I have read a lot of articles recently about shot or poisoned birds of prey and quite frankly find the whole thing abhorrent, but I recall, when at school, reading a book on the Perthshire countryside in the late 1800's and there were long lists of all the wildlife shot in the name of sport. I'm not talking hundreds, but tens of thousands of birds, in fact almost anything that they could shoot at. In one year alone, "sportsmen" almost wiped out the entire population of birds of prey in that County. Have things improved for wildlife and are we only hearing about these incidents because of better communications?
I'm fairly certain that things will not get a lot better. Country people (farmer, keepers etc) have a job to do, but they still very much go by what their parents / grandparents told them and tales are embellished. One farmer told me how a friend of a friend told of how one of his cows was killed by a mink - so mink were lethal killers and should be wiped out. These people, keepers especially, are living in tied accommodation and if their landlord, laird, squire or whatever says " kill the birds of prey or your sacked", they will, for fear of losing their home. No questions will be asked as to how it's done. You will also find that if caught, the local magistrate will usually be a big landowner and shooter of game and he / she will be lenient. You'll also find that the gamekeeper's boss will pay their fine - because they've done what they had to do.
So, are these incidents just isolated or are things still bad and do these "criminals" get protection? I'd like to think that what we hear of is only isolated incidents. We should also bear in mind that many gamekeepers are some of the best naturalists and go about their work with conservation in mind.
Stand Where The Peaks Meet The Sky
Oh dear B R your thread which is mostly very good is completely spoilt by saying a farmer saaid friend of a friend said a mink killed a cow.As a retired farmer promise you no farmer would even dream such a thing,it must have been the biggest wind up ever,the thread would be much better with that edited out.
michael s said: Oh dear B R your thread which is mostly very good is completely spoilt by saying a farmer saaid friend of a friend said a mink killed a cow.As a retired farmer promise you no farmer would even dream such a thing,it must have been the biggest wind up ever,the thread would be much better with that edited out.
Sorry Sooty, but the farmer I used to work for occasionally did tell me this in the 1970's. I know it's rubbish and he knew it was rubbish, but it does show how old wives tales and folklore can twist the truth when stories are passed on often enough. My late grandfather, who was a sheep and cattle drover, then a farmer, told me a lot of things that I later found out to be untrue, but he had been told these things by his father and people he worked with and in the absence of any contradiction, he thought it was fact. He was a great and wise man, just the same. Don't forget that in remote rural areas early last century, most schooling was wisdom (and hearsay) passed down over generations and between other country people. I used to work with an old (well 60 ish was old to a 15 yr old) man who was a brilliant poacher and legit fisherman, but much of what he told me was later found out to be a bit of a myth - much of it was true as well. So, sorry, but that was what was said.
Just a quick one from me, but have you read the RSPB's 2009 Birdcrime report?
http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/birdcrime_tcm9-260567.pdf
Unknown said: Just a quick one from me, but have you read the RSPB's 2009 Birdcrime report? http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/birdcrime_tcm9-260567.pdf
Thanks for the link, although the report makes sickening reading and shows that many, many raptors are still persecuted in the name of country sports. I may be wrong, but if an employee in most companies does something wrong in the line of his duties, then both he/she and the company suffer the consequences. Surely the estates that employ rogue staff know what's going on and should be very heavily fined. The estate owners and managers should be compelled to lay down legitimate working practices and ensure that keepers are properly trained. I know there's many estates that can co-exist with raptors, so why can't the rest. When a rogue keeper comes up in court, the magistrate is probably Lord, Sir, Colonel or something who shoots grouse and pheasants on the estate and so a small fine is imposed, which the estate probably pays anyway. Don't blame the keepers though, apart from a few bad eggs, they are only making their livings.
Quite agree, I think more should be done when it comes to prosecuting those that commit crimes against wildlife. Although I imagine with overcrowded prisons its all done with a softly, softly approach and they're not paying the full penalty.
People can be very gullible, some years ago at WWT Llanelli, a group of birders persuaded a large group of beginners that the small whale that a Glaucous Gull was busy feeding on in front of the main British Steel hide, was it's normal prey and it had killed it itself.
I am embarrassed to say I was amongst those that perpetrated the "story" but shows how when a perceived knowledgeable person states things they are likely to be believed.
Unfortunately the same type of story when stated about the Red Kite eating the sheep that It had found as carrion can end up with the Kites being persecuted to almost extinction as sheep killers :-(
Best regardsNigel
| My Images | Newport Wetlands on Flickr @barman58
For all the hard work put in by the RSPB staff,including a lot we do not hear about,the situation does not seem to be improving in certain areas.In our part of the country I think the situation has improved on lowland areas where most keepers seem to accept raptors but on our neighbouring grouse moors the situation has shown very little sign of improvement,I think we rank as the worst in England,it makes one ashamed to be a Yorkshireman.In certain areas any raptor sightings are kept to a select few birders for fear of news getting into the wrong hands.I understand the Scottish Parliament is trying a different approach in making the estate owners more responsible as they give the orders to their keepers,it will be interesting to see if that works.The web site "Raptor poliitics.org.uk"makes interesting reading altough some way say it is very one sided,worth a look to make your own mind up.
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
On a similar theme, I have just heard on the radio that there is to be an event for Pigeon fanciers this week-end, at which they are asking people to sign a petition to have Sparrowhawks culled because they are killing their prized birds. I am not against anybody following their particular favourite pastime, but not at the expense of natural wildlife. What do you think?
There are 9000 species of bird on earth. Let's keep it that way.
Pigeon fanciers have been pushing for this for some time now,Peregrines are their usual target as they seem to have a liking for homing pigeons many of which are quite valuable.On our local rivers the anglers are wanting a cull on Goosanders and Cormorant as they eat the fish stock.
Unknown said: On a similar theme, I have just heard on the radio that there is to be an event for Pigeon fanciers this week-end, at which they are asking people to sign a petition to have Sparrowhawks culled because they are killing their prized birds. I am not against anybody following their particular favourite pastime, but not at the expense of natural wildlife. What do you think?
I agree with you - if they want to pursue their hobby releasing their birds into the wild they have to accept that their birds face risks as a result, if they can't deal with that and accept they will lose a few birds to predators, weather, getting lost etc then they need to find a different hobby. Someone should never be entitled to cull wildlife for the sake of a hobby.
Millie & Fly the Border Collies