FROM THE BTO — THE MARCH NEWSLETTER

The BTO logo – Birds Science People View this email in your web browser Enews lead image showing a Song Thrush, by Edmund Fellowes / BTO. Dear John, Welcome to the Members Edition of the March BTO newsletter. We started the month with our Annual Conference in Manchester and it was great to see around 200 BTO members and supporters there. Your March newsletter brings some welcome news for summer migrants and asks for your help in monitoring the breeding attempts of familiar birds. Plus, there's news of two new pieces of work on charismatic bird of prey species: Goshawk and Kestrel. Are you enjoying the first BTO News of the year? The latest issue of your member-exclusive magazine BTO News landed in early March and we hope you're enjoying reading through your copy, whether that's in print or online. If you'd like to revisit previous issues of BTO News, you can access the digital archive via your 'MyBTO' account on our website. And don't forget you can change your preferences at any time and choose whether you receive BTO News in print format or online only. Contact the Membership Team: email membership@bto.org or call 01842 750050. BTO News cover, showing a Yellow Wagtail Share your thoughts We'd love to hear your feedback on BTO News! Tag us on social media and tell us your thoughts on your favourite articles from the latest issue. Or, if you prefer, email us with your feedback. Email your feedback Supporting migrant birds better Our long-term datasets have revealed declines in many of our migrant bird populations. In addition to highlighting the problems migrants face, these datasets are also being used to identify conservation measures that might support their recovery. A new piece of research, led by BTO's Jennifer Border, provides good evidence of the role that Protected Areas can play for these species. The work emphasises the positive contribution that an informed expansion of the European Protected Area system could play for the future conservation of migratory birds. Find out more Ortolan Bunting, by Philip Croft / BTO Help us collect information on nesting attempts The breeding season has started for a good number of our resident birds, and it's likely that you'll see signs of breeding activity over the coming days if you haven't already. Whether that's a Blackbird carrying nesting material, a Great Tit checking out a nest site, or a Starling in full song, such observations provide valuable evidence of nesting attempts in progress or soon to follow. You can collect information on these nesting attempts across a number of BTO surveys, and we'd urge you to do this if you can. Perhaps you could add signs of breeding evidence to a BirdTrack record, or monitor a nesting attempt through either Nesting Neighbours or the Nest Record Scheme. Information on breeding success is a vital component of our research into why bird populations change, so please help if you can. Find out more Female Blackbird with nesting material, by Liz Cutting / BTO Global BirdFair BTO has taken the difficult decision to not return to Global BirdFair as an exhibitor this year. While we recognise that BirdFair provides an important opportunity to meet members and volunteers face to face, our continued investment in other ways to engage with supporters is proving to be a much more effective use of resources. The event has made a significant contribution to conservation and we are very grateful for the opportunities that it has provided us. BTO stand at Bird Fair / BTO New addition to the BTO Membership Team Hello! My name is Cailin and I recently joined the BTO's Membership Team. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you and your fellow members, and making sure we're delivering the best possible membership experience. I’m really keen to hear your feedback – I’ll send out a members’ survey soon, but if you'd like to share your thoughts in the meantime, I’d love hear from you. Get in touch New addition to the BTO Membership Team Latest News Goshawk dispersal GPS tracking devices, fitted to 29 Goshawk chicks from 22 nest sites in England, have provided vital new information on the dispersal, survival, habitat use and settlement patterns of this elusive bird of prey. Find out more Goshawk, by Edmund Fellowes / BTO Hen Harrier report published A new BTO report explores possible reasons for recent growth in the English Hen Harrier population, providing robust evidence to Government that can then be used to inform wider policy decisions relating to this rare breeding species. Read more Hen Harrier, by Liz Cutting / BTO Featured training courses & events Bird Sound ID in Summer (booking opens soon) We have had an amazing response to our Bird Sound ID in Early Spring course, with nearly 500 people registering, and it won't be long until booking opens for a new course on a similar subject. Keep an eye on our events pages for details of Bird Sound ID in Summer, or indeed for other courses and events that might be of interest to you. Thank you for your continued support! Happy birding, The BTO Membership Team DONATE VOLUNTEER British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU. www.bto.org | info@bto.org. Registered Charity no. 216652 (England & Wales) SC039193 (Scotland). Company Limited by Guarantee no. 357284 (England and Wales) Forward this email | Unsubscribe from the BTO e-newsletter

