AS THE Scottish Farmer went to press, RSPB Scotland announced that another satellite-tagged raptor, a young male Hen Harrier, had ceased transmitting whilst on a grouse moor in the Monadhliath Mountains.

RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations Ian Thomson said: “The transmitters being fitted to these birds are exceedingly reliable, and illegal persecution is therefore the most likely explanation of the disappearance of these birds of prey.

“It proves, yet again, that despite there being a good number of enlightened estates who are happy to host and protect nesting birds of prey – as soon as they move away from these areas they are being illegally killed.

“The denials and obfuscation from representatives of the land management sector, and their consistent failure to acknowledge and address this problem, is one of the main reasons why our bird of prey populations are struggling in the central and eastern Highlands," said Mr Thomson. "We repeat our call to the Scottish Government to introduce a robust system of licensing of game bird hunting, where the right to shoot is dependent on legal and sustainable management of the land, in line with approaches adopted in most other European countries.”