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 England, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), and the Moorland Association (MA) – since they believed that the Bird of Prey group was a force for good.

Indeed David Butterworth, chief executive of the YDNPA, stated himself in the closure announcement that “thanks to the efforts of a number of landowners and land managers who understand the value and importance of bird of prey conservation, we have seen some tentatively encouraging results in terms of successful breeding of hen harriers and other species in recent years."

In fact, in 2023 Hen Harrier numbers reached a 200 year high, with 15 nests in the Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale alone. Ask gamekeepers on the ground what birds of prey have been sighted and they will say that Buzzard, Red Kite, Barn Owl, Hen Harrier and Marsh Harrier have all visibly increased. Merlin, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Peregrine all appear to be stable.

So why close down the group? Andrew Gilruth, chief executive of the Moorland Association, argued that convictions for killing birds of prey were at a record low, with only four reported last year, none of which had anything to do with grouse shooting.

“The park authority should wake up and celebrate what has been an astonishing success story,” he added.

Despite this, the plug was pulled. We know that the NGO, for one, were keen for the partnership to continue beyond this summer, but so far appear to have been met with closed ears by the YDNPA – at least publicly.

Instead, they announced the launch of a new campaign, called The Friends of the Dales' Eyes on the Skies initiative, which “aims to teach people about the importance of the birds to the ecosystem and how to spot suspicious activity.”

Backed by the YDNPA, the campaign launched on 21 October with a talk by… you guessed it, Kate Jennings, 'UK Head of Site Conservation & Species Policy' at the RSPB.

Now this is particularly interesting, as the RSPB are a former member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Bird of Prey Partnership, but according to reports were never keen to engage with other members of the group and actually work together for the benefit of the Yorkshire Dales and its bird life. In 2023 they left the group “amid concerns over its leadership and effectiveness”

Instead, it appears that the RSPB have taken control of this new campaign which appears to simply be a front for the charity. Unsurprisingly for the RSPB, Kate Jennings’ talk was advertised as planning to “highlight the long history of persecution, despite seventy years of legal protection, and the illegal and inhumane methods criminals use to trap, shoot and poison birds of prey.”

So, yet again, it appears to be an attempt by the RSPB to incite hostility against gamekeepers, land managers and those who live and work in the Dales rather than – as the partnership had been trying to do – work together for the benefit of the Dales and its birdlife and wildlife more widely.

Shouldn't the YDNPA be acknowledging the success of the Dales; the positive impact on communities from upland management, focusing on protecting the communities that live there and everything that makes the Dales the place it is? It appears not.