Hen Harrier Action Launches New Christmas Appeal to Fund Satellite Tags

Following the success of last year’s appeal, raising more than £12,000 in less than two weeks thanks to the generosity of supporters, the charity is launching a new fundraising appeal to tag even more young Hen Harriers in 2025.

The 2023 Christmas Appeal was a remarkable success and enabled Hen Harrier Action to fund the satellite tags and monitoring of four young birds in England, Scotland and Wales. All four birds – Sita, Binbeal, Gilda and Adar – are active and well at the time of writing, and the RSPB Investigations Team continue to monitor their progress. One of the 2023 cohort –Adar – is currently wintering in North West France!

But much still remains to be done, as the latest RSPB BirdCrime Report, and the covert footage captured by the RSPB Investigations Team and broadcast by Channel 4 News, have revealed. Hen Harriers are still being relentlessly persecuted.

The footage records 3 gamekeepers on a grouse moor in northern England routinely discussing their kills and plans to kill a Hen Harrier. The conversation, over two-way radios, reveals that the three have already shot a Buzzard and Raven that afternoon (both protected species). They then discuss killing one of two Hen Harriers spotted – the one without the ‘box’ (satellite tag). They agree to simply fire warning shots at the tagged bird, but then casually kill the untagged bird.

The RSPB’s 2023 BirdCrime Report documents 15 years of data from 2009 to 2023, sadly concluding that ‘raptor crime shows no sign of stopping and will continue without urgent, meaningful action’.

The report has an excellent section on how satellite tagging is helping to tackle bird of prey persecution by identifying ‘sudden stop, no malfunction’ incidents – a suspicious disappearance, in other words.

And a distressing section headed ‘2023: another terrible year for Hen Harrier persecution’, detailing the highest toll of Hen Harriers killed or disappeared in suspicious circumstances on record. This has prompted the police National Wildlife Crime Unit to launch a Hen Harrier Taskforce in the summer.

Help Us to Protect More Hen Harriers in 2025

Following the success of our previous fundraiser, which played a vital role in supporting the protection of Britain’s most heavily persecuted bird of prey, we are excited to launch a new appeal for 2025. This Christmas, Hen Harrier Action is raising funds to fit satellite tags to young Hen Harriers in 2025, continuing our mission to protect and safeguard these iconic birds.

Hen Harriers are frequently targeted through poisoning, trapping, and shooting on grouse moors. The remoteness of their habitats makes it difficult to identify and prosecute those responsible.

However, satellite tagging can change that. By fitting these birds with satellite tags, we can:

• Shape more effective conservation actions.
• Monitor their movements to ensure their safety.
• Deter criminals by tracking the birds’ locations.

Each satellite tag costs between £2,500 and £3,500, and through this appeal, we will work closely with the RSPB to tag and monitor young Hen Harriers in the spring of 2025.

“If you care about British wildlife and want to help secure a future where Hen Harriers can live free from persecution, please support this appeal,” added Hen Harrier Action Trustee Jonathan Wilson, who is launching the appeal.

Tagged Christmas Appeal, Fundraising, hen harriers