Government goes ahead with discredited Hen Harrier scheme

Natural England (NE) has issued a licence to the International Centre for Birds of Prey, based in Newent, Gloucestershire, with what it controversially says is “the long-term aim of increasing [Hen Harrier] numbers across England”. 

In an unprecedented move, the licence will legally permit the removal of Hen Harrier eggs and chicks from wild nests from an as-yet unspecified northern English moorland, from where they will be transported to a designated facility – presumed to be the centre in Gloucestershire – to be hand-reared. As the birds near fledging, says NE, they will be transferred to “specially-constructed pens in Hen Harrier breeding habitat, from which they [will] then [be] reintroduced into the wild in the uplands of northern England. This intervention may only occur where Hen Harrier nests have reached an agreed density.”

This density is stated to be two pairs within 10 km (6.21 miles) of each other, a threshold which may be hard to reach as only three pairs nested last year in England – all on moorland not managed for Red Grouse. The scheme’s many critics contend that the initiative is designed to appease commercial grouse-shooting interests by removing potential predators, and that, crucially, the taking of any eggs or chicks from an active English nest belonging to a species so close to being extirpated from England cannot be justified.

This Hen Harrier was found shot and hidden down a hole at Geltsdale RSPB, Cumbria, in 2000 (www.rspb-images.com).

NE says its experts have “rigorously scrutinised the licence application and will work closely with the licence applicant throughout the duration of the trial to ensure that all elements are carried out proportionately and effectively,” though they appear to have largely circumvented the advice of conservationists in favour of the concerns of the powerful driven grouse shooting lobby. On its website, NE openly states that it is in charge of “changes to wildlife licensing to improve flexibility for developers”, a remit which is unlikely to encourage confidence in those who wish to raise the English Hen Harrier population to its estimated ecological potential of around 300 pairs.

The trial will take place on an as-yet unspecified site in the north of England, and the licence will last for a two-year period from this year until 2020. NE says it has placed “stringent conditions on the trial”, which is among actions listed in the DEFRA Hen Harrier Recovery Plan first mooted in 2016. The plan has been severely criticised by conservationists across the board. 

NE’s conditions include:

• All Hen Harriers to be satellite-tagged by the Moorland Association (MA), which represents a large number of driven grouse moor owners and leasers.
• Nests can only be brood managed if they are likely to affect the number of Red Grouse in the area.
• Brood management will only take place with the permission of the land owner.
• Harriers removed from a Special Protection Area must be returned to that area.
• The MA, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and NE will all have access to the satellite-tag data, which some consider a partial conflict of interest as some members of the driven grouse industry are strongly suspected of being involved in the illegal killing of Hen Harriers. 

The Hen Harrier Recovery Plan’s professed ultimate aim of reducing “Hen Harrier predation of grouse chicks on driven grouse moors, leading to an improvement in the conservation status of [the species]” is likely to be undermined from the very start, according to a number of prominent conservationists. The disappearance of harriers from some grouse moors certainly doesn’t inspire any belief that the released birds will be safe in their new habitats.

Annie, another Hen Harrier, was found illegally shot, also at Geltsdale RSPB in 2015; illegal persecution shows no signs of abating, with some landowners and grouse shooters clearly but covertly responsible (www.rspb-images.com).

Birdwatch columnist and anti-driven grouse shooting campaigner Mark Avery responded to the news bluntly, saying: “It’s madness. This is a daft scheme that helps grouse moor owners and does nothing for Hen Harriers. DEFRA is in bed with the wildlife criminals, and [Environment Secretary] Michael Gove’s rebrand of the Conservative party as wildlife-friendly has just taken a massive hit.”

Campaigning website Raptor Persecution called the transplantation technique “brood meddling”, and wrote, in a lengthy post on the subject: “The big question now is how many grouse moor owners will ‘allow’ a pair of nesting Hen Harriers on their land? The grouse shooting industry is kind of backed into a corner, and it’s all of its own making. Grouse moor owners probably all thought brood meddling was a great idea when it was first mooted, as they thought those brood-meddled harriers would be removed from their moors and dumped hundreds of miles away in southern England as part of the proposed reintroduction scheme down there. Now they’ve been told that’s not going to happen – brood meddled Hen Harriers have to be returned to the upland moors.” 

The RSPB responded by expressing its “implacable opposition to [this] ridiculous licence”. It said: “The idea that brood management is about helping Hen Harriers is nonsense. It is about facilitating unsustainable intensive land management, which is destroying our uplands ... As a landowner ourselves, we will never allow it on our land … The RSPB is calling on Michael Gove to rescind this ridiculous licence and set out a clear plan for ending wildlife crime as a part of the Government’s 25-year plan for environment.” 

Andrew Sells, Chairman of Natural England, countered: “Improving the conservation status of Hen Harriers across England is something I feel very passionate about. The principles of this trial have been carefully researched by those best-placed to understand the conflict which can occur between Hen Harriers and driven grouse moors.

“It is a complicated and emotive picture and we have considered this application very carefully. Licensing this trial will allow important evidence to be gathered which, I sincerely hope, will lead to a self-sustaining and well-dispersed breeding population of these beautiful birds across England.”

Both the MA and GWCT said they were delighted with what they consider a “ground-breaking research licence”, with the former’s Amanda Anderson saying: “The Hen Harrier Brood Management Group has sought to provide a pragmatic solution to a proven predator-prey conflict, while safeguarding important land use … This new wildlife management licence will give land managers confidence that impacts of Hen Harriers breeding on their land can be minimised, creating a win-win scenario.”

Clearly, however, it cannot be win-win for the displaced Hen Harriers, and any birds returning to upland grouse moors stand no less chance of being targeted by criminal elements of the shooting industry.