Advertisement

Natural England criticised after three of the five hen harriers raised in captivity disappear and are feared dead when released into the wild

A third hen harrier has disappered - www.Alamy.com
A third hen harrier has disappered - www.Alamy.com

Natural England has been criticised after three of the five hen harriers it attempted to protect by raising them in captivity before releasing them into the wild have disappeared and are presumed to be dead.

Local police in North Yorkshire and Country Durham where the birds went missing have appealed for information as is is suspected the rare raptors have been illegally killed.

In a bid to protect the birds, the government body decided to take them from the wild in order to rear them before tagging them and setting them free. Weeks after they were set free, three of the five birds disappeared over moors.

Currently, the endangered bird of prey faces threats from illegal persecution, as it is poached to protect grouse.

The RSPB has criticised the scheme, asking Natural England to focus its efforts on wildlife crime rather than "meddling" with wild birds.

A spokesperson for the bird charity added: “The RSPB has made it very clear that the idea that brood management is about helping hen harriers was a nonsense.

“The tragic disappearance of three harriers from Natural England’s brood management scheme over grouse moors in England only serves to underline this point. The only reason there are so few hen harriers on our uplands is because of illegal persecution. Stop this, and the birds may have a chance. But if it continues, no matter what schemes are cooked up, then these birds will never return. And that is a national disgrace.”

Mark Avery, former RSPB chief who currently runs a wildlife activism group with BBC Presenter Chris Packham, said he and the bird charity will be launching a legal challenge against Natural England and the brood management scheme.

He told The Telegraph the scheme was a "daft idea" and a "waste of money", adding: "There's a danger in taking the birds away from their natural environment and rearing them in captivity.

"The main problem with brood meddling is it doesn't protect these birds.

"They are taken away from the grouse moor and are released later and then they die very quickly once they are released.

"It's  a waste of money which is why I took a judicical review against brood meddling with the RSPB next year

"We are about to appeal it - we lost - but sometime this winter we are going to court and arguing that this whole process is a waste of time and unlawful

"It's a waste of time and money as it doesn't tackle the core of the problem which is that there are too many people breaking the law and killing these birds illegally".

Defra and Natural England have been contacted for comment.