Hen Harriers could be lost from English countryside
by Alan Harten
December 22, 2008
Hen harriers are on the verge of extinction in England, a damning report by Natural England has warned.
Illegal hunting and killing of the bird of prey, along with destruction of their nests, has caused numbers to dwindle at an alarming rate in most areas of the UK.
Natural England and RSPB both lay the blame on private landowners and game keepers, who see the bird as a pest as they will hunt for young grouse, a resource that such landowners protect very carefully.
So successful has the hunting of the hen harrier been, that in parts of Britain, such as on moors used for rearing red grouse, only 26% of breeding couples have managed to produce and raise fledged chicks.
This is in stark contrast with the RSPB and Natural England protected area of the Bowland Fells in Lancashire, where 65% of breeding couples successfully raised fledged chicks.
This is the only area in the UK where the birds are protected from harm, due to most of the land being owned by the Queen, the Duke of Westminster and United Utilities rather than private landowners.
The hen harrier has been extinct in the UK before, after being hunted to extinction in Victorian times.
They were reintroduced into Scotland, where there are now 630 breeding pairs, between the wars, and they slowly re-colonized England.
However there has been a dramatic fall in numbers since the 1970s, prompting the conservation bodies to warn that this magnificent bird of prey may again be lost from England’s countryside.
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Excuse me but this is absolutely fine. Evolution allows for some species to flourish and others to go extinct. It’s what makes Evolution what it is today. A great excuse not to have a Creator. Now seeing as you can’t have it both ways then put up with species and kinds going out of existence. That’s the nature of the game.
Comment by Chris Williams — December 22, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
Chris, I think you’ll find the point is illegal killing by humans and wanton destruction of habitat - neither of which are natural evolutionary forces, but very much artificial human-driven ones.
Comment by Brian Turner — December 22, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
Part of the explanation is this:- “Evolution is driven by the fact all organisms have to struggle to survive long enough to reproduce in a world filled with predators, disease, and competition for resources.”
All I’m saying is that what is happening in this article is just the world filled with predators and competition for resources…….
In evolution anything goes - there is no morality and no right or wrong - there are just ‘occurrences’. And that’s what this is, if in fact it’s a given that everything that exists came about by fluke, chance, chaos and meaninglessness…………… One cannot moralise about actions by a man-being he’s just behaving in a random, pointless and ultimately unaccountable way. Or is he?
Comment by Chris Williams — December 22, 2008 @ 7:54 pm
It’s true that evolution kicks out those that can’t adapt and survive, but what we cause is not evolution; it is change that is so rapid that with few exceptions, such as rats, the earth’s creatures are incapable of keeping up with the speed of change.
We are not giving them multiple generations to change their habits and genetics, we are giving them a small number of years, they simply can not adapt as quickly as we change things.
Given a long period these birds would adapt, they would produce more offspring to cope with their loses, they have not had the time to do that.
Comment by Alan Harten — December 23, 2008 @ 1:59 am