I expect Sigrid Rausing to get a letter from the Countryside Alliance in Scotland, and a write-up in the Shooting Times, for suggesting that the lack of eagles in some parts of Scotland, and on her estate in the Monadhliath, is due to the fact that sporting estates bump them off.
But it is what I believe too.
A love of the natural world demonstrates that a person is a cultured inhabitant of planet Earth.
Well done Sigrid. She's said things that need to be said but too many landopwners are frightened to say. But there's a bigger, more important point - everyone knows owning a Highland estate is a costly luxury. Most run on shooting - most bring serious money into their areas - its great to see an obviously very welthy owner standing up for conservation - and even better to see an estate that is owned for its wonderful wildlife. I am sure Sigrid is right about the level of persecution - detecting wildlife crime in a place like the Highlands is like looking for a needle in a haystack - how many incidents are there for everyone detected. I've experienced similar with Goshawk - a very large forest, proven good productivity - but surrounded by shooting estates and thespecies failing to establish a continuing, viable population - where did all those young end up after they'd dispersed from the nest ?
But what she also says Mark is that the very same eagles are threatened by wind farm developments. She says she has appealled to SNH to have the Monadliaths designated a SPA, a Special Protection Area for golden eagles but as failed. Where was the RSPB when she needed them? She says that the wind farm given approval on her boundry is going to be a disaster with golden eagles coliding with them, probably just as effective as a poisoned bait at killing eagles & many othe raptors. Now on her other boundary plans have just been submitted for a huge wind farm, again on optimum eagle habitat. Whats the RSPB going to do about that?
The Countryside Alliance have an interesting web site. Their rural manifesto is one that anyone who wants a thriving countryside would sign up to - but not a word about protecting our unique and wonderful wildlife and landscapes. Nothing about saving our own 'endangered' species. Why not? What is so abhorrent about this that they don't even give it a nod and wink? I don't understand it myself. I am happy to support British farming and always buy British. I am happy to support the rights of individuals to kill things for fun if that turns them on (as long as its nothing endangered) - we live in a democracy after all - if this is a majority view. And yes the young should be educated about the countryside - the RSPB does that rather well too. So why so defensive when it comes to issues like this - why not work with the RSPB - too many vested interests I suspect. So it's interesting that a major Landowner has spoken up - she doesn't fit neatly into the Alliances view of the 'rural' world...