RSPB warns hen harriers killed or missing is at new high
Between 2020 and 2024, there were 102 incidents of killing or missing birds recorded, according to a report from the RSPB released today (June 26).
The majority of these incidents occurred on or near grouse moors in northern England, where grouse shooting takes place, it said.
The charity is calling on the Government to introduce licensing of grouse shooting in England, as has happened in Scotland, to act as a meaningful deterrent to wildlife crime.
What is a hen harrier?
The hen harrier is the most intensely persecuted of all the UK's birds of prey. It once preyed on free-range fowl, which gave it its present name.
It's a slim, medium-sized bird, with males distinguished by their blue-grey colour above, with a paler underside and black tips to their wings.
Females are mainly brown, with a streaked body and wings, and bars on their tails.
How rare is a hen harrier?
Over the last 25 years, conservationists rolled out several initiatives to support the endangered species and the population increased between 2016 and 2023.
But 2023 became the worst recorded year for persecution with 34 birds confirmed to have been killed or disappeared under suspicious circumstances, according to the RSPB.
There was a 43% decline in the number of chicks fledging in 2024 when compared to 2023 figures, the report said.
The illegal killing of Hen Harriers has hit a devastating new high. ⚠️
A new RSPB report reveals 102 incidents in just five years - with the majority on, or near, grouse moors.
A thread… pic.twitter.com/4KbDMXvUr9 — RSPB (@Natures_Voice) June 26, 2025
The number of breeding females recorded in 2024 also dropped from 50 in 2023 to 34 in 2024 – a 32% fall.
The charity said the current UK population estimate represents a quarter of the potential population that their ideal habitat can support, and in England, it is less, at about 10%.
The RSPB report contains details of hen harriers being shot, their chicks being stamped on, and one bird having its head pulled off while still alive.
Despite being legally protected, multiple studies and reports have found that criminal activity is the main factor limiting the species' recovery.
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No one in England has ever been convicted of an offence, the RSPB said, adding that most crimes take place in remote areas.
Dr James Robinson, the RSPB's director of operations, said: 'This species will not recover until the criminal activity stops, and for this to happen we need regulation of the grouse-shooting industry, specifically the introduction of a licensing system for shoots in England, so estates proven by the police and Natural England to be linked to raptor persecution would simply lose their licence to operate.'
Andrew Gilruth, chief executive of the Moorland Association, disputed the RSPB report, saying the data has been assembled without independent checks and that the allegations 'poison perceptions of gamekeepers'.
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