Beefy vs RSPB

[The_Engineer]

I read this and thought it a good article. Nail on the head about Chris Packham.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3543792/Why-RSPB-fixed-sights-mighty-eagle-owl-Cricketing-legend-country-sportsman-SIR-IAN-BOTHAM-gives-bird-charity-barrels-troubling-question.html

[TONY R]

I like to see them about up here, they want controling once re established like all birds of prey.

Edited April 17, 2016 by TONY R

[Konnie]

Maybe a panorama program about this would raise a few questions and alter the course of the RSPB,

[Blackpowder]

I read this and thought it a good article. Nail on the head about Chris Packham.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3543792/Why-RSPB-fixed-sights-mighty-eagle-owl-Cricketing-legend-country-sportsman-SIR-IAN-BOTHAM-gives-bird-charity-barrels-troubling-question.html

+1

 

Blackpowder

[paulnix]

Still the haters refuse to even think for themselves....

[kent]

Ok I live in Bowland. Eagle owls actively try to kill other raptors in thier area. This is nature's safety valve in operation

 

The rspb do shoot deer on thier land - they do however make the tender process almost impossible by allowing full public access and insisting on non toxic bullets, instant carcass removal etc etc.

 

In my area they closed a footpath after a dog got taken and fear of public being attacked. The rspb successfully got granted egg pricking.

 

Don't kid yourself the rspb are about making money and will bend thier views to suit that goal

 

The rspb claimed they were ex captive birds but thier range easily allows flights into the UK and who the heck releases a captive bird of such value without any gear on its legs or telemetry

 

A lamb got taken out an incised yard here. In daylight - it was lamb proof so whatever got it had to fly with it or be able to jump a high wall with it - so what does that leave? It went in the space of 15 mins

 

Where there are hen harriers on grouse Moor here they are diversion fed white rats and no keeper has any reason to kill them - again it's not a conservation thing it's about funds and raising people's emotions to dip thier hands into thier wallets

You think the rspb head honchos are more interested in conservation or thier balance sheet?

[panoma1]

Weren't the RSPB responsible for the reintroduction of Sea Eagles into eastern Scotland? If so, it smacks heavily of hypocrisy to me!

[anser2]

I think we have to be careful for what you wish for here. Personally I like eagle owls and think they will make a great addition to our bird fauna , but if anyone thinks they have trouble with birds of prey their present problems are nothing compared to the problems eagle owls would cause if they became common and widespread. They are big birds and none of our game birds would be safe from them and hunting at night they would be hard to prevent causing game bird predation . In the US they are a major problem for anyone keeping ornamental waterfowl , even taking adult geese so pheasants would be an easy target for them.

 

It’s probable that some and perhaps most of the owls in Northern England have arrived here naturally , but most if not all the southern birds have escaped from captivity and many are of the Indian race of eagle owl which is smaller. If eagle owls arrive in the UK naturally then I feel we should leave them alone and let them colonise the country , but if they have stemmed from captive stock then them should be removed from our countryside.

[Guest stevo]

I personally would love to see them in our skys .

[panoma1]

Must confess that nowadays if the RSPB are agin it...........I'm for it!.......And vice versa! I despise their hypocracy

[ben0850]

I thought it was a decent article and have a lot of time for Ian Botham and his views however the part that I disagree with was his 'nod' to the Lynx question...there's no way in the creation of crow **** will a lynx ignore one of our lambs for a fleet footed roe deer!

[kent]

I think we have to be careful for what you wish for here. Personally I like eagle owls and think they will make a great addition to our bird fauna , but if anyone thinks they have trouble with birds of prey their present problems are nothing compared to the problems eagle owls would cause if they became common and widespread. They are big birds and none of our game birds would be safe from them and hunting at night they would be hard to prevent causing game bird predation . In the US they are a major problem for anyone keeping ornamental waterfowl , even taking adult geese so pheasants would be an easy target for them.

 

Its probable that some and perhaps most of the owls in Northern England have arrived here naturally , but most if not all the southern birds have escaped from captivity and many are of the Indian race of eagle owl which is smaller. If eagle owls arrive in the UK naturally then I feel we should leave them alone and let them colonise the country , but if they have stemmed from captive stock then them should be removed from our countryside.

Keepers like them as they are said to be keen on foxes. The area of Bowland they nested in contains very little to no roe ( the biggest thing they can tackle supposedly) it was all about their exclusion policy of other raptors ( what we call balance)

[kent]

My old mate is a hunting and fishing guide in lapland he says roe have increased in height in line with lynx increase ( it's an advantage to the lynx in deep snow) longer legs are favoured in natural selection

[ben0850]

My old mate is a hunting and fishing guide in lapland he says roe have increased in height in line with lynx increase ( it's an advantage to the lynx in deep snow) longer legs are favoured in natural selection

Thanks Kent, will think on buying longer legged tups this year at Kelso!

