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Farming Today: 30/08/19 - Raptor persecution on grouse moors, Managing wild boar, and Project Pollinator

30/08/19 - Raptor persecution on grouse moors, Managing wild boar, and Project Pollinator

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 30/08/19 - Raptor persecution on grouse moors, Managing wild boar, and Project Pollinator

Britain's birds of prey are being shot, trapped and poisoned, according to the RSPB.

The RSPB says birds of prey are being shot, trapped and poisoned in connection with grouse moors. We hear from them and the shooting industry.

Britain's protected birds of prey are being killed and persecuted - the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says raptors are most at risk over driven grouse moors.  In its Bird-crime 2018 report published yesterday, the RSPB says protected birds are being trapped, shot and poisoned.  It lists 87 incidents involving birds like hen harriers, buzzards, red kites and peregrines but says there was only one conviction. 

Wild boar numbers are growing across the country and they're being culled to protect crops and forestry. Landowners are responsible for managing boar, and now a specific qualification has been introduced to train marksmen and women. But is self-regulation enough?

And "Project Pollinator" aims to encourage dairy farmers to grow wildflowers for insects.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe
Produced by Heather Simons

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