Reward after hen harrier shot in Dales

The Government has been urged to step up the fight to secure the future of hen harriers, which are on the brink of extinction as a breeding species in England. Tests on the female hen harrier’s body found a fragment of lead at a facture on the bird’s left leg.

The examinations by UCL at Stanmore in Middlesex have confirmed the bird had been shot, more than five months after the body was found on Thorny Grain Moor in Colsterdale.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is offering the £1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the offenders responsible.

Figures from the charity show at least 20 birds of prey have been illegally poisoned, shot or trapped in the Yorkshire Dales between 2007 and 2011.

The RSPB’s conservation director, Martin Harper, said: “The problem of persecution is well understood – we need Government to bring solutions to the table via an emergency recovery plan.

“The first step is for Ministers to confirm long-term funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit – it is essential that the UK maintains a national centre of expertise in tackling wildlife crime.”

Nicknamed Bowland Betty, the hen harrier was raised in Bowland in Lancashire in 2011. A satellite tag fitted by Natural England revealed she travelled as far as Caithness in Scotland.

On May 22, she returned to Bowland, before flying to North Yorkshire three days later. But in late June satellite data indicated the bird was stationary, raising fears for her safety, before the body was found on July 5.