NGO express disappointment at the closing of the Hen Harrier Southern Reintroduction Project

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From the very beginning, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation have been fully behind Defra’s 2016 Hen Harrier Joint Action Plan and, specifically, the six specific actions outlined in the plan.

One of these actions was the Southern Reintroduction of Hen Harriers as, while the birds were once found in both lowland and upland Britain, with a handful of exceptions, their southerly range expansion has, since the 1900s, tended to halt at the grouse-moors of Britain. The Hen Harrier has not re-established its populations in Southwest Britain or in lowland habitats, where it once bred.

Now Defra have stated that “Natural England is no longer in a position to provide the long-term funding and resource needed to continue delivering the Hen Harrier Southern Reintroduction project, despite the progress to date. The difficult decision has therefore been made to conclude this project.”  

While the NGO have been supportive of all the actions, the Southern one was vital for us to get on board with, as local landowners and keepers needed to be both supportive and kept on top of what was going on in the Salisbury Plain area. It was roundly met with optimism, and we were hugely disappointed when the RSPB reportedly scuppered the initial plans in 2019. We believe that if this initial project had been able to proceed, Hen Harriers in the south might be in a very different position from where they are today.

Nick Stiff, NGO Regional Chair for Wiltshire commented:

“It’s disappointing that Defra have withdrawn funding for the Southern Hen Harrier project that had widespread support from keepers in and around Salisbury Plain where the birds were due to be released.”

“The NGO have worked with Defra on this project from the very start and gamekeepers – who are Britain's largest group of privately funded conservationists – were excited about the prospect of seeing more Hen Harriers in the area.”

Ian Sleightholm of the NGO Moorland Branch added:

“It's really disappointing news that Natural and Defra have abandoned the Hen Harrier Southern Introduction project, after all the work that has been put in with all the estates on the ground to try and spread this rare bird’s national population to the lowlands as well as the uplands, thus improving the national population.”

“That’s alongside all the good work done in the north with the Brood Management Scheme, showing that gamekeepers are the leading conservationists on the ground, as well as schemes like the brood management, the black grouse reintroduction on the North York Moors, and the Curlew head-starting project in the South Downs.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation: The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO) represents the gamekeepers of England and Wales. The NGO defends and promotes gamekeeping and gamekeepers and works to ensure high standards throughout the profession. The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation was founded in 1997 by a group of gamekeepers who felt that keepering was threatened by public misunderstanding and poor representation. Today, there are 13,000 members of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation.  www.nationalgamekeepers.org.uk