[kent]

Ha, I can think.of better measures. These nuts that think you can turn the clock back need to live in the woods without tesco a few years to get thier Cockeyed plans straight.

Just thought it interesting

[scotslad]

Thats a really good article, take my hat off to Botham for that and daily mail for printin it.

Just hope more of general public read it, instead of preaching to the converted.

I just hope this slating by royal socitiety gets some decent press coverage, would be great if they lost their 'R'

 

There is a grouse moor area i know with an RSPB reserve nearby (ex grouse moor) a pair of Eagle owls began to nest a few years ago on rspb land but near enough to be watched from neighbouring moors throu bin's, they only lasted 1 week and dissappeared overnight never to be seen again??

If that was a HH nest on a grouse moor keepers would be getting doors kicked in and front page headlines.

Counrtryfile/springwatch were on the reserve looking for black cock seen a couple in the distance, some of the farms further down valley actually shoot black cock as got so many, absolutely thriving when got proper habitat management and predator control

 

 

I never knew the rspb had came round to agree with the HH recovery project, have been against it since it was first.

 

The diversonary feeding does seem to work with (but a lot of work nfor keeper) HH nests but the problem is u simply cannot have large numbers of HH on grouse moors, but HH need grouse moor management so they are not predated.

Spent 10 million up at langholm again and its an almost complete failure, hardly any grouse, quite a lot of HH thou, but the big problem up there now is ammount of buzzards that were not present during the original langhoml 1/JRG study. The shootable surpluss of grouse is ate every winter by buzzards

And until langholm has enough grouse to drive them (doubt will never happen) will not have an answer to the disturbance factor even a HH flying over a drive can do. Seen drives completely empitied of grouse simply by a HH flying overhead

 

Like others have said rspb are heavily involved in the sea eagle releasing all throu scotland (and are they not trying to telease them down south? fens or kent?) dspite the fact they will compete with golden eagles, so a massive degree of hypocrisy.

But no shooter will be surprised they have there favourite birds, which are more photogenic and raise more funds the rest could go extinct and many once common birds are declining massively.

 

 

ON the lynx, not quite convinced yet, but was dead against it originally. They make far more sense than wolfs and could work in some places to stop the massive clash thats happening with Red deer and forestry in scotland at moment. Which is a really big issue and a lot of deer being really hammered as soon as they even set 1 foot in the forest

The biggest problem is not the lynx, its the idoits that will be in charge of releasing and monitoring them.

If it turn out they've made a mistake and shock horror lynx will choose sheep over deer then they should hold there hands up, admit the mistake pay for any sheep losses and then hunt/trap/shoot lynx back to extinction.

Or if lynx thrive and do well in the release areas but move to other areas where causing problems farmers/keepers should have right to shoot.

Also never quite understand why they want to spend millions to release a cat that is plentiful world/europe wide when we have the scottish wildcat on verge of exticntion yet no one sems to care, possibly 1 of the rarest cat spcies in the world, some estimates as low as pure bred 40 indivduals left, and lynx will be in direct competion with wildcats and likely predate on them.

 

With the SE on NW scottish coast/islands, taking young lambs but SNH just ignores the claims and any evidence brought to them and say's it dosenae happen as they can't see it happening from there offices in edinburgh, despite many locals saying it does (just like buzzards live of carrion according to many 'conservationists')

[kent]

Re- introduction is nor re- introduction to the same landscape and eco system as previous for things like lynx and Beaver etc.

Herein lies the biggest issue

[rjimmer]

The RSPB have installed an artificial otter holt at Radipole Lake to encourage their breeding in an area where ground-nesting bitterns are also being encouraged.

[scotslad]

Ur spot on kent there is meant to be a list of criteria that is meant o be met even before the feasability study is carried out, never mind the actual releasing, i'd be very surprised if most of these criterai were passed by most species there on about releasing.

 

And then they'll wonder why the itterns are not thriving? Numpties

 

protecting species long term doesnae really work, they should all be on rolling licences or protections even at regional levels.

More folk would be willing to put up with the odd loss if they knew when numbers get to high u can control them, but as it is u know it will only get worse and worse.

Badgers are a prime example, probably the highest density of badger anywhere in world and about the only country not to hunt them? Madness.

[kent]

I recall well when the protection came in. The way numbers are looking now it would be a very stupid thing to do ever again

 

Thing is they will because most of the UK population of two legs haven't the foggiest idea about nature or how the countryside has to be managed

 

Used to be a lot more wading birds nesting and hedgehogs were common before legislation

But I recon I see three badgers for every hedgehog

 

one needs to look back at what sparrow had to say on badgers in 1949