Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Raptor persecution still obviously endemic.

Catching up on various things which have happened over the past fortnight it seems I've missed a number of really crucial items that have emerged. The results of the Moy Estate prosecution and, similarly, the results from the Skibo Estate case, coupled with the reportage within the BBC 2 Scotland "Landward" programme on the vicarious liability clause within the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011. All these and more are ably reported on within the Raptor Persecution Scotland website, which I would encourage everyone to read, not least because there are E-mail links to "key Establishment players" allowing one to raise queries about non action on cases or similar.

With successful prosecutions confirming persecution activities are happening, now is the time to keep up pressure on the various authorities involved. That Alex Hogg ( Scottish Gamekeepers Association) acknowledges there is a minority involved in such activities is a cockshy. They are an effective minority nonetheless , undertaking activities that must be brought to an end rather than the matter being swept under the carpet under some justification that there will always be "bad apples". The whole subject is being increasingly aired and it is important that such impetus is not lost.

In the piece I put out on the 12th May on another Blog site I run ( Conservation Concerns ..... see the link on this site) I argue that Scottish sporting estates should not be allowed to consider themselves as exceptional cases and that their call for licences to legally reduce raptor numbers should be nipped in the bud. That is now an imperative!

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