Standing up for Raptors!

In my last post I asked who is going to stand up for birds of prey in Britain. Well if the government are going to drag their feet it is pleasing to read that one group are doing all they can to halt the persecution of birds of prey in their area.

The North West Raptor Group has launched Operation Bowland Raptor Rescue with the aim of monitroring Peregrine nests which have seen a decline in productivity since some licences were removed from NWRG field workers. The operation aims to bring persecution of such birds to the public domain to highlight just what happens. If you have an interest in birds of prey and any relevant experience towards the operation you are asked to get in touch. More information can be found at http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2012/10/18/operation-bowland-raptor-rescue-launching-spring-2013/

I wish the operation the best of luck!

Will it ever stop and who's going to really stand up for raptors?

Its amazing really what can happen in the space of a couple of months when you follow bird of prey persecution in Britain closely.

Maybe not surprising to some is the fact that birds of prey are still being persecuted, and proving this recently was the eventual news release about the suspicious death and movement of a Golden Eagle in Scotland. Movement you might ask, how does something move when it is dead? Well after no movement from the birds satellite transmitter for over 12 hours it then randomly moved in the middle of the night and found itself under a tree near a lay-by some 15km away. Diurnal birds of prey don't tend to move in darkness if your unsure. If that doesn't smell odd, I forget to mention both it legs were broken in a way very similar to that of a spring trap. Check out the full story here http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/325140-conservationists-appalled-by-eagle-death

More recently was the news of a Golden Eagle being found shot on a Grouse more in Dumfriesshire, the bird is still alive luckily and I'll keep you posted on its outcome. You can read more here http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/326377-condemnation-as-golden-eagle-found-shot

So with birds like the Golden Eagle being persecuted and many more including the now rare breeding Hen Harrier with possibly only one pair breeding in England this year, you might expect the government to take action. Sadly not yet in fact a backward step was taken when our environement minister Richard Benyon declined a complete ban on owning Carbofuran a known favourite for poisoning wildlife and birds of prey in particular. What makes this decision even more distasteful is the fact that Carbofuran has no legal use in our country, so why allow it to be legally owned ?????

The RSPB Birdcrime 2011 report has recently been released and it asks the government to finally stand up against wildlife crime and bird of prey persecution in particular. You can read it yourself here http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/Birdcrime_2011_edit_tcm9-324819.pdf

You can also read the recent report released by the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into the extent of willdife crime in the UK. Its a pretty damning report, maybe this will make the government take action?
http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/overview-of-parliamentary-wildlife-crime-report/

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmenvaud/140/140.pdf

So watch this space, hopefully not to long though for the sake of the birds of prey still out there trying to survive.