I’m Mark Thomas, I work for the RSPB and I’m one of the authors of a paper published by the journal British Birds. The paper looks at the issue of bird of prey persecution in the Peak District National Park. The Peak District between Sheffield and Manchester is one of the most visited National Parks in the UK and is highly protected. The northern ‘Dark Peak’ is made up of heather moorland with driven grouse shooting as a major land use. The southern Peak has virtually no driven grouse shooting and is more gentle with woodland and dales. We have looked at the location of all incidents of raptor persecution: that is the shooting, trapping, poisoning and nest destruction of birds of prey, owls and ravens within the Park between 2000-2016. There is a real difference in the data between the Dark and the White Peak. Significantly, we have found a strong statistical association between persecution incidents and the location of moorland burning, in the form of driven grouse moors. The data fully supports the notion that the Dark Peak is a hotbed of persecution.”

“I’m stood here in the heart of the Dark Peak – in the area the paper identifies as the worst for persecution. Birds of prey are noticeable by their absence. Like many people, when I started birdwatching, this was THE place to go to see goshawks. I saw my very first one just here. It’s a crying shame that these birds have been persecuted to the point of local extinction.”

Mark is now standing in front of green, rolling hills and woods:

“We’re now in the White Peak and what a joy it is! We’ve just been watching a pair of peregrines – there are over 20 pairs nesting here, it’s a real conservation success story. In the distance, you can see a wood which I know holds goshawks: another species doing well in this region. So why is this? Simply, this part of the National Park is free of driven grouse shooting and the associated persecution. So what can we do? The authorities seem powerless to resolve this, and after several failed initiatives, the only solution is the licensing of driven grouse shooting. Licensing needs to happen – soon. If persecution is found to be happening on an estate, this estate could lose its license to shoot for a period of time. Everybody should be able to enjoy birds of prey throughout this National Park.