Hen harriers on the brink
November 2nd, 2009 | by Nick |
Hen harriers (photo BBC here) have had a disastrous breeding season, and are now on the point of becoming extinct in England, where only a dozen pairs survive, mainly in the northern uplands. Only six nests were successful in total for the whole of England from 12 attempts, with just 15 chicks being raised. The poor breeding season has been blamed on the cold weather last winter which killed off many of their small animal prey. Hen harriers were always going to be vulnerable to a year like this. Their numbers had been reduced to extrememly low figures in recent decades in part due to severe persecution by the gamekeepers of grouse moors, though this year there is little direct evidence of this affecting their failure to breed. Some 800 hen harriers survive in Scotland.
John Swift, Chief Executive of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said landowners and gamekeepers underlined that they must help to protect the bird.
“A bad winter has left the hen harrier population even more vulnerable than before – this means that everybody must concentrate on doing what they can to ensure that the moorland habitat continues to be well managed and that persecution is confined to history,” he said.
“It is imperative that we find a solution to the conflict between grouse shooting and birds of prey and those who manage grouse moors must continue to be vigilant against persecution of harriers.”
Wikipedia notes on the issues affecting hen harriers in the UK
In the UK, the Hen Harrier suffers illegal persecution by gamekeepers and their employers on shooting estates, particularly those managed for Red Grouse shooting, resulting in local and regional extinction in many areas, particularly in England where only 20 pairs survive despite abundant suitable habitat capable of holding several hundred pairs. Because of this they are now very rare in many parts of the UK, and under threat in many more areas. This problem received a high profile in October 2007 when police investigating the killing of two Hen Harriers on the Queen’s estate at Sandringham in Norfolk interviewed Prince Harry and a friend during their investigation. No charges were brought as police were unable obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute
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