More Hen Harriers disappear in suspicious circumstances
Date of alert:
Monday, 12 June 2023
Crime Ref:
Force:
North Yorkshire Police
Two satellite tagged birds disappeared over two weeks in May, in Lancashire and North Yorkshire: the latest in a succession of similar incidents. The RSPB recently reported that 21 Hen Harriers had been either killed or disappeared in the North of England in the past year. Hen Harriers are rare birds on the red list of conservation concern, with illegal killing the key factor limiting their recovery.
Two Hen Harriers have vanished in suspicious circumstances in just two weeks within the Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and nearby North Yorkshire.
The birds were fitted with satellite tags, which are fitted to gather information about this rare and persecuted species.
Rush, an adult male bird, had been spending time in Mallowdale, in the Forest of Bowland, throughout the spring until his tag unexpectedly stopped transmitting on 4 May. The tag’s last fix put him over a grouse moor. Lancashire Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit carried out a search of the area but found no sign of the bird or its tag.
