According to the RSPB that makes 4 golden eagles, 1 red kite & 7 buzzards illegally poisoned in under 6 years on grouse moors in the Angus glens - and that's just the ones we know about. No convictions have resulted. https://twitter.com/rspbbirders/status/413712512576913408
I found a buzzard with a wing shot off in Glen Esk a few years ago. I reported it to the RSPB, and they reported it to the police, but no proof I guess.
“We only heard of this incident on the night time news. Obviously, given the significant progress made in recent times, news of the poisoning of this eagle is terrible. “We are not aware who is responsible for this and would encourage anyone who may know anything to pass on any information to the Police. “We would like to reiterate that the SGA will not condone the poisoning of birds of prey. If any SGA member is convicted of such a crime, they are removed from our organisation. “We will not allow the actions of a minority to tarnish the reputations of the vast majority of sporting estates who manage responsibly.”
Douglas Griffin19 Dec 2013
Meanwhile, The Countryside Alliance chooses today to publish this:
It's bandit country over on that side of the hill.
You'll remember this horrific story where an eagle trapped around Glen Esk miraculously "flew"overnight following the road before coming to rest in a lay-by in Deeside.
Stuff "tarnishing reputations": a few estate managers and owners being fined and/or banged up for permitting these sorts of things to happen would focus their minds rather more rapidly, I can't help feeling.
>> The SGA and their English equivalent often use the fact that very few of their gamekeepers have been prosecuted and that the ones who have were rogue operators. Of course few have been found guilty, they work in such remote areas that we can't expect the police to patrol those moors.
Would the word "devious" be correct?
We used to have an elderly former gamekeeper turned occasional poacher living in our street; he was a colourful character and certainly a mine of information and knowledge on country lore, game and traps and guns. This kind of person still exists and is often employed by big estates to protect their investment so I'm sure a bird as big and obvious - and predictable - as a golden eagle or any other bird of prey is, er, easy prey for them. Nothing will change as long as there is such big money to be made from huntin' shootin' and fishin' and these sports are monopolised by a class of people who consider themselves above the common law.
Massive fines and jail for the people with blood on their hands is what's needed. Compulsory forfeit of their land for those assisting i.e. landowners.
Countryside Alliance - don't get me started on those ^$"$()(* as I would like a pleasant afternoon.
Countryside Alliance and SGA remind me a lot of the publicity machine for Big Tobacco in the 60's and 70's - claiming the epidemiological data linking tobacco and cancer was just a tissue of deception promulgated by anti-tobacco pressure groups.
In reply to Alan Taylor: Don't forget that the environment secretary Owen Paterson has form in this sort of thing, he refused to ban the most popular poison used to kill raptors in the same way he wants badgers shot but considers it impractical to shoot foxes not to mention being a climate change denier.
