Simon Clarke Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 BASC condemns illegal shooting of hen harrier. The UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), has condemned the illegal shooting of a hen harrier in northern England. The bird, fledged on land managed for shooting in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire in 2011 and satellite-tagged, was discovered dead on a moor in North Yorkshire in the summer. A police investigation into the incident is now underway. BASC director of communications Christopher Graffius said: “BASC unreservedly condemns this crime and urges anyone who shoots who may have any information to come forward and assist the police. Anyone shooting a protected species damages shooting and the countryside and has no place among the law-abiding shooting community. BASC would have no hesitation in expelling any member guilty of such a crime.” BASC works closely with conservation bodies, statutory organisations and the police to reduce wildlife crime including the illegal persecution of raptors. The conservation status of hen harriers in the UK is red-listed by the British Trust for Ornithology. Anyone who may have information is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 – select option two and ask for Gareth Jones or Harrogate police. Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111. ENDS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Good to see that BASC are making themselves heard on this. Too many people like to smear all gamekeepers on the issue of raptor persecution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitebridges Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Well done BASC. I hope the perpetrator is caught. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbiep Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 Well done BASC. I hope the perpetrator is caught. Keep up the good work. Agreed. Absolutely unacceptable. In fact, I'd like to see legal changes - like people found guilty of WACA or similar offences, and their employers if sporting estates, automatically going S.21 for life. Might not stop it all, but it would give a lot of pause for thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) BASC condemns illegal shooting of hen harrier. The UK's largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), has condemned the illegal shooting of a hen harrier in northern England. The bird, fledged on land managed for shooting in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire in 2011 and satellite-tagged, was discovered dead on a moor in North Yorkshire in the summer. A police investigation into the incident is now underway. BASC director of communications Christopher Graffius said: "BASC unreservedly condemns this crime and urges anyone who shoots who may have any information to come forward and assist the police. Anyone shooting a protected species damages shooting and the countryside and has no place among the law-abiding shooting community. BASC would have no hesitation in expelling any member guilty of such a crime." BASC works closely with conservation bodies, statutory organisations and the police to reduce wildlife crime including the illegal persecution of raptors. The conservation status of hen harriers in the UK is red-listed by the British Trust for Ornithology. Anyone who may have information is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 – select option two and ask for Gareth Jones or Harrogate police. Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111. ENDS First I heard of this one they say the bird was found dead is there conclusive proof the bird was shot yet ? or is it just another case of the Bill Oddball types jumping to conclusions lets face it there are those in the RSPB who would rather a dead bird of prey be shot or poisoned than actually believe that they can & do die of natural causes ? such is the malice towards shooters & game keepers by some of them ! . But I will a say it dose not look good ? & some will just not learn !. Pole Star Edited December 10, 2012 by Pole Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 First I heard of this one they say the bird was found dead is there conclusive proof the bird was shot yet ? or is it just another case of the Bill Oddball types jumping to conclusions http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/336269-cuttingedge-science-reveals-bird-persecution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Star Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 http://www.rspb.org....ird-persecution Thanks for the link Poontang Most disturbing !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) http://www.rspb.org....ird-persecution That press release does not mention anywhere the fact that: Only a tiny minority of keepers perscute raptors The ones which do are condemned by most other gamekeepers and shooters, as they bring the reputation of shooting into disrepute This is rarely mentioned, and it is leading to gamekeepers being unfairly stereotyped. Just the other day, I was on the wild about Britain forum, and some people were claiming, in defiance of all evidence on the subject, that all gamekeepers kill raptors but most are never found out, and another claim which effectively said that all gamekeepers are involved in a conspiracy to cover up raptor persecution. The RSPB could take action to prevent this, by mentioning that only a tiny minority of keepers kill raptors in its press releases, and give it a good paragraph or two. At the moment, it seems to be given one or two lines, if at all. A recent (and quite lengthy) article in the i paper had one sentence saying "some gamekeepers kill birds of prey", which is nowhere near enough. It would also help for the RSPB to talk to groups like BASC on this and get their comments when putting press releases together. If anyone has the time, contact that RSPB from this contact form: http://www.rspb.org....?subject=12&f=1 The comment box is a bit awkward, so it might be worth typing it out in word first. I will be contacting the RSPB about this, and I urge others to do so as well. Edited December 10, 2012 by Reece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieT Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I would think that very, very few Raptors are deliberately killed, it's like suggesting that fox hunts still kill foxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reece Posted December 11, 2012 Report Share Posted December 11, 2012 I would think that very, very few Raptors are deliberately killed, it's like suggesting that fox hunts still kill foxes. Raptor persecution is in decline at the moment. And it is possible that some reported cases could have been natural deaths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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