FIRECREST TOURS : Guided Birdwatching & Wildlife Days

The controversy about the raven cull licence rumbles on. Ten days after the licence was revealed, SNH has yet to address any of the serious concerns raised about the licensing process and about the licence itself. The agency’s handling of this whole affair has been extraordinarily poor. Meanwhile, on Saturday BBC Radio Scotland’s Out of […] RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/2Knwz7q

We reached another milestone this weekend, with the blog passing 4 million views. The last 2 million views have come in the last 22 months. Thank you to everyone who contributes to this blog, comments on it, and most importantly, shares this work. Thanks also to our funders at Lush whose financial (and moral) support […] RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/2Fs23pg

A new scientific, peer-reviewed paper, published in the journal British Birds, links the illegal killing of birds of prey with driven grouse moor management in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. Full citation: Melling, T., Thomas, M., Price, M. and Roos, S. (2018). Raptor persecution in the Peak District National Park. […] RaptorPersecutionUK https://ift.tt/2HzAUGV

RSPB Scotland has published a further damning statement on the SNH raven cull licence. Written by Director Anne McCall, here’s a short excerpt: ‘Considering all of the above, RSPB Scotland maintains that there is no justification for this extreme course of action, and will continue to pursue that SNH withdraw this licence. Alternatively, the option […] Read in full at Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/2I5259A

Reported on BirdWatch Ireland’s facebook page on 24 April 2018, news of three dead buzzards found in a field at Ring, near Clonakilty, Co Cork. The birds were found in January and collected by staff from the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) to be sent for post-mortem. X-rays showed no sign of lead shot […] Read in full at Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/2r1q6qW

For the benefit of those not on Twitter, last night MSP Mark Ruskell (Scottish Greens) tweeted that he is seeking an urgent meeting with Scottish Natural Heritage to discuss the raven cull licence. His colleague, Alison Johnstone MSP, will join him. Well done and thanks to both of them for holding SNH to account. Advertisements Read in full at Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/2KiWRI3

In a desperate attempt to regain the narrative, this afternoon Scottish Natural Heritage has issued a further statement to try and justify its ridiculous decision to grant a licence to gamekeepers, permitting the mass killing of ravens in a noted wildlife crime hotspot, on the basis of ‘seeing what happens’. Part of the latest statement […] Read in full at Raptor Persecution UK https://ift.tt/2HuRG60