This is a guest blog by Mike Whitehouse. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 58 HEN HARRIERS? THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS BEHIND NATURAL ENGLAND’S BROOD-MANAGEMENT EXPERIMENT I have followed the fortunes of He…

I hope by now that blog readers are aware of Defra’s Call for Evidence on gamebird rearing, releasing and shooting. The Call for Evidence was launched in September 2026, and closes on 1st Nov…

Derbyshire Constabulary has issued an appeal for information (27 September 2026) following the discovery of a shot Red Kite in the Peak District National Park on or before 7th July 2026. RURAL CRIM…

Following North Yorkshire Police’s appeal for information about the recent discovery of a Marsh Harrier with gunshot injuries found in the Westerdale area of the North York Moors National Par…

Further to yesterday’s blog, Defra’s Call for Evidence on all aspects of gamebird rearing, releasing and shooting is now open, and will close at 23.59hrs on 1st November 2026. The Call …

The UK Government is poised to open a public consultation on the welfare implications of the mass breeding of gamebirds, according to an article published by The Guardian this afternoon (see here).…

Press release from Police Scotland (31 August 2026) APPEAL AFTER BIRD OF PREY POISONED IN ABERDEENSHIRE Officers are appealing for information after a bird of prey was poisoned in Aberdeenshire. On…

Earlier this month, NatureScot announced it was imposing a three-year General Licence restriction on Invermark Estate in the Angus Glens, relating to the discovery of a Peregrine with shotgun injur…

NatureScot is currently running one of its periodic public consultations on the use of General Licences for wildlife management. In response, RSPB Scotland has today issued the following statement:…

On Monday 20 July 2026, at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, all charges were dropped against two gamekeepers who had been on trial for the alleged shooting of Red Kites, as well as alleged firearms offences…

Press release from Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, Forestry England & Exmoor National Park Authority (4 August 2026) THE FIRST WHITE-TAILED EAGLES RELEASED IN EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK The return of…

Earlier this year, retired Scottish gamekeeper David Campbell was found guilty of murdering his former colleague from the Edradynate Estate in Perthshire, Brian Low, in February…

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about BASC’s grandstanding antics in response to a High Court ruling about the keeping of non-native gamebirds (Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges) on Special P…

Last week, the independent group Wildlife Poisoning Research UK (WPRUK) issued a press release confirming the poisoning of more White-tailed Eagles in Dorset, following the high profile poisoning o…

On Thursday this week, the High Court issued its judgement on a legal challenge, brought by the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC) against Natural England, concerning the li…

Andy Burnham will announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister on Monday, the BBC has been told. The announcement will form part of a flurry of policy m...

Drilling has become a controversial topic for the Labour party after the 2024 manifesto pledged to not issue new licences.

For anyone who still wants to pretend that the grouse shooting industry isn’t responsible for the systematic extermination of Hen Harriers on grouse moors across the UK, here’s the latest catalogue…

EXCLUSIVE: A dark money lobbying network backed by a Reform UK donor is hosting figures pushing for the forced removal of millions of ethnic-minority citizens from the UK, reports Nafeez Ahmed

The illegal killing of Hen Harriers on British grouse moors has been known, for years, to be the main cause of the species’ desperately low population size in the UK. This male hen harrier di…