# DEFRA Buzzard control plans



## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

Sure most of you have heard about DEFRAs plans to aid gamekeepers in controlling buzzards in the UK. funded by tax payers.
RSPB voices shock at buzzard plans - Nature - Environment - The Independent


so please sign the petition 

Animals Petition: Minister for Wildlife and Biodiversity, DEFRA: Stop the subsidy for Buzzard nest destruction. | Change.org

thank you


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

_''the RSPB said buzzards were eradicated from swathes of Britain by persecution and were only now recovering''_

_''Around 40 million pheasants, which are not native to the UK, are released for shooting each year''_ 

Seems like DEFRA are more interested in the revenue shoots bring to the countryside than conserving the animals that should be there.


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## studley (Oct 3, 2010)

*buteos*

I love buzzards so am kind of sat on the fence on this one, but it's all swings and roundabouts really. 
here's another side, buzzards are at an all time high, which hasn't been good for our declining grass snakes and adders, they could do without the additional pressure, and buzzards are a major predator for them.

I accidentally flushed a buzzard off a half eaten (but still alive!) adult female grassy the week before last.

Don't forget there will be a lot of propaganda from the rspb as well, you cannot rely on them to provide you with the gospel!

the rspb make me laugh they're only interested in a fight when they know they can easily gain public support, they're always strangely quiet about cat predation (don't want to upset the members now, do we? even if their pets are killing millions of "protected" birds every year)


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

By them saying buzzards are at an all time high, do they mean since they became a protected species, or that their numbers are higher than historical numbers before they were nearly eradicated?

I see what you're saying about lots of buzzards means more animals being eaten by them, but surely this is nature? Adders and grass snakes are declining because of us, not predation from other animals. If they spent all that money on conserving suitable habitats for snakes instead of controlling an animal that is native to protect a non-native species I'd be very supportive. I'd probably even go so far as to say that if buzzards really were in over abundance and having a negetive effect on reptile populations they'd need moving, eradicating etc from areas where snake populations were high.
But it's not, it's about pheasants. I mean come on, it's not like pheasants are even livestock and used to feed the nation. They're put there so people who take up shooting as a hobby have something to shoot.

I do fully agree with you about the RSPCA and this is a perfect oppurtunity for them to gain support, although in this case I'm fully behind them. That doesn't mean I agree with a lot of what the RSPCA gets up to though.


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## studley (Oct 3, 2010)

callum b said:


> By them saying buzzards are at an all time high, do they mean since they became a protected species, or that their numbers are higher than historical numbers before they were nearly eradicated?
> 
> I see what you're saying about lots of buzzards means more animals being eaten by them, but surely this is nature? Adders and grass snakes are declining because of us, not predation from other animals. If they spent all that money on conserving suitable habitats for snakes instead of controlling an animal that is native to protect a non-native species I'd be very supportive. I'd probably even go so far as to say that if buzzards really were in over abundance and having a negetive effect on reptile populations they'd need moving, eradicating etc from areas where snake populations were high.
> But it's not, it's about pheasants. I mean come on, it's not like pheasants are even livestock and used to feed the nation. They're put there so people who take up shooting as a hobby have something to shoot.
> ...


It is nature, and they are both native species after all, but again there's another angle and we're responsible for it!

You are right reptiles are declining because of us, but you could argue that buzzards have increased because of us. They have benefited massively from a common introduced, non-native food source, the rabbit! 
It's no coincidence that buzzards crashed when myxamatosis hit in the mid 50's. Nowadays the rabbits are very plentiful, allowing buzzard populations to theoretically reach a higher level than our land was ever designed to support, thereby increasing the predation pressure on reps to a higher than "natural" level.

With a uk estimate of up to 44,000 breeding pairs, even if they do cull a few (which i doubt will ever happen) it'll make absolutely no difference to the population anyway.


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

words cannot express my hatred of this... i have emailed the moron mp and signed petitions.

must calm down must calm down


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## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

And now the truth...

Myth Bust: Reports that Defra is proposing to cull buzzards « Defra News

Email the reporters who have used people like sheep........


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## DaveWillisBHS (Mar 3, 2012)

Here's hoping . . .


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## Pete Q (Dec 4, 2007)

Shocking, signed.


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## Lucky Eddie (Oct 7, 2009)

studley said:


> I
> here's another side, buzzards are at an all time high,


Really? Except in Wales where they have been driven out by an immigrant Red Kite population!

In my view, the English explosion of Buzzards is down to population movement away from the kites and the exponential increase in the rabbit population.

Still, at least it gets them off the grouse moors and away from the bait traps!

We have just had our first pair settle locally and they are very welcome as far as I am concerned!


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## Woodsman (Aug 12, 2008)

Lucky Eddie said:


> Really? Except in Wales where they have been driven out by an immigrant Red Kite population!
> 
> In my view, the English explosion of Buzzards is down to population movement away from the kites and the exponential increase in the rabbit population.
> 
> ...


 I assure you,there's no shortage of Buzzards in Wales. They are still our most common raptor by far.


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## Lucky Eddie (Oct 7, 2009)

Send some this way then.

I'm fed up looking at Marsh Harriers all the time! :whistling2:


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## Brandan Smith (Nov 17, 2010)

RSPB
Defra U-turn on buzzard trial!
It's great news that Defra has announced it won't be going ahead with its controversial buzzard plans. And it's thanks to the outcry from people like you! Thanks for stepping up for nature.


