Birds of prey including hen harriers, peregrines and red kites face illegal persecution on grouse moors and other land managed for game shooting, causing welfare harm and population decline.
Raptor persecution represents both a conservation crime and a welfare crime. The methods used — poisoning, trapping, shooting and nest destruction — cause significant suffering to individual birds. Poisoning with carbofuran causes prolonged convulsions and respiratory distress before death. Pole traps hold birds in agony until the trapper returns. Nestlings killed in nest destruction die slowly. The scale of illegal killing has suppressed hen harrier breeding in England to levels far below the habitat's carrying capacity. Wildlife law enforcement, licensing of grouse moor management conditional on raptor presence, and public pressure on shooting estates are needed to address this ongoing welfare and conservation failure.