It’ll probably come as no surprise whatsoever to regular readers of this blog to learn that the Moorland Association (grouse moor owners’ lobby group in England) has, in an article published by the Shooting Times this morning, made more false claims about the hen harrier brood meddling trial, this time relating to the findings of the BTO’s recent scientific study on hen harrier population trends.
For new blog readers, the hen harrier brood meddling trial was a conservation sham sanctioned by DEFRA as part of its ludicrous ‘Hen Harrier Action Plan‘ and carried out by Natural England between 2018 – 2024, in cahoots with the very industry responsible for the species’ catastrophic decline in England. In general terms, the plan involved the removal of hen harrier chicks from grouse moors, they were reared in captivity, then released back into the uplands just in time for the start of the grouse-shooting season where many were illegally killed. It was plainly bonkers. For more background see here and here.
You may remember last October the Moorland Association prematurely declared the brood meddling trial “a remarkable success story” and said it had decided to apply to Natural England for a licence to permit the continuation of brood meddling (see here). This happened before Natural England had undertaken a formal scientific review of the trial, which it said would take place by the end of 2024.
In March 2025, Natural England announced the closure of the hen harrier brood...
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