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Buzzard Persecution Trial to be sponsored by DEFRA (1 Viewer)

Seems like alot of money in these days of austerity.

Just putting them on the General License alongside the corvids would be much cheaper.
 
Why cull? To preserve a non-native. Ludicrous. What are the impact levels of Buzzards on Pheasants? Where are the studies.
 
It's an absolute travesty, shows how powerful money and lobbying are. Stump up money and let gamekeepers destroy Buzzard nests so that a tiny tiny minority can shoot a few more non-native and reared birds. All about money and making rich people richer. It's the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time. We only stopped persecuting Buzzards a relatively short time ago, this is morally wrong and we should all fight it. It beggars belief on so many levels, and coming a week after the Hen Harrier news? Gamekeepers and their lofty employers must be thinking all their Christmases have come at once. Terrible news.
 
Hotspur said:
Why cull? To preserve a non-native. Ludicrous. What are the impact levels of Buzzards on Pheasants? Where are the studies.
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I assume a much higher proportion are killed by cars. Are we going to reduce their numbers? It is bizarre in the extreme that the tax payer is funding this sort of nonsense, especially given current financial difficulties.

cheers, alan
 
Just for a moment consider the origin of the "request". The shooting fraternity (!), which, apparently, releases 40 million Pheasants per year, 3 million of which are killed on the roads according to the Police. Consider also that no impact studies have taken place, the action is just based on anecdotal complaints from the above .
Against this consider the same DEFRA Minister proudly announcing last week that it was to make available in 2012/13 a staff member and £15 k to address Hen Harrier conservation. A bit of a financial imbalance in my view and one that we should lodge official complaints about. Back to the writing desk and certainly something about which I'll be firing off a few letters to Westminster as well as issuing a few critical Blogs in the next day or so ( www.birdingodyssey.blogspot.com/ ). This continuing favouring of the shooting community by this Tory Government is an absolute disgrace.
 
John S. Armitage said:
Just for a moment consider the origin of the "request". The shooting fraternity (!), which, apparently, releases 40 million Pheasants per year, 3 million of which are killed on the roads according to the Police. Consider also that no impact studies have taken place, the action is just based on anecdotal complaints from the above .
Against this consider the same DEFRA Minister proudly announcing last week that it was to make available in 2012/13 a staff member and £15 k to address Hen Harrier conservation. A bit of a financial imbalance in my view and one that we should lodge official complaints about. Back to the writing desk and certainly something about which I'll be firing off a few letters to Westminster as well as issuing a few critical Blogs in the next day or so ( www.birdingodyssey.blogspot.com/ ). This continuing favouring of the shooting community by this Tory Government is an absolute disgrace.
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Agree with you absolutely John.
 
Now if I was to go and trash "any" bird nest I would be taken to court. Disgusting
ColD
 
It is only logical that gamekeepers would want to follow the example of conservationists who cull all sorts of things to protect conservation interests why should others not follow the same principles to protect economic interests.

It seems logical that conservationists also need to consider culling buzzards.

"Also,nature in the raw at the first lagoon.Avocet with three juvs.became two juvs. when a Buzzard swooped down to take a chick."

The above taken from a recent post off the gwent ornithological sightings page.

They already shoot crows and foxes there (Goldcliff) in order to try and protect breeding waders. Why not buzzards?

It is not natural that there are so many buzzards all over Britain any-way.

It is only the result of deforestation and buzzards taking advantage of road kill as a food source.

None of it is natural so it doesn't matter if a few Buzzards get killed.

Of course as some-one who doesn't believe in culling anything I don't believe any of the above.
 
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It is illegal to kill Buzzards - they are protected by the EU birds directive, not listed as a pest species/quarry species unlike corvids, gulls and some wildfowl
 
Once we start culling ourselves down to a manageable level, then we can try and control other predators' numbers......if only
 
In a document setting out plans for the research project, Defra said the 2011 National Gamekeepers Organisation survey found that three-quarters of gamekeepers (76%) believed buzzards had a harmful effect on pheasant shoots.
WELL THEY WOULD WOULDN'T THEY !! :C
 
DEFRA in Disgrace.

The recent news that DEFRA is fund a study looking at ways to limit the effects that the Common Buzzard MAY have on the pheasant populations with £375,000 of taxpayers money is a national disgrace.

