SCOTTISH shooting estates have said they’re being unfairly blamed for the disappearance of raptors over grouse driven moors.

Yesterday, the Tayside and Central Scotland Moorland Group released a statement saying they were “sick of being accused of persecution by campaigners every time a [satellite] tag fitted to a bird stops transmitting”.

The group – which represents a number of shooting estates – said tag failure could be caused by collisions with wind turbines and power lines.

The RSPB described the claims as “misleading”.

They said the “highly reliable technology” had “shone a very bright light on the appalling level of raptor persecution occurring in Scotland, almost exclusively on grouse moors”.

The war of words comes as MSPs on Holyrood’s Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee consider a petition lodged by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association calling on ministers to introduce independent monitoring of satellite tags.

That in itself follows on from the Scottish Government-recommended Werritty Report, which recommended licensing Grouse moor estates in Scotland, making the owners liable for heavy fines or prosecution for failing to protect birds of prey and other species.

READ MORE: What use are punishments for wildlife crime if no-one is caught?

A spokesperson for the Moorland Group said: “If a satellite tag stops signalling, persecution could be a factor. That is fully acknowledged. But it is only one of many possible factors when tags stop.

“Campaign groups, who fit the tags, claim persecution has occurred every time a tag stops abruptly.

“This has been proven to be false and community members feel the publicity is being used to trash their reputations, without evidence.

“They believe this is happening to add political urgency to demands for the licensing of grouse moors.

“If campaign groups have nothing to conceal, they should get behind the idea of independent bodies monitoring the tags and verifying their data.

“Our group members are more than happy to stake their reputations on truth. If the truth proves persecution, then Scottish Government would be fully justified in taking appropriate action.”

Last year, two young satellite-tagged golden eagles disappeared in suspicious circumstances, within hours of each other, on the Auchnafree estate.

The two eagles, named Adam and Charlie, were being monitored by TV broadcaster Chris Packham and Dr Ruth Tingay of Raptor Persecution UK as part of a wider scientific study into the movements of young golden eagles in Scotland.

The tags, which had been working perfectly well for one and two years respectively, suddenly and inexplicably stopped working

Alix Whitaker of Auchnafree Estate said the resulting media coverage led to “dozens of accusatory and frankly offensive emails”.

She added: “I also wish there was some acknowledgement that eagles do die of natural causes, tags do stop working for no good reason or are damaged in a fight with another eagle and they do fall off, as they are designed to do.

READ MORE: Wildlife crime probe launched after buzzard shot dead in Highlands

“The reason why this mainly happens on grouse moors is because that is where many eagles live and thrive. Why do they live and thrive on grouse moors – because those of us that work on the ground help provide an ideal habitat and plentiful food supply.”

Tingay, a member of the collaborative Golden Eagle Satellite Tagging Group, said: “Raptor satellite tracking is, quite rightly, a highly regulated activity undertaken by experienced and licensed experts.

“A Government-commissioned report published in 2017 demonstrated, unequivocally, that illegal persecution on some driven grouse moors is suppressing the golden eagle population in the central and eastern Highlands. It’s no surprise to hear that some within the grouse shooting industry are agitated by these findings.”

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations, said: “It is little surprise that representatives of the gamebird shooting industry are again complaining about satellite tags fitted to birds of prey.

“For a number of years, this highly reliable technology, strictly regulated and used all over the world, has shone a very bright light on the appalling level of raptor persecution occurring in Scotland, almost exclusively on grouse moors.

“The increasing evidence base for this includes Scottish Government-commissioned and other peer-reviewed research.

“We are surprised that there now seems to be a desire by land managers to pre-empt Scottish Parliament discussion of satellite tagging prompted by the lodging last year of a petition by the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association.

“We look forward to contributing evidence to Parliament when that petition is scrutinised.”