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — IT IS ABOUT THE R S P B AND THEIR APPEASEMENT TOWARDS THE SHOOTING INDUSTRY

View this email in your browser We need to talk about the RSPB... This is one of those videos I wish I didn’t have to make—but here we are. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is one of the UK’s biggest “bird protection” charities, yet when it comes to bird shooting, they remain neutral. Incredibly, they even allow birds to be shot on some of their nature reserves. Why is this happening? And what does it say about the RSPB’s priorities? In this video, I take an honest look at the RSPB’s ties to the shooting industry, their reluctance to speak out, and the shocking reality of what’s happening on their reserves. I’d love to hear your thoughts—do you think the RSPB is doing enough to protect wildlife? Watch the video here and let me know in the comments. 📺 Watch the full video here Watch here Want to support our work? Visit the Protect the Wild shop! Every purchase helps us raise vital funds to protect British wildlife. Explore our collection and make a difference today—thank you! Shop Copyright © 2025 PROTECT THE WILD LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: PROTECT THE WILD LTD 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden London, London WC2H 9JQ United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

FROM PROTECT THE WILD SHOWING THEY CARE — READ ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH FOR PROTESTERS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Protect the Mind - funded support sessions for activists Can we help? Sessions funded by Protect the Wild and absolutely confidential. CHARLIE MOORES MAR 19 READ IN APP Protect the Wild has always been incredibly proud to help support monitor and sab groups with equipment and to give these courageous and dedicated frontline animal activists a platform to promote their work. But for some time it’s felt to us like only half the story: what could we be doing to help support the individuals themselves? In December 2024, we announced a new initiative that we called ‘Protect the Mind’. Protect the Mind - support for activists A few months back Rob (Pownall, our CEO) was at a vegan conference where a seminar on mental health was held. It was hosted by Dr. Ishani Rao, an NHS GP and urgent care doctor specialising in climate change, plant-based lifestyle medicine and mental health. Ishani achieved her medical degree and BSc in Women’s Health from King’s College London and is currently taking a Masters in global health policy with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Ishani says that her passions are animal rights, activists’ mental health, and protecting the environment. Rob wrote to Ishani outlining an idea we’d had which would mean Protect the Wild offering activists mental health support, and asking her if she’d like to be involved. We were extremely grateful that she immediately saw the potential, understood exactly what we hoped to do, and jumped straight in! Within a few weeks Dr Rao had recorded four fifteen-minute videos which are permanently available on the Protect the Wild website with a list of resources. But of course even then we planned to do more… photography of two women seeing horizon during daytime Photo by Mārtiņš Zemlickis on Unsplash Individual support sessions - paid for by Protect the Wild It’s now March, and - thankfully - another hunting ‘season’ is drawing to a close. This ‘season’ has been an incredibly brutal one for monitors and sabs though. Hunts are feeling the pressures of constant surveillance and a government promising to end so-called ‘trail hunting’. They are lashing out, increasingly violent, and seem hellbent on killing as many animals as possible before they are finally banned for good. We know that activists have suffered. Many are literally battered and bruised. People need help and support. We also know that finding support can be difficult, and sessions can be expensive. We want to help with both those potential obstacles. And while help with your mental health support may not seem an immediate concern right now, we all know how negative experiences can build and weigh us down over time. Whether it is this week, next month, or even later this summer - when you need help you can now book two hours of FREE sessions with Dr Ishani PER MONTH (that could be 4 x 30 min sessions or 2 x 1 hour sessions) over a period of six months. In other words, that’s up to twelve hours of free counselling. And these sessions will be fully funded by Protect the Wild. Confidential from end-to-end These sessions are designed to provide a confidential safe space to discuss what you’re going through, explore ways to support your mental health, and, if necessary, be referred to other mental health professionals who understand activism-related stress and trauma. At no stage will any of the team at Protect the Wild know who has contacted Ishani or why. You deal exclusively with Ishani. Ishani will invoice us directly for the sessions but your name will not be disclosed or shared. While we can’t possibly wrap our arms around everyone who has been affected by the things they’ve seen in the last few months, we will do our best to help as many activists as we can. So, once again, these one-on-one sessions are FREE to you, they are confidential, and Ishani is available right now. To schedule a 30-minute or 60-minute call, email mental.health.with.ishani@gmail.com or fill out the contact form on the Protect the Mind page on our website and that will go straight to Dr Ishani. If you have any questions or comments please email us at contact@protectthewild.org.uk (Please note that Protect the Wild is not a counselling service and we are not qualified to answer queries about mental health issues ourselves.) SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM WILD JUSTICE ABOUT GLEN MASSACRE AND WALES AND PRIVATE EYE

