IT is widely acknowledged that the illegal killing of birds of prey has long been synonymous with driven grouse shooting in Scotland, even though raptors have had supposed legal protection for almost 70 years.
Birds of prey such as buzzards, red kites, hen harriers and golden eagles are perceived to be a threat to red grouse and thus have been ruthlessly shot, poisoned or trapped to protect the estates’ lucrative sporting interests.
Prosecutions have been rare given the remoteness of the vast, privately-owned shooting estates where these crimes are committed; there have been few witnesses and gamekeepers have gone to great lengths to hide the evidence, as demonstrated when a “missing” golden eagle’s satellite tag was found wrapped in lead sheeting and dumped in a river, presumably in an attempt to block the transmitter.
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The Scottish Government has tried various sanctions to address these crimes over the years, including the introduction in 2014 of General Licence restrictions, which are based on a civil burden of proof if there is insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution.
These restrictions haven’t stopped sanctioned estates from shooting grouse but do partially limit their moorland management activities and were specifically designed to act as a “reputational driver”. Unfortunately, they have been proven to be wholly ineffective.
In 2017, a scientific report into the fate of satellite-tracked golden eagles in Scotland highlighted the extent of the ongoing killing on some grouse moors – almost one third of 141 tracked eagles disappeared in suspicious circumstances, none of which resulted in a prosecution.
In response, the Government commissioned a review (the Werritty Review) of the sustainability of grouse moor management, which led to the Government finally committing to introducing a full licensing scheme for grouse shooting in 2020. The threat of having an estate licence completely revoked if raptor persecution is detected may now act as a suitable deterrent, as long as the law is adequately enforced.
This long-awaited legislation is currently on passage through Parliament as the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill. Unsurprisingly, the grouse-shooting lobby is working hard to influence proceedings and minimise the bill’s impact, questioning its legality and proportionality, even making threats to take the Government to the European Court of Human Rights.
Instead of welcoming legislation that should protect the innocent and rid the industry of those who continue to bring it into disrepute, industry representatives maintain that a voluntary approach is sufficient and deny that persecution is even an issue, despite the suspicious disappearance of at least 35 more satellite-tagged hen harriers and golden eagles since the 2017 report was published.
Grouse-shooting representatives maintain they have a “zero tolerance” stance against illegal raptor persecution and argue that they can’t do anything more. But talk is cheap and this industry should be judged by its actions, not by superficial pronouncements from its leaders.
I would argue that there is much more the industry could, and should, be doing if it wants to be seen as a credible force for change.
For example, let’s look at the Moy Estate in Inverness-shire. Two estate gamekeepers have been convicted for raptor persecution offences here (one in 2011 and one in March this year) and the estate has been at the centre of multiple police investigations many times in between. Indeed, it is currently serving a three-year General Licence restriction imposed by NatureScot in 2022 on the basis of police evidence of wildlife crime against birds of prey, including the discovery of a poisoned red kite and various trapping offences.
Moy Estate is believed to be a member of the Scottish landowners’ lobby group, Scottish Land & Estates (SLE). Has SLE expelled the estate from its membership? If it hasn’t, why not? If it has, why hasn’t it done so publicly?
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Why are SLE, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association and others from the shooting industry still attending the Moy Country Fair held annually on the Moy Estate? Why hasn’t this estate been boycotted and blacklisted by industry representatives? Surely that would send a strong message of “zero tolerance” for raptor persecution?
It’s not just Moy Estate, either. There are a number of other grouse-shooting estates, some very high profile and often described as “prestigious” in the shooting press, that are also either currently, or have previously, served three-year General Licence restrictions.
Zero tolerance should mean exactly that. Anything less simply isn’t credible.
Dr Ruth Tingay writes the Raptor Persecution UK blog and is a founding member of the Revive coalition for grouse moor reform
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