Please have a look at the following websites and blogs detailing this disgraceful situation in more detail than can be posted here.

http://markavery.info/2012/05/24/buzzards/#comments

http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/

http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2012/0...-buzzards-to-favour-captive-reared-pheasants/

Richard Benyon, the Chairman of DEFRA, is a land owner employing a gamekeeper with a vested interest in promoting shooting to the detriment of this countries natural heritage. He has done nothing to halt the rapid decline to extinction of the Hen Harrier as a breeding bird in England. He is not fit to hold the above post.

Please take time to read through the articles and write to DEFRA and your local MP about this disgraceful situation.

Mal
 
ColD said:
In a document setting out plans for the research project, Defra said the 2011 National Gamekeepers Organisation survey found that three-quarters of gamekeepers (76%) believed buzzards had a harmful effect on pheasant shoots.
WELL THEY WOULD WOULDN'T THEY !! :C
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It's a bit like saying that :-

"In a document siting out plans for the research project, BTO said that the 2011 Garden Bird-feeders survey found that 100% believe that Blue Tits had an impact on the seed artificially introduced into their gardens."

From my experience, local Buzzards have negliable impact on local Pheasants that weren't already killed on the roads. If this wasn't the case, do the NGO not recognise that it is they who may be contributing to the numbers of predators out there through mass-introduction of food into the food-chain? Or, as we know, it's not really about Natural Diversity or Conservation or Green Politics is it - it's about money and people profiting from their land.
 
Twitter and Facebook going a bit mad with this story (and rightfully so). Hopefully Defra will get the message that this is one of the worst decisions they have ever made; I don't remember this much fuss even when the badger cull was reconsidered. It is so flawed both economically and ecologically it is unreal. Removing a (common) bird during the breeding season only makes a territory free for another bird to move into. So they'll take that bird too, then another, and another, and another, costing more and more each time. It's completely unsustainable and will also open the door for some landowners to take matters into their own hands to control birds of prey. Defra have got this one horribly wrong.

I agree with the RSPB's Martin Harper. If you put honey out in the sun, you cant moan when you attract wasps; you should however, reconsider how you keep your honey.

Adam
 
Well done , Mal. After a whole series of features concentrating on Hen Harrier persecution on my own blog ( http://www.birdingodyssey.blogspot.com/ ) which I issued last week, this is yet another serious initiative from the Govt, which must be addressed! I 've put out an initial reaction but more needs to follow. These are subjects that birders do need to act on to ensure the Govt is left in doubt of the extent of opposition to its ideas. Simply comparing the funds awarded harrier conservation ( <£16k ) and the £375k for this Buzzard proposal says it all!!
 
Bottom line is guys... who gives a toss about the phesants? The only reason we have them in our countryside is because they are let out for the so-called "upper-class" to shoot (wheres the fun in that?) anyway. Its a damn disgrace if DEFRA go through with it.
 
This was posted on one of our local groups and I couldn't agree more.........


"I'm sure that most of you will be aware of the news that DEFRA, God bless them, are proposing 'to spend up to £375,000 researching ways to keep buzzards from targeting captive-reared pheasants.

Proposed methods include destroying nests to prevent birds breeding, catching and relocating buzzards to places such as falconry centres or providing alternative food sources for the predators.'

The case for this has been put forward by those morons who derive pleasure from the shooting of birds for sport, even though these birds will finish up on someone's table. Being a strict vegetarian and totally opposed to any form of animal cruelty and the enjoyment of killing for 'sport' (both of these amount to the same thing), I find this activity totally abhorrent. Defra's support of this is equally as abhorrent.

This is clearly an outrageous plan which requires complete opposition and I urge you to act accordingly.

For those who are not aware of this plan, here are some links which you may find useful:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/314516-rspb-stunned-by-defra-plan-to-imprison-buzzards

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ou...te-why-defra-is-wrong-and-why-i-am-angry.aspx

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/rspb-voices-shock-at-buzzard-plans-7784548.html

https://raptorpersecutionscotland.f...12/05/buzzard-control-experiment-overview.pdf

Please act now. We cannot afford to let this happen."

Have the shooting members of this group got nothing helpful to add?.........
 
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