It’s very rare for a gamekeeper to speak out about what’s really happening on Scotland’s shooting estates, but yesterday Chris Packham released a 15-minute interview of an anonymous man who had worked on grouse moors in the UK and, in Chris’ words, wanted to “come clean”. What he describes is predictable: an industry at war… Read more
The raven cull – what we know, what we don’t know, and what next
A cull of ravens in Perthshire has been approved by Scottish Natural Heritage across a large area of Perthshire, predominantly made up of grouse moors. For more on the background to the cull, and why it must be stopped, see this blog. Three weeks on from when Raptor Persecution broke the story, here’s an update… Read more
Killing mountain hares is not conservation
One of the most interesting things about how proponents of hare killing on grouse moors responded to our exposé over Easter is how little talk there was of disease control. In 2007, when SNH commissioned a study of hare killing in Scotland, it was estimated that 50% of hare killing was justified primarily on the grounds… Read more
Gamekeepers invite First Minister to learn about hare culls
Gamekeepers have invited the First Minister to visit a moor to ‘learn’ about hare culling. This follows the release of footage of hare killing on grouse moors by OneKind, the League Against Cruel Sports and Lush last week. In response to the a question about the footage, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP said: “Large-scale culling of… Read more
Three reasons to back an electric shock collar ban
In 2016 the Scottish Government consulted on whether to ban electric shock collars or not. We assumed that this would inevitably lead to a ban given the strength of the case against these devices and, critically, the fact that the Welsh Government had already gone down this route. OneKind worked hard to help make this… Read more
Challenging the Cull Culture
Alongside courses in veterinary nursing and bookkeeping, students at one College in Thurso can also learn the theory and practice needed to shoot seals. This is, of course, shocking, and quite rightly it has received media attention [1] this week after the issue was highlighted by the Seal Protection Action Group, a Brighton based campaign… Read more
Say No to Greyhound Racing at Wallyford
Businessman Howard Wallace first put forward his plans to build a greyhound stadium in 2001 and it was approved by East Lothian Council four years later. At the time Mr Wallace also had plans to build houses on the site but was told that could not go ahead until work on the stadium began. So… Read more
Scotland must follow suit and introduce mandatory CCTV in all slaughterhouses
Environment Secretary Michael Gove has today announced plans to make CCTV mandatory in all slaughterhouses in England along with other measures that he hopes will “cement UK’s position as a global leader on animal welfare”. This follows shocking revelations of cruelty in slaughterhouses in England following several investigations by Animal Aid. Harry Huyton, OneKind Director,… Read more