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The latest news and updates on the campaign to protect moorland communities and rural England.
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RSPB urging the public to report moorland burning: both irresponsible and divisive
A recent press release distributed by the RPSB to various papers and media organisations has been, once again, recruiting member of the public to ‘ report incidents of moorland burning on peatlands’ using their app or website. This isn’t the first time the RSPB have encouraged the public to log incidents of burning, however the topic has of course been subject to more scrutiny this year due to the new laws in England which mean that (as of September 2025) a licence is requi
Nov 24, 2025


Hen harrier campaign group lose 75% of their latest tagged birds to natural causes.
Campaign group Hen Harrier Action today announced that 75% of the hen harriers they tagged this summer with the RSPB have died. Despite the groups’ best efforts to incite hostility against gamekeepers as usual, even the RSPB confirmed there is ‘no reason to believe their deaths were suspicious’. The comment is not surprising given one of the birds, Henrietta, showed it had died far out to sea, seemingly on its way to Greenland. Whilst the death of any hen harrier is u
Nov 20, 2025


Why aren't the RSPB rejoicing at the record low of crimes against birds of prey?
A report from Wildlife and Countryside Link, released this week, covers the topic of national Wildlife Crime and has some extremely positive news for all those who care about or are involved in the protection and future of the UK’s bird of prey population. One of the notable trends highlighted in the report is ‘a record low of incident reports of crimes against birds of prey since 2017’. Delving into the statistics in the report, which were supplied by the RSPB, we see a re
Nov 12, 2025


Is the new Friends of the Dales' 'Eyes on the Skies' initiative simply a front for the RSPB?
In late summer, a press release was launched by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) , announcing that they would be shutting down the Yorkshire Dales National Park Bird of Prey Partnership as it had “not delivered sufficient results” and that “all initiatives to tackle bird of prey crime had been unsuccessful”. This was met with disappointment by many of those within the group – which is made up of a number of organisations and groups including Natural Engla
Nov 3, 2025


UK Wildfires: A Climate Wake-Up Call from the 2025 Fire Season
When people think of wildfire hotspots, the UK rarely features on the list. But the record-breaking 2025 fire season shattered that assumption. Over 46,000 hectares were scorched—the largest area ever recorded—proving that the UK is not exempt from the global wildfire crisis. While the blackened landscapes drew headlines, a more insidious consequence went largely unnoticed: the climate cost. These fires unleashed vast amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, feeding a dangerous
Oct 21, 2025


Lack of scientific consideration and class war behind the heather burning ban highlighted in The Spectator
Since new regulation towards heather burning was recently introduced there has been widespread criticism against DEFRA. In this week's Spectator the issues emerging from the policy, and the reasons behind it, were eloquently highlighted by Matt Ridley who expertly dissects the arguments from those proponents of the ban. As first published by The Spectator: "This year has been a bad one for wildfires in Britain. In June, nearly 30,000 acres burned near Carrbridge in the Highla
Oct 16, 2025


The Chief Scientist Speaks
Traditional moorland management involves cool rotational burning in areas that are suitable and at times and in conditions that mean it...
Oct 1, 2025


Natural England: Contradictions on wildfires keep coming
When it comes to wildfires Natural England have been saying one thing and then doing something entirely different. Until now however no...
Sep 30, 2025


Banning the burn: Natural England and selective blindness
What wasn't the minister told? A lot of people who know a lot about moorland management think that the Defra minister Mary Creagh made...
Sep 23, 2025


Lies, damn lies and George Monbiot
The only thing worse than turning a corner in a country lane and coming face to face with Chris Packham, is being stuck in one of George...
Sep 17, 2025


Lessons from Langholm
We called at Langholm Moor this spring and again this autumn, and walked around a good chunk of the Tarras Valley to get an idea of just...
Sep 10, 2025


National Sheep Association warn that reducing livestock will increase wildfire risk
The National Sheep Association (NSA) have spoken out about this year’s dramatic record year of wildfires, highlighting the urgent need...
Sep 4, 2025


Are gamekeepers right to believe that the RSPB has been using hate speech against them?
According to the United Nations definition, hate speech is “Any communication that attacks or discriminates against a person or group...
Aug 18, 2025


The Irony of Ignorance at Berzin’s Latest March
It was an usually hot morning as Bob Berzins’ marching rabble arrived at Redmires Reservoir last Sunday ahead of the start of the grouse...
Aug 12, 2025


Rod Liddle blinded by ideological beliefs at the expense of scientific evidence
Ahead of the new grouse season starting on Tuesday, Times Radio Presenter and long-term field sports critic, Rod Liddle, hosted an...
Aug 11, 2025


Bob Berzins and his merry march of madness
With the start of the new season just days away inevitably the usual critics start banging their drums, criticising all aspects of...
Aug 7, 2025


Wildfires ravaging Europe offer stark warning to Britain if we continue down current path
T housands of firefighters across Europe are battling an ongoing wave of wildfires, some of which have been burning for days, as...
Aug 1, 2025


The situation surrounding this year's non-stop wildfires is not just shameful, but also shameless
You would have to have spent the spring in a cave in Patagonia to be unaware that this has been a very bad year for wildfire. When we say...
Jul 18, 2025


Packham’s Petition Backfires at Driven Grouse Shooting Debate
In case there was any doubt, yesterday’s Westminster Hall debate on driven grouse shooting, made it crystal clear that the government has...
Jul 1, 2025


RSPB Sells Old Rope On Hen Harriers
Today, to the surprise of no one, the RSPB released their latest report, ‘ Hen Harriers in the Firing Line '. Even by their standards...
Jun 26, 2025
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