Hen harriers: RSPB says 38 birds have been killed or gone missing

The RSPB said that some of the attacks, recorded since January 2022, were "brazen and horrific"

About 38 rare birds of prey have gone missing or have been killed in the North of England, the RSPB has said.

It said satellite-location tags showed the hen harriers had vanished from moors including in the Yorkshire Dales.

In its annual Bird Crime Report, the charity said some of the attacks, recorded since January 2022, were "brazen and horrific", including one being decapitated.

It is campaigning for grouse shooting to be licensed.

Natural England, which also monitors the birds, said they were often targeted by gamekeepers because they eat grouse.

Other areas the birds have disappeared from or been killed included Lancashire, Cumbria, Durham and Northumberland.

Hen harriers eat small animals and birds, including grouse

The charity said eight, satellite-tagged hen harriers had been illegally killed or suspiciously disappeared from the Yorkshire Dales in the last year.

In the same area in May 2022, the remains of of a male satellite-tagged hen harrier, called Free, were recovered by Natural England.

'Relentless scale'

A post-mortem examination confirmed it had been decapitated while still alive.

North Yorkshire Police carried out an investigation, but no-one was charged due to insufficient evidence.

Mark Thomas, RSPB Head of Investigations UK, said: "Despite being fully protected by law, and a threatened species in the UK, hen harriers are being illegally persecuted on a relentless scale.

"The majority disappear around land managed for gamebird shooting, particularly on grouse moors.

"The immediate licensing of driven grouse shooting is essential, with law-abiding landowners and grouse moor managers having nothing to fear."

The Countryside Alliance said the number of illegally persecuted birds was dropping year on year and it was "disappointing that the RSPB simply repeats its calls to attack game shooting".

Chief Executive Tim Bonner said there had been improved conservation for a number of raptor breeds which was a "great success story".