Falconers call for captive birds to be allowed to hunt mountain hares

As part of a public petition which reached nearly 3000 signatures a golden eagle called Stanley was brought to the garden of the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.

He perched upon the wrist of Conservative MSP Jackson Carlaw, who is supportive of a change in the legislation.

The owner of the eagle and bringer of the petition, Barry Blyther, is seeking an amendment to the Animals and Wildlife Act 2020 to allow mountain hares for the purposes of falconry.

Since March last year it has been illegal to intentionally kill or injure mountain hares in Scotland without a licence.

The legislation was brought in to address population decline in the species over the past fifty years.

Barry Blyther with 15-year-old male golden eagle, Stanley, at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. (Image: Andrew Milligan)

Unregulated killing of the animals was once permitted on the grounds that it was necessary to protect game, particularly red grouse, from disease.

However, charities said that this led to thousands of the animals being slaughtered each year and put their continued existence under threat.

Licences to kill mountain hares are now only granted under specific circumstances, such as the protection of public health or the protection of crops and timber.

But Blyther, who runs Elite Falconry, said the law prevents eagles like 15-year-old Stanley from flying in large parts of Scotland as owners could be prosecuted if a hare is caught.

He said being unable to fly in mountain regions limited the opportunity for birds of prey to show their natural behaviour.

He said: “Worse than that, it actually creates behavioural problems, they get psychologically damaged and that manifests itself as self-mutilation, they start plucking their feathers out their legs and backs.

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“They generally become unbalanced. It’s kind of a melancholy madness.”

He added that the impact of falconry hunting on mountain hare populations would be “infinitesimal” and hills on managed moorland are “burgeoning” with the prey animals.

The legislation was designed to stop mass culls of hares rather than falconry, he said.

Carlaw said that falconers had suffered from “unintended consequences” of the law.

“97.5% of Scotland would now not be a legitimate place for a bird like Stanley to fly and hunt,” he said.

“And if he did, then Barry here would be prosecuted and that’s just ridiculous.

“As a consequence, Stanley has not been able to fly for over two years, in case he – not realising where the invisible tram lines are – crossed them and managed to seize a hare.”

Petitioners are calling for a change in the law that would allow Stanley (pictured) to hunt protected mountain hares (Image: Andrew Milligan)

The Public Petition Committee decided to continue the petition and would support an amendment to the law.

However, animal welfare charity OneKind said that they were opposed to the move and to the practice of falconry more broadly.

Director of OneKind Bob Elliot told The National: “OneKind is largely supportive of the legislation that has ensured that mountain hares are now a protected species in Scotland and so ending the horrific mass scale mountain hare killings that used to take place annually on Scotland's mountains and moors. Indeed, we were instrumental in securing this protection for mountain hares.

"However, we are wholly opposed to any person enabling captive falcons to kill Scotland's protected hares under any circumstances - licensed or not, and regardless of the intention of handler. We are also opposed to the keeping of birds of prey in captivity, as their physical and psychological needs cannot be met."

Currently, those found guilty of breaking the law face a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.