9 million blog views
This blog passed another milestone a week or so ago, reaching nine million views.
Here’s the photograph that I publish every time a new milestone is reached. This is a golden eagle that was found dead on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park in 2006. It had been illegally poisoned. It epitomises everything in its pitiful, poignant, senselessness.
What’s changed?
On the raptor-killing front, not much. Birds of prey in the UK are still being illegally trapped, shot and poisoned. In the last ten years, 72% of convictions for raptor persecution crimes were linked to gamebird shooting.
In Scotland last week, the 56th gamekeeper since 1990 was convicted for raptor persecution crime.
You might ask then, what’s the point of continuing to write this blog, if progress seems so discouragingly slow? Believe me, I’ve asked this question many times.
But the progress we’re seeing in Scotland is reason enough for me to continue.
It’s taken decades of campaigning, by many, many people who were involved long before I started, to convince the Scottish Government that raptor persecution is ‘a thing’, and is happening at such a scale as to impact on the distribution and abundance of several species at a population level. That’s not just one or two so-called ‘bad apples’ killing the odd bird of prey every once in a while; that’s the systematic killing of birds of prey by a lot of people working in an industry that has evaded accountability for way too long.
And no, I don’t believe they’re all at it, but enough of them are, and it’s often difficult to distinguish between them, especially when industry representatives continually refuse to call out the criminals. But that’s their problem, not mine.
My problem is that this blog has only reached nine million views. It needs many more.
Thank you to everybody who supports and contributes, including those who share the blog content on social media channels and in conversations with friends, family, colleagues and associates.
Nine million views is a lot, but it’s not enough. There’s still so much work to do.
Onwards towards ten million.
Keep up the great work you’re doing. It is very much appreciated by all of us who love our “natural” environment.
Whilst raptor killing has gone mostly unchanged, the constant that remains is your unswerving and very effective condemnation. The raptor killers have many friends in high places, which has delayed the changes the majority of readers of the blog would have liked. Your persistence will likely lead to changes in Scotland, and whilst unlikely to be effective, may yet improve the situation somewhat. My thanks for this blog, a real beacon of light in a dark situation.
It seems the well to do. The high society of this country think they can do what they want. How can this be stopped the rich have thousands of acres of land also they have people in high places. Look at Sandringham the police can’t even go on too that land because the king owns it. There’s xxxxx on birds of prey and foxes and badgers there. The courts don’t give a damn about wildlife they see it as a nuisance so nobody is getting the proper punishment they deserve. The police don’t seem to want to know either. Even though it’s illegal to poison or shoot these birds.
Did not know police not allowed in sandaringnam? King , I thought no-one was above the law?
I am absolutely certain that if you had not continued, then raptor persecution would have been significantly worse. Please continue the great work..
We’d be lost without you. And most importantly so would the beautiful raptors. They are the ones we do it for.
Nature commits no crime. Only humans do that. Roll on 10 million.
Just keep up the good work: your service is invaluable. Until I came across your blog I had no idea how bad things were.
I agree , you r doing good work , I love our raptors , some ignorant retards don’t, please keep up the good work for our precious beautiful wildlife…
Thank you for all the hard work and effort that you put into producing this blog ; it has certainly opened my eyes and hopefully those to whom I pass it .
Great stuff here’s to another 9 million . We wouldn’t know what is going on without you .
These milestones seem to come around quicker now. Is that more people signing up or just more crime you have to report? If we crowdfunded an advert for the blog in the RSPB mag, would they publish it? Now that would be brave!
There must be a way of publicising this blog to get more people involved.
The crimes will never stop, certainly not with licensing, until more people understand what is going on.
Until then, our continued thanks go to you Ruth, hell hath no fury like a woman pissed off. Thankyou Ruth.
Thanks Ruth for your hard, meticulous work carried out so professionally.
The message is getting out thanks to you. Only a couple of weeks ago on the BBC “Wild Isles” series Sir David Attenborough was informing over 5 million viewers that hen harriers were persecuted on grouse moors.
I echo the words written above. Many thanks for all you do, and for being a constant force for good and provider of accurate info and news in this murky underworld of bigotry and criminality that encompasses raptor persecution.
Very importantly, the blog is a major focal point for those folks who wish to keep up to speed on what is going on. You and your helpers perform an invaluable service. Very well done, not least for the initial initiative in getting the ball rolling.
Nothing matters more to these heathens than their grouse shoot, they will be stopped. They must be stopped!
Lang mae yur lum reek
I stumbled across your blog a few years ago and I value your consistent, accurate and measured approach to reporting these crimes and expanding on the issues which surround them. Your blogs provide the facts readers need when contacting govt depts, MPs etc, and to counter some of the nonsense put out by supporters and representatives of the shooting industry. It must be a hard task but please keep it up.
Thank you for your dedication and perseverance!
Your blog is informative and reaching more and more people along with your social media platform. Not as fast as you’d like but you are making a huge difference.
As CP says: winning is not giving up. He’s so right. We all need to just keep doing what we’re doing.
We all lose heart now and again.
You do such a good job Ruth. Without you we would all be the poorer.
Keep going Girl!
Well Done all at Raptorpersecutionuk. Thanks for widening the path as so many more now have the information to help us all move on to greater success.
Humans inhumanity to other living creatures is heart breaking please keep up the good work
I’m not a shooting man ,but I am a falconer, and it grieves me to see in2023 that birds of prey are still being shot in pursuit of game shooting.Falconers have done so much to assist in global raptor conservation ,from the Mauritius kestrel to the peregrine falcon.I strongly believe , that any estate that allows persistent persecution of raptors should loose its ability to continue game shooting.The big question is how do you preserve a good diverse grouse moor if pest species are not controlled.After all most of the uk hen harriers are more successful at breeding on moors that are shot over.
It’s a big issue and it’s time all parties got together and found a long lasting solution.
Yet again, the same tired old falsehoods.
Your lazy, intellectually bankrupt use of the term “pest species” simply reveals your ignorance (or is it just dishonesty). Your so called “pest species” are a vital component of all healthy ecosystems, and there is simply no such thing as a “diverse grouse moor”.
Furthermore, your claim that…
“most of the uk hen harriers are more successful at breeding on moors that are shot over.”
is simply not true.
Click to access grouse_moor_evidence_review_final.pdf
Click to access bop-in-niddaonb-evidence-report-final-sept-2019.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-09044-w
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2405296?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1365-2664.1999.00419.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ibi.12356
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hen-harrier-satellite-tracking-programme-results-published
Conservationists have relied on the non-existent goodwill of the shooting mob for decades, and the time for talking is well and truly passed. maybe it’s time you decided to come off the fence.
“Pest species” – In my opinion, people pick and choose which species they champion to suit their own agenda.
Thank you seems so little for all you do.
Thanks for parking your confrontational battle tanks on the estate lawns, and your Spitfires in their skies. What is needed is the dismantling of those political, financial and justice system powers being used to maintain anachronistic and inhumane activities on our landscapes. Do the killers of wildlife, in this instance birds of prey, realise how out of focus they are in the eyes of a more aware public, which is outraged by the lackadaisical sentencing in our courts, when animal welfare issues appear? Such killers have long believed in their invincibility to do as they pleased in the countryside with their blood sports; that fiefdom will disintegrate if the impetus against it is maintained, and that is where your Raptor Persecution is essential.
Outstanding work. Outstanding person.
5 year ban on game shooting, on lands with shot dead raptors on them and life time bans for second dead birds, almost everyone knows who is doing it, it’s the people getting paid for game shooting.