Raptor Persecution UK

"During the scrutiny of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act we took detailed evidence on the role of muirburn in wildfire risk. There is very little credible evidence to support the hunting and shooting lobby’s ridiculous claim that these practices have any role in preventing wildfires“.

You were had! @scottishgov.bsky.social @jimfairliesnp.bsky.social
Well done to @ariane-burgess.bsky.social for pointing out the fallacy of muirburn preventing wildfires. @raptorpersuk.bsky.social

Scottish Govt fiddles while grouse moors burn Earlier this month the Scottish Government announced a delay, for the second time, of the implementation of muirburn licensing after caving in to pressure from aggressive lobbying by the grouse sho…

Imagine being a Minister in Scottish Govt & sanctioning 6 months of torching this sensitive & important carbon-sequestering habitat, in a climate emergency & against will of Parliament, just so a handful of wealthy elites can get off on killing Red Grouse.

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Brilliant piece debunking the nonsense claim in the Daily Telegraph. But it’s dangerous nonsense, polarising attitudes & whipping up prejudice.

The DTelegraph is such a shit newspaper. Oh, and the photo? Staged - captive eagle, already-dead lamb.

Not only pig ignorant but an attitude akin to burning “witches”

Absurd claim that White-tailed Eagles ‘snatched’ five Shetland ponies leads to inevitable call to ‘shoot eagles’ The absurd claim that White-tailed Eagles had ‘snatched’ five Shetland pony foals on South Uist hit the headlines at the end of August. A crofter / farmer named Donald Cameron said that…

Victorian attitudes towards birds of prey in the UK are fueled by sensationalist fear-mongering like this, published routinely by mainstream media.

#RaptorResearch

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Saw this and was appalled, but not surprised, at how quickly and easily the investigation was shut down.

BBC’s Highland Cops programme features investigation into shot out Goshawk nest in Cairngorms National Park The BBC’s Highland Cops programme has entered its third series and episode 2 features the police investigation in to an active Goshawk nest that had been shot out on a sporting estate near Ki…

If you want an insight into the difficulties faced by Police officers investigating suspected wildlife crime on privately-owned shooting estates in the UK, this is the programme for you.

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime

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“Act boldly, without delay and introduce game shoot licensing” – open letter to Defra Ministers from Northern England Raptor Forum Chair The Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF) is the representative body of voluntary raptor fieldworkers across the north of England, including in many of the raptor persecution hotspots in this region…

NERF Chair Steve Downing points out 20 years of Govt failure in tackling the illegal killing of birds of prey on gamebird shooting estates in the UK.

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/24/a...

Should White-tailed Eagles be reintroduced to Cumbria? Another questionnaire seeks your views The proposition to release White-tailed Eagles in Cumbria has been knocking around for a number of years now (e.g. see this feasibility report from 2022). The Cumbrian White-tailed Eagle Project is…

Rational opinion needed to counter irrational & ill-informed hysteria from local sheep breeders' association.

Questionnaire closes 31 Oct 2025 🔽

#RaptorResearch

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North Wales Police investigation launched after snares found set next to Ruabon Moor, two years after ban Press release from Green Britain Foundation (23 October 2025) LANDMARK: FIRST FORMAL ILLEGAL SNARE-USE INVESTIGATION SINCE BANS IN WALES/SCOTLAND Footage obtained by Green Britain Foundation shows …

Excellent investigative work by Green Britain Foundation. Now over to North Wales Police...

#WildlifeCrime

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REVIVE (coalition for grouse moor reform) national conference, Saturday 8 November 2025 REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform, is hosting its annual national conference at Perth Concert Hall on Saturday 8 November 2025. This year the conference is expected to be lively. There&#…

This is going to be lively!

@revivecoalition.bsky.social national conference, Perth Concert Hall, Saturday 8 November 2025.

Programme & tickets available 🔽

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/19/r...

Prominent falconer Andrew Knowles-Brown fined almost £14,000 for ‘shocking’ animal cruelty Prominent falconer and eagle breeder, Andrew Knowles-Brown, 70, has been sentenced after investigators from the Scottish SSPCA found approximately 90 eagles and other birds were living in ‘un…

Knowles-Brown is a former Chair of the Scottish Hawk Board & Vice Chair of the UK Hawk Board which provides welfare guidelines for those keeping raptors in captivity.