Good morning! In this newsletter: quick progress in Cardiff, a shout-out for help with leaflets and a reminder to look out for our advertisement in Private Eye. Also, a big "Hello!" to hundreds of new subscribers to this newsletter attracted by our video of Glenn Massacre. Last Friday morning in Cardiff: just about everyone who was in Court 15 of the Civil Justice Centre in Cardiff (including a Grey Seal and a Razorbill) for the 11am 'renewal hearing' of our challenge of the lawfulness of a planning decision by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA), had travelled for hours to get there. We were all done in less than half an hour, but we didn't mind as we were granted permission for judicial review on three grounds of challenge which had been turned down by an earlier judge. The process of judicial review - challenging the lawfulness of a decision by a public body - involves three main stages, the second of which is getting permission to go on to the third stage which is a full hearing in court. We asked for a judicial review of PCNPA's planning decision on five grounds and we had been given permission on two of them but not the other three. We were in court to watch our barristers, David Wolfe KC and Barney McCay, argue that the rejected three grounds (3 - 5 below) should be reinstated alongside the two for which permission has already been granted. Here are the grounds: Acted in breach of the requirements of basic fairness and its statutory duties (including under the Local Government Act 1972) by failing to publish, ahead of the committee meeting at which the application was considered, key documents on which the defendant relied in carrying out its habitats regulations assessment and on which officers relied in recommending the grant of permission. Failed to consider the effects of the development on the Aberath - Carreg Wylan SSSI and thereby failed to apply materially relevant national policy and to determine the application in accordance with the development plan. Breached the requirements of the Habitats Regulations, and/or acted otherwise irrationally, by failing to impose conditions on the permission that secured mitigation measures which the defendant had itself considered necessary to ensure (as was needed for a lawful permission) that the integrity of a protected site would not be adversely affected. Breached the requirements of the Habitats Regulations, and/or failed to provide adequate reasons, by granting the permission in circumstances where the defendant had itself recognised in its habitats regulations assessment that there remained a risk (the effect of which was that permission could not lawfully be granted) that the development might adversely affect a qualifying feature of a protected site (the local grey seal population). Breached the requirements of the Habitats Regulations, and/or acted otherwise irrationally, and/or failed to give any or any adequate reasons, by concluding that the immediate adverse effects of increased recreational activity on a qualifying feature of a protected site (the seal population) could, in effect, be set off against the (unidentified) long-term benefits of tourism for the site as a whole Justice Eyre came into court and immediately said that he would give permission on Grounds 3 and 4 but needed convincing on Ground 5. A few minutes later he gave permission. There followed some discussion on scheduling and we now know that we will be in court in Haverfordwest on 18-19 June. Do you live in central Leeds, Sheffield or Birmingham?: we are putting together small teams of volunteers in Sheffield and Leeds to deliver leaflets, and maybe put up posters, to increase sign-up to our 'Ban driven grouse shooting' petition. Sheffield is a hot-spot for signatures, Leeds is a cool spot. Also we are working with our friends in a group called Team4Nature to promote the petition and their campaign for birds of prey in central Birmingham too. If you live in any of those three areas and could lend a hand then please let us know. Advertisements in Private Eye: the next issue of Private Eye (21 March - 3 April) will contain an advertisement, a cartoon, highlighting the ridiculously high numbers of non-native gamebirds released into the UK countryside. Wild Justice depends on donations to do our work. You can donate through PayPal, bank transfer or a cheque in the post - see details here. You are our source of funding and a donation today would also feel like a vote of confidence in what we are doing. If you are a new subscriber to this newsletter then please consider donating a fiver - we'd be very grateful if you did. Thank you. Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). This is the 232nd Wild Justice newsletter. This email was sent to you because you subscribed to it through the Wild Justice website or through an e-action or a petition where you ticked a box. Thank you. We will only use your personal details to send you the Wild Justice newsletter. We will not give or sell your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time: there is an unsubscribe button at the foot of this email or you can reply to this email and ask us to remove you from the list (the former will happen immediately, the latter might take a few days). 9 Lawson St Raunds Wellingborough Northants NN9 6NG UNITED KINGDOM Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — ABOUT THE WELSH BORDER WILDLIFE PROTECTORS

