Defra’s decision to trial the destruction of buzzards nests and removal of wild buzzards from shooting estates leaves me lost for words...almost! The welcome return of the buzzard to much of the British countryside in these enlightened times following decades of persecution has been one of the most visual conservation success stories of our age.

Defra’s decision has obviously come on the back of strong lobbying from elements of the shooting industry. However, I have had the privilege to work with many shooting estates that accept the few losses to birds of prey as a small price to pay for the sight of these majestic predators, which incidentally take far more of the farmers’ foes than the farmers’ friends. Indeed, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) figures show that 1-2% of poults are taken by birds of prey – miniscule in the context of other factors gamekeepers have to deal with. BASC also have solutions that do not involve removing birds of prey, which the RSPB has been happy to publically endorse.

The estates I work with undertake fantastic conservation work on the back of their shooting interest that benefits a wide range of wildlife. I think it is fair to say that the majority of wildlife-friendly farmers I work with have a shooting interest. They would not want to be tarred with the same brush as the minority that lay down huge numbers of birds without the habitat to support them, who are more likely to benefit from this decision. My vote would be to invest research in supporting wildlife-friendly farmers, not a solution for those who do not create the habitat for wildlife to thrive in a balanced system.

Read what Martin Harper, Director of Conservation, has to say and learn how you can step up and voice your concerns here.