The long-running row over Britain’s hen harriers could offer lessons for other conservation conflicts, new research shows.
Hen harriers’ prey includes birds that are shot for sport, especially red grouse, leading to conflict between shooting organisations and birds-of-prey conservation groups.
The new study, by the University of Exeter, analyses almost three decades of UK newspaper articles to see how the debate has evolved.
It finds a peak of “polarisation” after the launch in 2016 of a government-backed action plan for the recovery of hen harrier populations.
“Our research offers a variety of options that could help with other conservation conflicts,” said Filippo Marino, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter’s Penryn campus in Cornwall. "We identified the most polarising issues in the debate, and other areas where there was broad agreement. It’s useful for opponents to be aware that they share some common ground, and to understand their key areas of disagreement. Our findings also show that the hen harriers debate has been dominated by a few high-profile people and organisations. This has probably perpetuated the conflict, increased polarisation and hindered resolutions. Allowing new voices to speak might change the dynamics and help unlock this entrenched debate.”
Researchers examined 737 statements in 131 newspaper articles published from August 1993 to December 2019, finding three main themes in the debate: problems, solutions and reactions.
They found that a multitude of people and organisations contributed to the hen harrier debate. However, only a subset was regularly quoted.
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Posted On: 14/02/2023