Tag: hunting

January 24, 2019 Nick Kempe 3 comments

On Friday the Cairngorms National Park Planning Committee, which all Board Members sit on, will consider the Balavil Estate’s Planning Application to build 5km of new road into the Monadhliath Wild Land Area (see here for all papers).  The December CNPA Planning Committee rightly agreed to defer the application because it had not been advertised properly…

December 27, 2018 Nick Kempe 1 comment

The Royal Family has, ever since Queen Victoria came to Deeside, played a central role in legitimising hunting culture, practice and consequent land-use across upland Scotland.   As long as the way they manage their land at Balmoral and Delnadamph (see here) remains unchallenged, other landowners across Scotland will mimic what they do.  That entails maintaining…

November 25, 2018 Nick Kempe 1 comment

The disappearance of two further tagged hen harriers within the Cairngorms National Park was  entirely predictable.    Its almost certainly blown apart the commendable target the Cairngorms National Park Authority set in its National Park Partnership Plan  “To eliminate raptor persecution”.   That should not be a surprise.   The 2017-22 Plan failed to tackle the underlying…

May 18, 2018 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Following the disappearance of a sea eagle on the Invercauld Estate, Raptor Persecution Scotland provided some excellent coverage of the disappearance  (see here) along with subsequent commentary.  So far this has covered the welcome statement from Grant Moir, Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, condemning the disappearance (see here) and then a commentary…

October 18, 2016 Nick Kempe 2 comments

    I am up in the north-west Highlands for a week, staying near Gairloch, and yesterday walked into Beinn an Eoin from Loch Bad Scalaig.   The first part of the track is through a native woodland scheme planted in 1998 and then leads on to the former bothy, Poca Buidhe, almost 12k in all.  …

September 24, 2016 Nick Kempe 1 comment

Raptor Persecution Scotland picked up  (see here) on a Cairngorms blog piece and article in the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald by Peter Argyle, Convener of the the Cairngorms National Park Authority.   I believe Peter’s contribution is very welcome and its very refreshing that as Convener of the National Park he seems prepared to engage…

May 29, 2016 Nick Kempe 16 comments

The Cairngorms National Park Authority has, with Scottish Natural Heritage,  issued a short educational video on dog walking in the National Park https://t.co/ZsYpjNosWL   This is to be welcomed.  The Land Reform Review Group, which reported to the last Scottish Parliament, concluded that access rights were working well but there were a number of areas where further…

April 2, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

There is an interesting thread on mountain hare persecution and National Parks on Raptor Persecution Scotland https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/sustainable-mountain-hare-culls-wheres-the-evidence/    Its very good that people are beginning to question not just why mountain hare persecution is  happening but also why, of all places, its being allowed in our National Parks.   Mike, my climbing partner on Thursday,…

March 27, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Douglas McAdam, Chief Executive of Scottish Land and Estates had an article in the Sunday Herald today http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14386203.A_landowner_s_defence_of_culling_mountain_hares/ defending the killing of hares in which he referred to the Cairngorms at the end.  He was obviously trying to persuade our politicians, who I have heard read the Sunday Herald, and the CNPA that everything is…

March 25, 2016 Nick Kempe 1 comment

On Tuesday the RSPB reported the death of a Hen Harrier on a moor near Newtonmore last September  http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/skydancer/b/skydancer/archive/2016/03/22/hen-harrier-lad-found-dead-on-speyside.aspxhe  It was good to hear Grant Moir, the Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park, condemn the probable killing outright – a more upfront response than the Park’s reaction to the Mountain Hare massacres last week. …

March 14, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

The CNPA have responded to the media coverage of the mountain hare cull  http://cairngorms.co.uk/mountain-hare-cull-statement/    The response is quite predictable – as a member of staff the Director of Conservation was not in a position to launch the CNPA in new directions – but very sad.  It demonstrates some of what is wrong with so-called conservation…