Satellite tagging reveals illegal threat to hen harriers
Hen harriers are a rare, Red-listed species.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has called on the public to help prevent the illegal killing of hen harriers.
The organisation has revealed that, between 2020 and 2024, over 100 hen harriers may have been illegally killed in the UK. Eighty-nine per cent of these incidents were recorded in England, where the population is one tenth of its potential.
Hen harriers were persecuted to extinction during the Victorian era as a result of the growth of grouse shooting. The species clung to survival in parts of Scotland until the 1940s, when it began to recover across the UK.
While the species has been legally protected since 1954, birds are continuing to be illegally killed across the UK. They are now a rare, Red-listed species.
Among the crimes against hen harriers are shooting, trapping and poisoning of young and adult hen harriers. It is also illegal to destroy eggs, nests and chicks within the nest.
From 2014, the RSPB has been fitting solar-powered satellite tags to hen harriers to track their movement and survival. The lightweight devices were fitted under licence by a small proportion of hen harrier chicks before fledging.
Data from these tags reveals that, between 2010 and 2024, 112 satellite-tagged hen harriers in the UK disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Most of these tags sent their last transmission from on or near grouse moors.
In 2024, Scotland introduced a licensing scheme for grouse shooting, which could see a licence-holder’s rights to shoot revoked if evidence suggests a bird of prey is persecuted.
However, RSPB believes that the laws in England are not enough to protect hen harriers. The organisation is calling on the UK government to follow suit and give hen harriers protection.
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