Response to RSPB Press Release Accusing Gamekeepers of Killing Hen Harriers
Statement by Andrew Gilruth, CEO, Moorland Association
This RSPB data is far from ‘confirmed’ and has been assembled without independent checks. I attach data from the National Wildlife Crime Unit about the only four people convicted for bird crime last year. Three were falconers. One was an egg collector. None were gamekeepers. [1]
On hen harriers, there are cases of birds ‘confirmed’ as illegally killed which have been magically resurrected. [2]
The problem with the RSPB’s spurious allegations is that they poison perceptions of gamekeepers. A report by Professor Simon Denney showed that one gamekeeper gets physically attacked every 12 days. [3] The RSPB’s fake bird crime data is inciting real hate crimes.
Gamekeepers are working hard to help birds thrive. For example, they worked with Defra on a scheme which, according to RSPB scientists, led to a 1,150% increase in hen harrier numbers. [4] However, following opposition to the project from RSPB management, Natural England this year refused to extend it.
I suspect that RSPB leaders are jealous that Britain’s most successful bird sanctuaries are found on grouse moors. Time after time scientific research has found them to be awash with birds. [5] Yet the RSPB stopped publishing data on how many birds choose to live on its reserves in 2012. Since then it has taken £2 billion in donations and grants – last year it made £170m. [6]
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Sources
[2] Examples of ‘illegally killed hen harriers’ coming back to life:
2019: Hen harrier “Rosie” reappears after satellite tag malfunctions: https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/missing-hen-harrier-rosie-reported-to-be-alive-and-well/
2017: Hen harrier “Highlander” reappears: https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/skydancer/b/skydancer/posts/highlander-lives
2016: Hen harrier “Highlander” went missing. The RSPB said: “All the staff and volunteers here feel great anger… at the persecution on some grouse shooting estates which results in there being no skydancing harriers over our hills.” https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/skydancer/b/skydancer/posts/another-missing-hen-harrier
[3] Upland Report – assaults on gamekeepers. See top of page 5 with 30 gamekeepers attacked in one year – i.e. one every 12 days
[4] A 1,150% increase in hen harrier numbers in England between 2016 and 2023. See page 7 of
“The status of breeding Hen Harriers Circus cyaneus in the UK and Isle of Man in 2023” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388523157_The_status_of_breeding_Hen_Harriers_Circus_cyaneus_in_the_UK_and_Isle_of_Man_in_2023
[5] Grouse moors as best bird sanctuaries – see five studies cited here: https://www.gwct.org.uk/policy/briefings/biodiversity-and-conservation-on-grouse-moors/
[6] RSPB makes £170 million a year
