Curlew Survival Hinges on Predator Control: Our Letter to The Guardian

Your article (A last resort: is culling foxes the only way to save Britain’s vanishing curlews?, 11 September) highlights a national failing, we obsess over problems but shy away from solutions.

Curlews are vanishing before our eyes. While headlines multiply, practical measures such as predator control are endlessly delayed by controversy. The outcome is predictable - years of talk and fewer birds.

The facts are stark. On grouse moors where predators are managed, curlew chicks are four times more likely to fledge. Where management stops, the skies fall silent. At RSPB Lake Vyrnwy, curlew are now extinct across the entire 10,000 acre moor.

Predator control is not comfortable, nor should it be. But the alternative is the slow extinction of ground-nesting birds. To turn away from this truth is to sign the curlew’s death warrant.

Britain’s wildlife crisis won’t be solved by more diagnosis. It demands action and the courage to use the tools we already know work. The question is not whether we love curlews. The question is whether we will act in time to save them.

📧 Stay updated on all moorland issues - sign up for our free Newsletter.