Thank you for emailing Nicola Sturgeon (4)

Yesterday evening we sent out a newsletter asking our supporters to email Nicola Sturgeon about the scale of wildlife crime in Scotland, exemplified by the poisoning of this young White-tailed Eagle that was found on a grouse moor inside the Cairngorms National Park.

The response has been amazing so we thought we’d post a few examples here. This is the fourth tranche of examples.

Have a look at the examples below and please add your own voice. Tell Ms Sturgeon how you felt when you saw the image above. Ask her to act now. You don’t have to send a long email, or a clever email, or a learned email – just speak from the heart. And you don’t have to be Scottish or to live in Scotland.

If you are prepared to send a polite, but firm, email to Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, then this is her email address; firstminister@gov.scot

Thank you!

Dear Madam, as the First Minister of a fine country, one of much outstanding beauty, I’m sure you will be as shocked as saddened by the poisoning of a White-tailed Eagle in your Cairngorms National Park.It is, of course, the tip of a wicked iceberg of illegal wildlife destruction, Grouse shooting being at the root of most of these acts.No doubt your police and environment officers will try to pursue the culprits, who are killing the jewels that grace the wild parts of your visitor-hungry country.
Respectfully,

Dear Ms Sturgeon and Ms Cunningham, I am sure you are both aware of the young White-tailed Eagle recently found dead, poisoned, in Strathdon, an area of grouse moors which, despite being in a part of the Cairngorms National Park, is unfortunately known as a wildlife crime hotspot. I have for some years been aware of the ongoing persecution of birds of prey in areas used for driven grouse shooting, both in England and Scotland. This latest incident, involving a young bird that will no doubt have died an agonising death, has both saddened and angered me. As a life long bird watcher and lover of all wildlife, I have visited Scotland, and specifically the Cairngorms, a number of times, but this relentless persecution of birds of prey has made me reluctant to visit again – if your government and the authorities are unable to prevent these blatant criminal acts, then I fear for the future of what is supposedly a national park – will it just be left, as seems increasingly likely, for the minority of people who revel in the killing of birds (and mammals) for supposed ‘sport’, but ultimately, in my view, just for their perverted pleasure.   I have supported a number campaigns over the years which call for the banning of driven grouse shooting – an activity which can only be sustained through the destruction of many other mammals and birds, some legally but many not, including Mountain Hares, and an activity which is also detrimental to the landscape and general biodiversity. Surely there is no place for such barbaric pastimes in today’s society. I urge you to consider the appalling effect this latest killing, in a string of similar incidents, will have on many people who might otherwise enjoy Scotland’s wonderful wildlife, much of which is unique to the United Kingdom, and to please consider banning this outmoded activity which continues to reflect badly on Scotland. Yours faithfully,

I was shocked and saddened to learn from Wild Justice that a young White-tailed Eagle has apparently been poisoned in the Cairngorms National Park. Apart from the serious criminal aspect of this killing, how can the Scottish Government, knowing the practices of grouse moor landowners and keepers, allow a grouse moor within a National Park?

Dear Roseanna Cunningham, I’m sure that by now you must have been made aware that a satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagle has been found dead in the Strathdon area of the Cairngorms National Park.  Apparently the bird was poisoned and must have died a horrible, painful death. If this was an isolated incident it would be shocking and shameful enough but the killing of birds of prey on the grouse moors of Scotland has become routine.  The area where this latest death occurred is known to be a wildlife crime hotspot but raptors aren’t safe anywhere that there is driven grouse shooting. So, my obvious question is: when is something going to be done to stop this national scandal?  We in the UK have been vocal in the past about the awful slaughter of song birds around the Mediterranean and countries like Malta and Cyprus have gained a terrible reputation not just for the killing but also for the lack of effective government action to put a stop to it.  There is clearly a danger that Scotland will soon have a similar reputation. Surely it is time now for action to be taken to end the illegal killing of birds of prey in Scotland.  Increased resources for police to investigate these crimes would be an obvious start but the reality, I suspect, is that only a complete ban on driven grouse shooting will stop these criminals. Kind regards

Dear First Minister  The horrific saga of raptor killing in Scotland cannot have escaped your attention during your incumbency. The most recent poisoning of a White-tailed Eagle is heart-breakingly typical. Why is the Scottish Government allowing landowners to get away with breaking the law like this ? It does not redound to the good reputation of Scotland, its government, or your party.  On the contrary it makes Scotland look primitive, its government in the palm of the rich and the SNP as bad as any other political group in terms of looking after Scottish interests, especially with regard to the environment. This is one area where you could easily differentiate yourself from Westminster, who are similarly doing nothing to protect eg hen harriers from grouse farmer persecution south of the border. Sincerely

Dear First Minister and Cabinet Secretary,
You will no doubt have heard and seen todays report of a poisoned sea eagle found in a grouse shooting area of Strathdon in the Cairngorm National Park. We assume that you are both as shocked and horrified at the images as we were. Poisoning is particularly horrific as it is a horrible death and it is also indiscriminate, any animal could have become a victim, including someones pet.
We strongly urge you to make this the final straw. The grouse shooting industry has had decades to put its house in order and has failed to do so. Wildlife crime is rife in Scotland and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg as it is so hard to detect. The Werritty report has already recommended licensing of grouse moors, but 5 years is too long to wait. The industry has repeatedly demonstrated that it is incapable of respecting the law so the time to act is NOW. Enough is enough and we are sick and tired of reading report after report of wildlife crime on Scottish grouse moors.
Please, please act NOW. Implement licensing of grouse moors, increase police resources to enable them to properly police the industry and make wildlife crime in Scotland a thing of the past.
Thank you.