A Message From Above!

I'm struggling for time to do a post about my birding efforts on Monday. Meanwhile, here's the gap filler.... 

Any comments from me below are in bold type, or in blue where I think some notable statements are made within the message which was in my Inbox this morning.   

As this e-petition has received more than 10,000 signatures, the relevant government department - DEFRA - have provided the following response.

The Government is aware of incidences of illegal killing of birds of prey and ministers take the issue very seriously. To address this, senior Government and enforcement officers in the UK identified raptor persecution as a national wildlife crime priority. Raptor persecution is subject to a prevention, intelligence, enforcement and reassurance plan led by a senior police officer through the Raptor Persecution Delivery group. The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which is funded by the Government, monitors and gathers intelligence on illegal activities affecting birds of prey and provides assistance to police forces when required. Shooting makes an important contribution to wildlife control and conservation, biodiversity and to the social, economic and environmental well-being of rural areas, where it can provide a supplement to incomes and jobs. The overall environmental and economic impact of game bird shooting is therefore a positive one and it has been estimated by the industry that £250 million per year is spent on management activities that provide benefits for conservation. When carried out in accordance with the law, shooting for sport is a legitimate activity and our position is that people should be free to undertake lawful activities. There are no current plans to restrict sport shooting in England. This Government encourages all shoot managers and owners to ensure they and their staff are following recommended guidelines and best practice to reduce the chances of a conflict of interest with birds of prey. We acknowledge that crimes against birds of prey are abhorrent but it should be noted though that, despite instances of poisoning and killing of birds of prey, populations of many species, such as the Peregrine Falcon, Red Kite and Buzzard have increased. While a small minority is prepared to kill birds of prey, and where possible these people are brought to justice, this demonstrates that the policies in place to conserve these species are working. This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100,000 signature threshold.

A lot to say about all this garbage but I'll keep it brief....

This could well have been written by the Countryside Alliance....But in a nutshell, DEFRA thinks that conservation policies for birds of prey are working well - they appear to have forgotten about the Hen Harrier - and thus they have no intention of restricting sport shooting in England, or doing anything about those in the industry who kill anything which gets in the way of it's success. 

Take a look at the government’s wildlife policies of late....Badgers, Buzzards, Bees, Fracking….Time to start thinking about the elections in 2015 and who your vote goes to.

Thought you may like to see a bird of prey named Bowland Betty, a young satellite-tracked Hen Harrier found shot dead on a North Yorkshire grouse moor in 2012.