A “DEATH Zone” grouse shooting estate has been slapped with further restrictions after police were alerted to more wildlife crime on its property.
The notorious Leadhills Estate, in the south of Scotland, had previously been allowed a “general licence”, which allowed them to kill common birds to protect their grouse stocks.
That licence was restricted in 2019 after revelations about the slaughter of birds of prey and the killing of a rare hen harrier.
TV nature expert Chris Packham previously described the estate as a “death zone”, adding: “It is out of control, obviously beyond any form of self-regulation and is tolerant of an utter contempt for the laws which are meant to protect our wildlife. This woeful death zone in South Lanarkshire needs cleaning up.”
The latest action announced yesterday by environment protection agency NatureScot extends the restriction of the use of general licences until 2023.
The decision was made on the basis of additional, undisclosed evidence provided by Police Scotland of wildlife crime against birds.
In February this year, the League Against Cruel Sports told how investigators allegedly found a large batch of the extremely deadly and banned Carbofuran poison, on the estate the previous July.
Robbie Kernahan, NatureScot’s s Director of Sustainable Growth, said: “It is hugely disappointing to have to be considering further issues of wildlife crime against wild birds and we are committed to using the tools we have available to us in tackling this.
“In this case we have concluded that there is enough evidence to suspend the general licences on this property for a further three years. They may still apply for individual licences, but -if granted - these will be closely monitored.
“We work closely with Police Scotland and will continue to consider information they provide us on cases which may warrant restriction of general licences.
“The detection of wildlife crime can be difficult but new and emerging technologies along with a commitment from a range of partners to take a collective approach to these issues will help us stop this from occurring in the future.”
Robbie Marsland, director of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “Leadhills, or perhaps more appropriately ‘Deadhills’, has had two years to clean up its act, but it would seem the willful disregard for the welfare of wildlife on the estate is so ingrained, that nothing has changed.
“The League welcomes the extension to their general license restriction and to be frank, we would hope their license is never reinstated.
“Leadhills is notorious for bad practice, including storing large quantities of toxic poison which were discovered by League field researchers last year, and the year before.
“This estate is a disgrace, and a perfect example of the circle of destruction which surrounds grouse moors. We fully support the latest decision by NatureScot.”
A rare short-eared owl, two buzzards and three hen harriers were illegally killed on Leadhills Estate before investigators revoked its licence in 2019.
The 19,500 Leadhills Estate has been owned for many years by the Hope family, now headed by Adrian Hope, the fourth Marquess of Linlithgow. It’s official ownership now lies with two trusts - the Leadhills Trust and the Glengeith Trust.
A spokesman for Leadhills Estate said: “The estate is extremely disappointed by this decision and is actively considering an appeal against it.
"We have yet to see the evidence leading to this decision and have been requesting this information from the relevant authorities. Without that evidence, we question the justification for such a decision, which is likely to have an impact on wildlife on the estate.
"There has been no commercial driven grouse shooting on the estate for several years and the moorland is managed on a care and maintenance basis.
"The estate has a zero tolerance approach to wildlife crime and has robust compliance systems in place. Employees are fully aware of their responsibilities with regard to the conservation of wildlife and we are confident that wildlife crimes have not been committed by anyone employed on the estate.”