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Welsh Border Wildlife Protectors - their first season And thanks to the Protect the Wild Equipment Fund we all helped make it a successful one! CHARLIE MOORES MAR 18 READ IN APP Back in November 2024, Protect the Wild was proud to say 'Croeso' to the Welsh Border Wildlife Protectors (WBWP). A newly-formed group made up of very experienced individuals, their focus would be on the notorious Wynnstay Hunt - a hunt that features with almost monotonous regularity on posts on our Substack and in numerous listings on our bloodbusiness.info website. WBWP told us that they had been working in the field with Cheshire Borderland Monitors, a group we know well that also focuses on the Wynnstay, They gave WBWP a strong endorsement, respected the way they conducted themselves, and on the back of that we were very pleased to help the WBWP with costs towards a drone. As you can read below, they have put the drone to good use! Like any growing group, though, the Welsh Border Wildlife Protectors need more equipment - equipment vital not only to record what the Hunt is getting up to in the field, but kit like radios and bodycams they need to keep themselves safe. Would we be prepared to dip into our Equipment Fund to help again? Yes, yes we would… We have now helped the WBWP with some of the kit they need. In the meantime they have sent us a summary of what this first season has brought. Chip in and help those on the frontline “The Welsh Border Wildlife Protectors have just finished our first very successful season as a newly formed group. This season we have saved many foxes, exposed the Wynnstay Hunt and its masters for employing “security” to prevent ourselves and monitors from filming their illegal hunting. We have footage of foxes relentlessly pursued by hounds across open ground and unfortunately filmed some kills too. Due to the pressure we and other groups have applied this season, Huntsman Henry Bailey has been under investigation for assault, illegal hunting and threatening behaviour, with multiple cases still ongoing. Eye in the Sky - watching the Wynnstay We were very lucky to receive funding from Protect The Wild and their followers towards a drone at the start of our campaign. In its first use, our operator managed to capture footage of the Wynnstay Hunt chasing a fox. While stills don’t do the original video full justice, what is shown is a fox breaking cover and crossing open land. Off camera the fox runs along a hedgerow, cuts through it and over a track. The fox then ran across country, through a large farm and then into a wooded valley. Back on the drone footage you can see riders sat in front of the hounds who are working through a small copse. The second still shows the hounds leaving the copse in the exact spot the fox did and beginning to chase. Chip in and help those on the frontline Luckily by the time the hounds got to the farm they were “outfoxed” and had lost the scent. But they did go back on themselves on the heel line of the fox and followed it all the way back to where they began. The original footage is absolutely clear: this is not a trail hunt. There is no ‘trail’. The hunt put hounds into woodlands where foxes would be, waiting for the fox to break and for hounds to follow the line. If they were indeed following a pre laid ‘trail’ then why did a landowner turn up furious that the hunt had been on her land scaring her livestock? Why was there a terrierman on the road on a quad looking where the fox had gone? The same terrierman later approached the drone operator and tried to take the drone out the air whilst it was landing, picking up rocks in an attempt to knock it out of the sky. If this was a legitimate trail hunt you would think the hunt would be happy and willing to provide us with the map of the trails and be happy for us to witness the hounds work. This is why we are more adamant than ever, to work alongside other groups to get the Wynnstay prosecuted. Protect The Wild have kindly agreed to help us with further funding towards the equipment and we have also set up a GoFundMe. Funds will be going towards more hand held cameras with a long range zoom and due to the difficult terrain we need better radios - and potentially a base unit for our vehicle. We need to stock up on citronella and bottles and we also go through a huge amount of fuel, so the rest of the funds will hopefully keep us going throughout the season, which starts in August. Thank you for the support so far. If you haven’t already then give us a follow on Facebook and help us grow @welshborderwildlifeprotectors.” The WBWP have set up a GoFundMe to raise the rest of the money they need. If you’d like to help them out please use the button below - every pound will help! WBWP GoFundMe The Wynnstay are killing wildlife and are breaking the law. There is no doubt about that. But as articles like this show the groups we - all of us - support ARE making a genuine difference out in the field where it is needed. We are goint to repeat something we have often said on posts like these: without our supporters there is no equipment fund and there is no kit to give out. This is very much a joint effort between Protect the Wild and you. We are the conduit, we liaise with the groups, establish what they need, and work with them to get the kit out to them - but it’s YOU that helps us to fund everything. We will never forget that which is why we regularly thank our own supporters when we write posts like this. And we mean every word when we do. Funding for groups like Wesh Border Wildlife Protectors comes from supporters who have entrusted us to spend with the due diligence it deserves. Sabbing and monitoring - protecting wildlife from the people who want to harm animals - can be dangerous and exhausting. Hunts are losing support and being watched like never before though. So, thank you to the groups out on the front line - and thank you to every single one of you who are supporting them. Chip in and help those on the frontline SHARE LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Protect the Wild Protect the Wild, 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden, London, W2CH 9JQ Unsubscribe Start writing

