Inglorious by Mark Avery

Author:Mark Avery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Note

* Because Prince Harry, a friend and a gamekeeper were in the area at the time, the police asked whether they had any information that could help. Unfortunately, they had no knowledge of the alleged incident.

CHAPTER FIVE

The beginning of the end – 2014

As Gandhi said: ‘First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. And then you win.’ We will win!

Chris Packham, addressing the Hen Harrier Day rally on 10 August 2014

NO year in the short history of driven grouse shooting has been remotely like 2014. This was the year in which things got a lot tougher for the men in tweed.

What follows is a personal account of the passage of 2014 as it relates to the future of grouse shooting, the conservation of Hen Harriers and the wider environmental impacts of grouse management. By the end of the year, the debate had shifted considerably.

1 January

In my first blog of the New Year I often set out a few things I intend to do over the coming 12 months. They tend to include ‘See my first UK Duke of Burgundy butterfly’, because that’s something that always seems to pass me by, but this year, looking ahead to August, I write ‘Help organise a peaceful protest over grouse shooting’s role in the demise of Hen Harriers in England, attend Bird Fair, attend daughter’s wedding.’

I’m sure that others will organise the Bird Fair and the wedding, but I have no idea of where, what or when will be the peaceful protest over Hen Harrier persecution. And I have no idea whether I will be able to make a difference in this way. But it’s my way of committing myself to action – I’ve written it down and published it, and even if no one notices then I need to do it.

It feels a bit like jumping off a cliff and hoping to land safely. I can already feel the air whistling past my ears, but it’s a long way down yet – plenty of time to build a parachute!

14 February

A new Twitter account, @birdersagainst, has appeared and the website of Birders Against Wildlife Crime (BAWC) is soon to follow. This is a bunch of birders, many of whom I know, who want to put wildlife crime, not just raptor persecution and not just birds, into sharper focus.

16 February

We are in north Norfolk on our wedding anniversary, and what could be more romantic than waiting, at dusk, to see whether we can see our 66th species of the day – a Hen Harrier.

Roydon Common is the largest remaining area of heather heathland and valley mire in Norfolk, and on a warm summer day it is a place to look for the rare Black Darter dragonfly and to listen at dusk for the churring song of Nightjars. But at dusk in February you have the chance to see Hen Harriers coming in to roost on the flat valley floor. We reckon the three blokes with binoculars are probably looking for Hen Harriers too, so we go and stand by them.

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