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## Sylvi (Dec 30, 2008)

Thats great news! ....... now, I just need the local buzzards to pop round here and take out the wretched pigeons that are murdering my veggie plot!


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i hate the name buzzard... here in the states a buzzard is a turkey vulture... buzzards are hawks... like our majestic red tailed hawks...


raptors are protected here...

native hawks taking a back seat to some import seems wrong to me...

why do the hunters need to release pheasants anyway?

aren't they established there already?

where do they get the pheasants that they release?... from the wild or are they farm raised and easy targets used to people?


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

HABU said:


> i hate the name buzzard... here in the states a buzzard is a turkey vulture... buzzards are hawks... like our majestic red tailed hawks...
> 
> 
> raptors are protected here...
> ...


They breed Pheasants in large numbers for the shooting fraternity


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

There are lots of pheasant shoots take place near me. The organisers live in our village and this year so far, they have hatched 1500 pheasant eggs for the hunting. All good and well if you can shoot them all again but no, doing 50 down the lanes and a stupid pheasant just potters out and doesn't move! I cannot abide pheasants they are possibly the most brain dead bird I have ever seen haha

I am, however, awful at knowing what birds of prey look like in comparison with each other. We have little kestrels and owls here but also larger BOP some of which have a white band on the outside of their wings from underneath. Anyone know what they could be xx


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

brittone05 said:


> There are lots of pheasant shoots take place near me. The organisers live in our village and this year so far, they have hatched 1500 pheasant eggs for the hunting. All good and well if you can shoot them all again but no, doing 50 down the lanes and a stupid pheasant just potters out and doesn't move! I cannot abide pheasants they are possibly the most brain dead bird I have ever seen haha
> 
> I am, however, awful at knowing what birds of prey look like in comparison with each other. We have little kestrels and owls here but also larger BOP some of which have a white band on the outside of their wings from underneath. Anyone know what they could be xx


Sound like Common Buzzards to me. They have broad rounded wings in flight, creamy coloured underneath.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Thanks hun  These are quite huge compared to the normal kestrels and owls we see and just the outer wing has a block of light cream/white colour.

There is a barn owl that lives on the lane next to us and at dusk, if you drive up there it flies parallel to the car for practically the whole lane! We even saw babies last year  x


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

brittone05 said:


> Thanks hun  These are quite huge compared to the normal kestrels and owls we see and just the outer wing has a block of light cream/white colour.
> 
> There is a barn owl that lives on the lane next to us and at dusk, if you drive up there it flies parallel to the car for practically the whole lane! We even saw babies last year  x


I love seeing birds of prey in the wild. We have a pair of Peregrine Falcons that nest near Preston city centre at the top of a church spire, & there was a Sparrowhawk hanging around nearby gardens last year.


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

We often see falcons - I love the way they tuck their heads down while they hover! The joys of living in the middle of nothing lol Just going to the "local" papershop is a gorgeous drive through the lanes and forest for 5 miles and we see all kinds - pheasant, roe deer, muntjacks, hares, rabbits, shrews, adders, grass snakes and more that I can't even ID lol xx

I saw the peregrine falcons on the webcam on TV with their chicks  x


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

brittone05 said:


> We often see falcons - I love the way they tuck their heads down while they hover! The joys of living in the middle of nothing lol Just going to the "local" papershop is a gorgeous drive through the lanes and forest for 5 miles and we see all kinds - pheasant, roe deer, muntjacks, hares, rabbits, shrews, adders, grass snakes and more that I can't even ID lol xx
> 
> I saw the peregrine falcons on the webcam on TV with their chicks  x


Can I come live with you? lol


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## Kamuro (Feb 9, 2012)

brittone05 said:


> We often see falcons - I love the way they tuck their heads down while they hover! The joys of living in the middle of nothing lol Just going to the "local" papershop is a gorgeous drive through the lanes and forest for 5 miles and we see all kinds - pheasant, roe deer, muntjacks, hares, rabbits, shrews, adders, grass snakes and more that I can't even ID lol xx
> 
> I saw the peregrine falcons on the webcam on TV with their chicks  x


Im jelous of my dad in Yucca Valley, Califonia, he has Chipmunks, Jack Rabbits, hares, quails, ground squrrils, the desert tortoise, rattlesnakes, roadrunners, hawks, vulture's, Falcons...the list is endless[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]


The Desert Tortoise [/FONT]


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Course you can live with me. Bring the Chihuahuas and it a deal  xxx


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## Moodie (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi people. Can I point you all to this for some advice? I'm not getting far with google and you lot seem to know your stuff. Cheers.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/wildlife/854282-injured-buzzard-found.html#post10098149


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

brittone05 said:


> Course you can live with me. Bring the Chihuahuas and it a deal  xxx


Me too? I can bring a pita dog! :2thumb:


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

feorag said:


> Me too? I can bring a pita dog! :2thumb:


A what???


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## Lucky Eddie (Oct 7, 2009)

Zoo-Man said:


> A what???


Its a Greek breed....................:whistling2:

Or it might stand for Pain In The Ass.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Zoo-Man said:


> A what???





Lucky Eddie said:


> Or it might stand for Pain In The Ass.


It sure does!! :2thumb:


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## brittone05 (Sep 29, 2006)

Ooh Eileen - you are always more than welcome  xxx


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