One of the UK’s rarest birds of prey, a Hen Harrier, has been found dead and its body mutilated. Twenty other harriers, including 15 birds that were part of satellite-tagged tracking projects, have also disappeared across Northern England in the past year.
Hen Harriers are on the red list of birds of conservation concern in the UK, with the last national survey in 2016 recording 545 pairs in the UK – a decline of 13% since 2010. In England there were 34 successful nests in 2022, despite enough habitat and food to support over 300 pairs. In 2019, the Government’s own study found illegal killing to be the main factor limiting the recovery of the UK Hen Harrier population.
The story began in April 2022 when an RSPB satellite-tagged Hen Harrier named Pegasus vanished whilst on Birkdale – an area of driven grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on the North Yorkshire/Cumbria border. This was followed shortly after by the discovery of a dead Hen Harrier in the same area – a Natural England tagged bird called Free. The bird was missing its head and leg, which had held a metal ring for identification. Expert veterinary assessment concluded the bird has been killed through traumatic removal of its head and leg, whilst alive. A month later, another hen harrier, NE tagged bird Harvey, vanished in this area. The police carried out a search warrant in connection with the incidents, but the ensuing investigation failed to lead to charges.
However, since the investigation launched the same area has also seen the disappearance of a further four satellite-tagged Hen Harriers, in total 21 birds have vanished from various locations ranging from Cumbria to the Peak District. All 21 birds were reported at the time by the RSPB and Natural England to the Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
Commenting on the situation, the RSPB’s conservation director Katie-jo Luxton said, “These 21 birds represent a significant proportion of the existing English Hen Harrier population. The Government’s own study found illegal killing to be the main reason preventing the recovery of this species, and these recent events indicate that the situation has yet to improve for this rare and beautiful bird.”
Details of the finding of Free can be found in a Natural England blog post here.
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Posted On: 05/05/2023