Thank you for emailing Nicola Sturgeon (7)

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 seventh 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 Ms Sturgeon and Cunningham,
I am saddened to read of the poisoning of another white-tailed eagle, in the interests of grouse shooting.
The poisoning of a sensate creature is an offence against empathy of course, but so is the whole leisure activity of shooting birds, as a pastime.  It’s time it was stopped.
Yours sincerely,

Dear First Minister and Cabinet Secretary,I am writing to you after seeing the photograph of this poor bird on the Wild Justice email that I subscribe to. It is yet another example of the flagrant breach of environmental law that is all too common on and near the grouse moors of Scotland and England. 
I annually visit Scotland to enjoy its magnificent scenery, wildlife and hospitality after spending a year at Stirling University over 40 years ago. The persecution of wildlife to support a small minority interest is unacceptable and often illegal. Tourism is a much more important part of the Scotish economy and the publicity surrounding the continual persecution of wildlife to support driven grouse shooting will not help to boost tourist numbers. I am not advocating a ban on grouse shooting as such but driven grouse shooting and the damaging practices surrounding the activity must be much better controlled or banned. Some estates practice rough grouse shooting and do not kill raptors and mountain hares and do not practice widespread heather burning and bog drainage. This allows people who wish to pursue shooting to do so in a less cruel and environmentally damaging way. 
I urge you to set an example to those estates that flout environmental laws that it is unacceptable and there will be real penalties for those that continue with these barbaric practices. This must include much more effective investigation of incidents and prosecution of offenders. I hope too that it will send a strong message to the UK Government that similar action needs to be taken to stop similar practices in Northern England.
Yours sincerely,

Dear First Minister,  I am sure that, like me, you were disappointed and saddened to see the recent pictures released by Police Scotland showing an example of poisoning of another animal in Scotland’s countryside. You cannot fail to be aware that this bird probably represents the tip of the iceberg and was only discovered thanks to the tracking device that was attached to the bird. Whilst not all grouse moors are as poorly managed as this one appears to be it cannot have escaped your notice that there is a serious problem in these areas with illegal persecution of wildlife of all kinds. I am sure I do not need to remind you of the obvious negative impacts of grouse moors in terms of wildlife but also in their amenity value in flood prevention, carbon storage as well as biodiversity which forms an important part in Scotland’s offering for tourists. The negative publicity this sort of story attracts is not good for Scotland and is likely to deter visitors.    Whilst I know that there are important issues of Public Health on your agenda at the present time please take a moment to remember that this will pass and human life will recover (we have the ability to shape our environment). But for our wildlife things are on a knife edge, and someone like yourself who clearly cares passionately about Scotland and its heritage have the chance to do something positive whether it be banning grouse shooting or just funding the police so they have the resources to investigate persistent offenders against inhabitants of Scotland who cannot speak for themselves.
Whatever you choose to do, please just do something to help
Regards

Dear First Minister and Cabinet Secretary, I have this evening been sent a photo (attached) of a beautiful white-tailed eagle that had been poisoned on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park. I am so saddened by this I feel compelled to write to you to see if you can make a difference, for example by giving extra support to the police to pursue wildlife crimes, increasing surveillance in the area or banning grouse hunting, as the crime is almost certainly carried out by those with hunting interests. I’m sure none of us want to see these fabulous birds needlessly and painfully killed. Thanks in advance for any action you may take, best regards

Dear First Minister,
I hope this letter finds you safe and well in these troubling times. You seem to have done a great job with controlling the Covid virus outbreak in Scotland, well done indeed.
I have to raise the issue of the poisoning by banned chemicals of the White-tailed eagle in Cairngorms National Park.
These beautiful birds of prey have been re-introduced, not just in Scotland, due to having already been shot, trapped and poisoned to extinction. To see this happening all over again in your beautiful country beggars belief.
The cause for this poor bird’s death and countless other raptors, are the driven grouse moors and their need to present as many grouse as possible for shooting. Why or how this still carries on in Scotland in 2020 is beyond most people’s comprehension. Traditions are one thing but grouse shooting is just outrageous in this day and age. And to kill everything else to maximise the event is barbaric. It needs to stop now.
Kind regards,

Dear First minister of Scotland, The recent poisoning of a young white-tailed eagle in the Cairngorms demonstrates how vulnerable birds of prey are to this form of attack, and how little protection current legislation offers. The crumpled image on the ground is in stark contrast to how they are in life – flying high and determined to survive.  This determination in adversity can be matched by you and your government to stop this practice of the deliberate killing of birds of prey in Scotland. Help to protect eagles and other birds of prey by increasing police surveillance of large birds of prey and harsher sanctions for when people are caught deliberately killing birds of prey. Show you care by investigating this practise. So that people understand that these casual killings which lead to such devastating effects will not be tolerated. So that eagles and other birds of prey can be helped to survive in Scotland in future.  Best regards,