FROM PROTECT THE WILD — THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO CONFIRM THAT BADGER KILLING IS AFFECTING BOVINE TB

View this email in your browser The battle to protect Badgers continues. Last week we saw more media coverage of the campaign calling out the sham that is the "independent" review on bTB policy. Oxford Times covered our petition hand in and I sat down on behalf of Protect the Wild for an interview with 'that's tv' about the current situation when it comes to the ongoing Badger cull. Our Govt petition to immediately end the Badger cull continues to steadily climb towards the 100k mark and we are now over two thirds of the way there which is brilliant! A gentle reminder to please add your name if you haven't already :) It's just ridiculous that the Badger cull is still a thing. It's spring 2025 now. Badgers have been slaughtered in the hundreds of thousands and yet TB rates in cattle remain unchanged from what they were over a decade ago. The cull isn't working yet this Government is intent on cosying up to the farming lobbyists and placing blame on this iconic British species for something they're not to blame for. We will never stop fighting for Badgers and to end this senseless cull. You can pick up a Badger pin badge to directly fund our ongoing work. Thank you Rob Pick up a pin badge Copyright © 2025 PROTECT THE WILD LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: PROTECT THE WILD LTD Covent Garden, London 71-75 Shelton Street WC2H 9JQ Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp

CHRIS PACKHAM INTERVIEWS GLEEN MASSACRE — SUMS UP OUR CRUEL WORLD ON WILDLIFE

Good morning! Today’s newsletter is designed to make you smile, but just because we are making it funny doesn't mean there isn't a deadly serious message too. Watch Chris Packham interview Glenn Massacre and be reminded of the nonsense churned out by supporters of driven grouse shooting. Chris Packham meets Glenn Massacre If you haven't already signed our petition to ban driven grouse shooting then please do so now - click here. We're on 78,000 signatures and need to get to 100,000 on or by 22 May to trigger a parliamentary debate. If you can think of some friends, relatives or colleagues who'd like to see Glenn Massacre and what he has to say, then you can forward this email to them. And to share this interview widely using the Facebook or WhatsApp buttons below. We're hoping a lot of people will see this video and you can help ensure that is the case - thank you. Click here to share on Facebook Click here to share on WhatsApp We'll be back with more news soon - probably later this week. Wild Justice (Directors: Mark Avery, Chris Packham and Ruth Tingay). PS If you've been sent this email by a friend then you can subscribe yourself - it's completely free - by clicking here. You'll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription and then you'll get our newsletters (c35/yr) directly to your Inbox. If you ever want to unsubscribe you just use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of every newsletter. This is the 231st Wild Justice newsletter. This email was sent to you because you subscribed to it through the Wild Justice website or through an e-action or a petition where you ticked a box. Thank you. We will only use your personal details to send you the Wild Justice newsletter. We will not give or sell your details to anyone else. You can unsubscribe at any time: there is an unsubscribe button at the foot of this email or you can reply to this email and ask us to remove you from the list (the former will happen immediately, the latter might take a few days). 9 Lawson St Raunds Wellingborough Northants NN9 6NG UNITED KINGDOM Unsubscribe | Change Subscriber Options