Hundreds of rare birds of prey have been shot, trapped or poisoned – in crimes thought to be linked to the gamebird shooting industry.
Birds of prey were targeted in at least 921 cases from 2015-2024 in the UK, new figures from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) show.
More than half (55 per cent) of those cases were linked with land managed for gamebird shooting, and two in three people convicted in court were associated with the industry, a report by the charity says.
Birds of 18 legally protected species, including many reintroduced and recovering species of conservation concern, were killed in that decade.
Buzzards were the hardest hit, with 319 confirmed cases recorded, followed by red kites, with 157 incidents and peregrines, 97 of which were targeted. In the 921 confirmed attacks, 805 birds were killed.
open image in galleryBut the RSPB says the figures represent only a fraction of the true number of crimes, which is much higher.
Birds of prey are killed to stop them taking pheasants, partridges or grouse, which are bred to be shot by paying customers at estates whose business is built on shooting.
The charity says laws, which have been in place for more than 60 years, are failing to protect the raptors from people behind shooting, so it is calling for gamebird shooting in the UK to be licensed.
It points to a change in the law in Scotland in 2024 to introduce licensing for grouse shooting.
open image in galleryThe report, Patterns of Persecution, says that evidence including police investigations, intelligence reports, witness accounts and covert footage has shown that bird of prey persecution is “significantly linked” to the gamebird shooting industry.
On some shooting estates, the birds are shot, trapped or poisoned, and nests and eggs are destroyed, and chicks killed before they have fledged.
Even owls, kestrels, marsh harriers and osprey have been attacked, according to the report.
But from 2015 to 2024, only 24 people were convicted of offences related to bird-of-prey persecution. More than half were gamekeepers, records show.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, which opposes a licensing system, says such crimes are “carried out by a small minority and have no place in the modern shooting community”.
Marnie Lovejoy, of the BASC, called for stronger, targeted enforcement of the law, saying gamekeepers’, farmers’ and rural workers’ jobs depended on gamebird shooting.
Licensing, she said, would allow shoots to be penalised “on the balance of probabilities”.
open image in gallery“If the evidence isn’t strong enough to convict an individual, it isn’t strong enough to close down a business,” she said.
The RSPB says hen harrier recovery is being especially hit hard by illegal wildlife attacks.
In the decade studied, 49 confirmed hen harrier persecution cases were recorded, mostly on or near land managed for grouse shooting, while 100 satellite-tagged hen harriers disappeared “in suspicious circumstances” on or near grouse moors. The charity believes they were illegally killed.
James Robinson, RSPB chief operating officer, said: “Without a meaningful deterrent, these crimes will continue. Eagles will be poisoned, hen harriers shot and buzzards beaten to death in traps.”
He said the criminals had little fear of retribution.
“Regulation in the form of a licensing system is the most appropriate and fair way to achieve this, providing an effective and meaningful deterrent to those willing to commit these crimes and finally give these incredible species the protection they urgently need.”
The RSPB says anyone with information about killing birds of prey may ring its confidential raptor crime hotline on 0300 999 0101.