Friday 5 August 2016

Hen Harrier Day © Raptor Politics

Hen Harrier Day Peaceful Protest Sunday 7 August, 2016, Dunsop Bridge in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.

Only 7 days to go, we need all the support we can muster next Sunday 7 August on the green at Dunsop Bridge in the heart of the Forest of Bowland. They have now killed all the nesting Hen Harriers and Peregrines in the Forest of Bowland, now the government’s wildlife advisor Natural England are helping to get rid of Buzzards as well. Make your voice heard or they will win.

bawc_slider_hen_harrier_day
This year’s Hen Harrier Day, organised for a third consecutive year by the North West Raptor Group, will begin at 10.30 in the morning on the village green at Dunsop Bridge, near Clitheroe in the Forest of Bowland on SUNDAY 7 August.
Due to popular demand this years event will culminate in the early afternoon (from 1pm) with a visit to nearby grouse butts where we will all enjoy a picnic in a wonderful scenic moorland venue. Please bring along your own packed lunch and something non alcoholic to drink for yourself or your group. Unfortunately there will be no views of wild Hen Harriers or Peregrines on this occasion, as both species have been persecuted in Bowland this year to extinction. 2016 is the first year since the second world war that both species have been absent from the Forest of Bowland in the same year.
A British National Scandal which the media should take on board.
This season, an RSPB spokesperson has admitted not one occupied Hen Harrier territory has been located in the Forest of Bowland so far this season. In addition for the first time in living memory, this year has witnessed all peregrines in the Forest of Bowland disappearing; between 18-20 missing. This is why our Forest of Bowland protest is so important this year; if we do not take a stand condemning the illegal persecution of  our Hen Harriers, it now seems inevitable the species will become extinct in England sooner rather than later. Please come and support us at Dunsop Bridge and help to send a strong and clear message to all grouse shooting estates that the public will no longer tolerate the illegal killing of this and other iconic raptors on moorland in the heart of England where they should be safe but clearly are not.

Forest-of-Bowland-Hen-Harri
The symbol of a hen harrier has endured a long and tragic association with the the Forest of Bowland. Of the 7 breeding attempts made last year by hen harriers in Bowland, only a single pair were productive fledging a single chick. 
This season we are inviting people from all over the country to come and join us at Dunsop Bridge, near Cltheroe, Lancashire, providing invaluable support to this important annual event. Dunsop Bridge is regarded as the village located at the heart of Hen Harrier moorland where much of today’s persecution of this and other protected raptors is still taking place with impunity. Please be amongst the first people to register your intention to join members of the North West Raptor Group this year by emailing your support to the following address:  Bowland-HenHarrier-Demo@sky.cothe forest of bowland 5-1
The Forest of Bowland, Lancashire. Classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Just in case there is anyone not aware of what happened to Hen Harriers in Lancashire’s Forest of Bowland last season this is a sad reminder of the reality. Of the 7 Hen Harrier breeding attempts recorded on the United Utilities Plc estate in 2015, only a single nesting pair were successful rearing one fledgling. 4 male Hen Harriers mysteriously disappeared after they had left their territories to forage for food to feed their mates they had left behind to incubate clutches of eggs contained within each nest left behind. As a consequence of the loss of the 4 male Harriers, 4 nests were deserted containing at least twenty eggs which had been allowed to chill. So this new killing strategy did not just eliminate 4 male Hen Harriers in Bowland, it resulted in the loss of up to a further potential twenty Hen Harriers from the eggs that were found abandoned in nests. One additional Hen Harrier nest established on moorland on the RSPB Geltsdale Nature Reserve in the northern Pennines was also abandoned last season after a fifth male Harrier also disappeared after failing to return with food to feed his mate. The female also disappeared after leaving her eggs to forage for food to feed herself.
Raptor Politics will be publishing additional details in a second Hen Harrier notification nearer the time to this event, please book mark the 7 August in your diary. Please can everyone retweet and pass on our invitation to anyone you think may wish to support this important event.
_DSF2694
Jessica holding a captive bred Eagle Owl at last year’s event. Jessica brought the owl to identify with the ongoing persecution of eagle owls in the Forest of Bowland
Hen Harrier