You bird brains!
Rare species fares worse on RSPB land
BRITAIN’S most endangered bird of prey is struggling to survive on land managed by the RSPB – fuelling the fire of critics who say the charity has lost its way.
The numbers of hen harrier chicks per nest on RSPB reserves in England is just 1.1, crucially meaning it has fallen below the 1.2 needed to maintain the population.
Between 2013 and 2017 there were ten nests with 11 chicks surviving on land belonging to the charity, which receives almost £20 million a year of taxpayer cash.
By contrast, in non-RSPB areas there were 2.2 chicks per nest on average over the same period, according to Defra figures.
Critics of the RSPB say the disparity is explained by the charity’s reluctance to kill foxes and other predators.
However, the RSPB said that the poor numbers are due to illegal killing and trapping of hen harriers by gamekeepers on grouse moors.
Game And Wildlife Conservation Trust spokesman Andrew Gilruth said: ‘The RSPB should be doing a lot better. They’re not shooting as many predators as they should. If they were just more focused, these numbers could go up. They’re more focused on politics and trying to send gamekeepers to prison than conserving hen harriers.’
Jeff Knott, head of the RSPB’s nature policy, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The low number of breeding hen harriers highlights the desperate plight of an amazing bird. The reason so many nests are failing and so few chicks are reaching adulthood is primarily down to illegal killing and trapping.’