Shooting rejects illegal raptor killing

Saying that we have 'zero tolerance' for illegal raptor persecution may seem like a restatement of the obvious, but by issuing a joint statement, the coalition of shooting organisations comprising BASC, the CLA, the Moorland Association, the National Gamekeepers Organisation and ourselves have emphasised the commitment of the whole shooting community to eradicating the last element that thinks such behaviour is in any way acceptable. More than that we have laid out a series of practical actions the organisations, shoots, landowners and the Government can take to eliminate illegal killing.

We should celebrate the huge rise in populations of most raptor species over recent decades, and also the continuing fall in the number of those birds of prey that are illegally killed. There are, however, a tiny number of people who still think that illegal killing is justified and necessary despite the law. It is this last vestige of an outdated attitude that we are now seeking to stamp out.

Human / wildlife conflicts are often fiendishly difficult to resolve and imposing animal protection measures without addressing the causes of conflict is unlikely ever to be fully successful. The root cause of illegal raptor persecution is often the perception, whether justified or not, that a bird of prey is a threat to someone's livelihood or way of life.

Protecting raptors can never therefore be simply about prosecuting those who have (already) illegally killed them, but also about removing the perception that they pose an existential threat. The most obvious way to do that is to provide alternative solutions and in England the examples of the High Court's ruling on buzzard control to address predation of pheasant poults, and the hen harrier delivery plan, which includes diversionary feeding and management of hen harrier broods to mitigate their impact on grouse moors, do exactly that.

The illegal killing of birds of prey is obviously wrong in itself, but it also has a detrimental effect on the image of all shooting and gives a weapon to the extremists who want all shooting banned. That is why it is so important that by tackling the causes of illegal persecution, as well as persecution itself, and by shooting organisations continuing to work closely with each other and statutory bodies we can, and will, stamp out this pointless crime.