#RaptorResearch

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Ongoing problems with grouse moor licensing, trap licensing & hunt licensing is ‘enabling’ rather than deterring wildlife crime in Scotland The Herald has given more front page coverage in its series about Scottish land reform, this time focusing on recent legislation that was supposed to protect wildlife but instead is effectively &#8…

“When grouse moor licences are redrawn to exclude the very areas where wildlife crime occurs, we are not deterring raptor persecution, we are enabling it.”

@revivecoalition.bsky.social makes front page news again.

#RaptorResearch #WildlifeCrime

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Grouse moors: Scotland’s land crisis in plain sight (by Max Wiszniewski, featured in The Herald) The Herald continues its feature on land reform today, with an article written by Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager for REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform: Scotland’s grouse moors are und…

Strong article written by Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager for @revivecoalition.bsky.social & published by The Herald as part of its series on Scottish land reform.

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/13/g...

‘The problem, which the Scottish Government is willfully ignoring, is that muirburn is responsible for a large number of wildfires’ For those of you following the muirburn licensing fiasco in Scotland, where the Scottish Government has announced its decision to delay the implementation of licences for a second time after aggres…

'The problem, which the Scottish Govt is willfully ignoring, is that muirburn is responsible for a large number of wildfires'.

Insightful analysis from Nick Kempe on his excellent parkswatchscotland blog.

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/13/t...

But why would people devoted to shooting animals as a solution to, er, everything, need to misrepresent anyone? It defies sense!

‘Shooters want untrammelled predator control’. Quelle surprise. What else can you expect from an institution devoted to shooting animals? One which believes that only they are able to restore and maintain the ‘balance of nature’. Not only is it wrong, it’s breathtakingly arrogant.

Shooting Times uses selective quote to shamelessly misrepresent my view on predator culls A couple of weeks ago, on 24 September, the Shooting Times published a news item in which it was suggested that I support predator culls: The Shooting Times article was supposedly a précis of an ar…

'This is either shameless misrepresentation or whoever wrote that piece for Shooting Times is struggling to grasp the principles of basic English comprehension – you know, the stuff you learn at school when you’re eleven about context and drawing conclusions'

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F#ck me, SNP on the side of massive land owners...very disappointing!

It seems to me that when the SNP were in coalition with the Scottish Greens, the Greens held them to account to keep to their comittments to the environment. This is clearly no longer the case.

Scots demand real land reform as research reveals overwhelming public support for change Press release from REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform (11 Oct 2025) SCOTS DEMAND REAL LAND REFORM AS RESEARCH REVEALS OVERWHELMING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CHANGE Largest ever public consultati…

Research by the Diffley Partnership, commissioned by
@revivecoalition.bsky.social featured on front page of The Herald this morning.

Revive is at SNP conf this w/e where conversation expected to be lively after SNP decision to delay muirburn licensing.

raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/10/11/s...

“SNP caves to shooting lobby” – reactions to Scottish Government’s decision to delay muirburn licensing (again) As expected, the Scottish Government’s announcement on Thursday that it has delayed the implementation of muirburn licensing (for the second time) has been met with anger. Scottish Greens MSP…

Photo shows aftermath of recent wildfire on Dinnet Muir National Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire, caused by out-of-control muirburn by gamekeepers on nearby grouse moor. Photo by @kredp.bsky.social

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The aftermath, still smouldering in places. #muirburn #cnpa #dinnetnnr #tarland

Is there anyone with a backbone, sickening.

REVIVE's National Conference is going to be very interesting...

Join us to hear more about this from @raptorpersuk.bsky.social on November 8th:
www.perththeatreandconcerthall.com/whats-on/rev...

Conference programme here: revive.scot/revives-nati...

Out of control Muirburn near Dinnet NNR today. Now in the forest.

Scottish Ministers, their officials and public agencies have completely lost their way on land and environment issues. What we are witnessing is the comprehensive capture of public policy by vested interests.
#ScottishEnvironment 🌱

The Scottish Government:
For the few, not the many!

Delighted to have Kirsty Jenkins, Director of Policy for
@onekind.org join our panel at our upcoming National Conference on Saturday 8th November.

We hope to see you there!

Book your place⬇️
www.perththeatreandconcerthall.com/whats-on/rev...