PROBE: Anu, the unusual hen harrier, who was untagged and is missing out on.
The male hen harrier, christened Anu upon being tagged by the RSPB, has actually been tracked because 2021 on moorland which separates Barnsley and Sheffield.
Having been tracked in locations such as Crane Moor, Thurgoland and Wharncliffe Crags, Anu’s tag suggested that he was roosting on a grouse moor on February 10.
However, the tag information revealed uncommon motion from the bird after 10.25pm that night, when Anu would generally have actually been fixed.
The tag’s next signal – which pinged a day later on – was more unexpected still, suggesting the bird was dead.
After an extensive search, the tag was discovered, 9 kilometres away to the east, on February 14 at Wharncliffe Chase, although there was no body.
The RSPB’s Tom Grose, who is examining the event, said: “This was reported to South Yorkshire Police and forensic analysis confirmed the tag harness had been cut by a human rather than bitten or pulled off.
“We suspect that Anu was killed, and the body and tag separated to remove evidence from the crime scene, with the tag then dumped.
“Anu’s body remains missing, and further enquiries have been unsuccessful.
“To find Anu’s tag detached from his body, having been deliberately cut off, categorically shows human involvement.
“It is highly suspicious that he roosted on a grouse moor the night before, was unexpectedly active in the hours of darkness and hasn’t been seen since.
“We suspect that that Anu was killed that night, his tag was cut off and then the body dumped away from the grouse moor by someone trying to cover their tracks.
“The deliberate killing of a wild bird is illegal.”
Hen harrier numbers have actually revealed constant enhancement over the previous 6 years in Barnsley, accompanying the intro of the government-led healing strategy in 2016.
The trial has actually seen 34 chicks from 9 broods require to the wing in overall – and 5 of the brood-managed birds have actually gone on to breed in the wild, including 17 chicks to the wild hen harrier population.
The trial includes eggs and chicks from wild nests being raised for a couple of weeks at an expert bird of victim centre prior to being carried to pens on grouse moors where they are tagged and kept an eye on prior to being launched into the wild, back into the very same basic locations that they originated from.
However, a 2019 research study of satellite-tagged hen harriers by Natural England revealed that 72 percent of 58 were either validated or thought about highly likely to have actually been unlawfully killed.
Furthermore, it discovered that hen harriers were 10 times most likely to disappear inexplicably or pass away on a grouse moor than anywhere else.
Tom included: “When only a small percentage of hen harriers in the UK are tagged, you can’t help wonder what is happening to the other non-tagged birds.
“This is a species in trouble, and the UK population remains far below what it should be.
“As the nature crisis tightens its grip, illegal persecution of raptors must be stopped and that will only happen through the licensing of driven grouse moors as is happening in Scotland to bring accountability to this form of land management.
“The RSPB would like to thank South Yorkshire Police for their work on this case.”
If you have any info about this event, or understand of anybody killing birds of victim, call South Yorkshire Police on 101.