catalogue of crime that suggests otherwise. [This male hen harrier died in 2019 after his leg was almost severed in an illegally set trap that … Continue reading "77 hen harriers confirmed ‘missing’ or illegally killed in UK since 2018, most of them on or close to grouse moors" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/ypKIfdm

North Yorkshire Police has issued the following appeal for information this morning: Hen harrier nest investigation – police appeal for information North Yorkshire Police suspect that a nest of Hen Harrier chicks, found dead earlier this year, was deliberately destroyed by human activity, and are calling for anyone with information to come forward. The Hen … Continue reading "Hen harrier chicks stamped to death in nest on grouse moor in Yorkshire Dales National Park" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/ZkeuqMB

Press release from Suffolk Constabulary (13th December 2022): Helping peregrine back into the wild A peregrine falcon that had been unlawfully taken from a nest and located by Suffolk Police has now been released back in the wild. The protected bird of prey was looked after by wildlife expert Peter Merchant, who was contacted by … Continue reading "Stolen peregrine rehabbed and released back to the wild in Suffolk" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/ujXEv8H

RSPB Scotland has published a blog about the importance of contributing to the Scottish Government’s consultation on grouse moor reform. The blog can be found here and is reproduced below: The Scottish Government’s Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill consultation closes tomorrow. Duncan Orr-Ewing, our Head of Species and Land Management explains why we must make sure … Continue reading "‘Golden opportunity to tackle bird of prey killings & stop peatland burning in Scotland’ – RSPB blog on grouse moor licensing" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/batsvoN

RSPB Scotland has published a blog about the importance of contributing to the Scottish Government’s consultation on grouse moor reform. The blog can be found here and is reproduced below: The Scottish Government’s Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill consultation closes tomorrow. Duncan Orr-Ewing, our Head of Species and Land Management explains why we must make sure … Continue reading "‘Golden opportunity to tackle bird of prey killings & stop peatland burning in Scotland’ – RSPB blog on grouse moor licensing" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/RICmTGb via IFTTT

In October this year, the Scottish Government finally launched a consultation seeking the public’s views on its plans for grouse moor reform. Proposals under the Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill include provisions to introduce a licensing scheme for grouse shoots, muirburn licensing and increased regulation on the use of traps used to kill so-called ‘pest’ species on grouse moors. … Continue reading "Don’t laugh, but here is the grouse-shooters’ consultation response to licensing" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/7sqh149

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has granted a controversial licence permitting Moy Estate gamekeepers, and others from the Three Straths Fox Control Association, to hunt and kill foxes on Scotland’s national forest estate, partly for the benefit of privately-owned grouse shooting estates, including Moy Estate. This is the same Moy Estate that has been at … Continue reading "Forestry and Land Scotland issues controversial licence permitting Moy Estate gamekeepers to hunt foxes in public forests" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/TkWgdFb

In October this year, the Scottish Government finally launched a consultation seeking the public’s views on its plans for grouse moor reform. The consultation closes on Wednesday 14th December 2022, so this is your final chance to provide your views on what is being proposed. Proposals under the Wildlife Management (Grouse) Bill include plans to … Continue reading "Last chance to have your say on Scottish Government’s consultation on grouse moor reform" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/2pQnuiL

A couple of weeks ago the RSPB published its latest annual Birdcrime report (2021), which showed that England had the second-highest record of raptor crimes since recording began (see here). It was noted that yet again, over two thirds (71%) of all confirmed incidents of raptor persecution took place on land managed for gamebird shooting, … Continue reading "Another DEFRA Minister pretends to be tackling high levels of raptor persecution" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/1HVEGr5

A couple of weeks ago the RSPB published its latest annual Birdcrime report (2021), which showed that England had the second-highest record of raptor crimes since recording began (see here). It was noted that yet again, over two thirds (71%) of all confirmed incidents of raptor persecution took place on land managed for gamebird shooting, … Continue reading "Another DEFRA Minister pretends to be tackling high levels of raptor persecution" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/3lLdyQi via IFTTT

Further to yesterday’s blog about the discovery of a poisoned Red Kite, found in close proximity to a poisoned bait (a Lapwing) on Dava Moor in May 2021 (see here), there has been a development. In yesterday’s blog I mentioned that I was curious about why, 19 months after the crime was discovered, there hadn’t … Continue reading "General licence restriction to be considered on grouse moor where poisoned red kite & bait found" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/yvUGJRj via IFTTT

Further to yesterday’s blog about the discovery of a poisoned Red Kite, found in close proximity to a poisoned bait (a Lapwing) on Dava Moor in May 2021 (see here), there has been a development. In yesterday’s blog I mentioned that I was curious about why, 19 months after the crime was discovered, there hadn’t … Continue reading "General licence restriction to be considered on grouse moor where poisoned red kite & bait found" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/0qrhxlO

A young satellite-tagged Red Kite has been found poisoned on a Scottish grouse moor, lying next to a poisoned bait, in this case, a Lapwing, whose corpse had been cut open to entice any passing predator and to allow for easy access to the poison. This gruesome discovery was made by a member of the … Continue reading "Red kite poisoned on grouse moor -Police Scotland withhold information" RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/8wZynUb

A young satellite-tagged Red Kite has been found poisoned on a Scottish grouse moor, lying next to a poisoned bait, in this case, a Lapwing, whose corpse had been cut open to entice any passing predator and to allow for easy access to the poison. This gruesome discovery was made by a member of the … Continue reading "Red kite poisoned on grouse moor -Police Scotland withhold information" from Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/iG6swWy via IFTTT