Following years of illegal hunting by gamekeepers, the fate of England's hen harrier has been in the air, with reports of 2015 nest counts at just six and approximately 600 breeding pairs in Scotland and 50 in Wales, according to The Guardian. Now, a new hen harrier-action plan is bringing together many opposing groups and government bodies together to acknowledge the risk of extinction that the species is now facing due to gamekeeper persecution.
The plan hopes to bolster the populations using six initiatives which include monitoring with satellites and CCTVs, nest protection and the reintroduction of birds to lowland areas without the fear of feeding on game birds. Furthermore, population monitoring would utilize the help of police wildlife crime units and volunteers.
Although most of the groups have trialed many different actions to come to resolutions, with some of them already underway such as nest monitoring, according to the UK Government, some are still in the midst of the trial process. The most controversial is "brood management," which involves moving bird eggs or broods into rearing pens that are located away from moorland when harrier numbers peak above a certain density, a number that is to be agreed upon. Then, young birds would be raised until they fledge, and are released back into the wild.
"There is absolutely no lethal control involved," the plan reads. "During the trial, young harriers would be fitted with satellite tags to measure movements and survival. If the trial scheme is successful, it would be available as an ongoing tool for grouse moors to conserve hen harriers, to be used under licence from Natural England."
Many are supporting the plan due to problems with the inhumane conditions that game birds deal with and the problems that it brings to grouse moor management, according to BT.
"I welcome this plan - not because it is perfect, it isn't - but because it reflects real potential for progress on one of the most deep-rooted conflicts in conservation," said Martin Harper, director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. "We needed action. The prize is that the landowners are now part of the conversation. The test will be if we succeed in getting the hen harrier flying again over upland England. This is progress."
