On Wednesday we handed in 210,567 signatures to the wildlife Minister Huw Irranca-Davies demonstrating public support for our campaign to end illegal killing of birds of prey in the UK.
Three MPs (see below) have tabled the following Early Day Motion (EDM) in Parliament:
That this House congratulates the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on acquiring over 200,000 signatories to its campaign to end the illegal killing of birds of prey; recognises the depth of public support this shows for more action to be taken to protect birds of prey; further recognises the socio-economic benefits healthy bird of prey populations can bring to rural communities; notes that the shooting, poisoning and other destruction of magnificent species including hen harriers, golden eagles and peregrine falcons remains unacceptably common; acknowledges that such persecution represents a major impediment towards the recovery of such species to their historic levels; and calls on the Government to make ending the illegal killing of these iconic birds a greater priority.
Well said! And thank you to those three sponsoring MPs. Angela Smith has worked closely with us on birds of prey and other issues. Norman Baker is a long-term friend of the environment and the RSPB. Alistair Burt has the RSPB's Sandy UK Headquarters in his constituency and is an enthusiastic supporter of our work.
An EDM draws attention to a cause or event and allows MPs to show their support by signing the EDM.
So far, the following 58 MPs have supported EDM 654:
Conservatives: Alistair Burt, Peter Bottomley, Andrew Rosindell
Democratic Unionist: David Simpson, Gregory Campbell, Jeffrey Donaldson
Independent: Bob Spink
Labour: Angela Smith, Lindsay Hoyle, Stephen Hepburn, Joan Humble, Chris McCafferty, John McDonnell, Laura Moffatt, Ronnie Campbell, Janet Dean, Andrew Dismore, David Drew, Paul Truswell, Desmond Turner, Robert N Wareing, Brian Jenkins, Alan Meale, Edward O'Hara, Martin Caton, Jeremy Corbyn, Neil Gerrard, John Battle, Keith Vaz, David Lepper, Bill Etherington, Betty Williams, Alan Simpson, Ann Cryer, Graham Stringer, Rudi Vis, Harry Cohen, David Anderson, Lindsay Roy, Greg Pope, David Crausby, Paul Flynn, David Heyes
Liberal Democrats: Norman Baker, Andrew George, Paul Holmes, Mike Hancock, Phil Willis, John Leech, John Hemming, Mark Hunter, Annette Brooke, Lorely Burt, Andrew Stunell, John Barrett, Richard Younger-Ross
Social Democratic and Labour Party: Eddie McGrady, Mark Durkan
I'll update you on progress with this EDM but if you would like to contact your MP on any issue, or to tell them of your support for the bird of prey campaign, or maybe ask them to sign up EDM 654 then use this link.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
I've just checked the current EDM list and it looks like there are currently 109 MP's signed up. Yay! I have also just emailed the MP for North Norfolk in the hope that he will add his name and his voice. Finger's crossed it all counts towards a better future for our magnificent birds of prey.
I have e mailed my MP in Taunton, requesting he signs EDM 654.
Rose - I'll give an update on sign-ups later in the week now that Parliament is back from recess. We have heard that there are quite a few MPs of all parties who are going to sign up.
IS THE DEARTH OF CONSERVATIVE MPS SIGNING UP A SYMPTOM OF THIER HISTORIC AND CURRANT LINKS TO LANDED GENTRY AND LARGE ESTATES WHICH ARE STRANGELY BEREFT OF THE BIRDS OF PREY THAT "OUGHT"TO BE IN THAT HABITAT AND THEREFORE A SIGN THAT THEY ARE THE SAME OLD TORIES?
All - we have heard from RSPB members and MPs that more MPs are about to sign up to EDM 654. Some MPs don't tend to sign any EDMs - others do. Government ministers and shadow ministers tend not to sign EDMs. I'll update you during the next week when Parliament returns from its recess. but many thanks everyone!