Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the data published by Natural England on 15 December 2021 on the number of satellite tags on hen harriers that have stopped transmitting since November 2021.

For many years Natural England (NE) has been involved with monitoring, tagging and satellite tracking hen harriers. When a bird goes missing, it may be due to natural causes, an issue with the device, or there is a possibility that it could have been illegally killed. In the first instance, NE staff communicate with the police and will attempt to retrieve the bird to establish the cause of death. If there is evidence of illegal killing, police will investigate, assisted by NE.

As of the end of the last breeding season, NE was tracking 29 hen harriers: 17 newly-fledged juveniles and 12 adults. Of the 17 juveniles hatched and tagged in 2021, in 10 cases the tags have ceased transmitting, with the birds believed to have died. Of those, three have been found, of which two appear to have died due to natural causes, and one is pending further investigation. The other seven were not found, with no police investigations due to the absence of any information about cause of death. Of the 12 adults being tracked, one tag has ceased transmitting, with the bird believed to have died, and has not been found. NE is therefore still tracking seven juveniles and 11 adults. Natural mortality of juvenile hen harriers is much higher than adults, and it would not be surprising for at least 50 per cent to die naturally in their first year, even in the absence of persecution. There is currently an ongoing police investigation into t he death of an adult bird that went missing last year before the end of the breeding season.

The Government takes wildlife crime seriously, with most wildlife crimes carrying an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. To address concerns about the illegal killing of birds of prey, senior Government and enforcement officers have identified raptor persecution as a national wildlife crime priority. NE and Defra continue to be fully involved with the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group and NE continues to work closely with Wildlife Crime Officers. Additionally, since 2016, Defra and the Home Office have contributed approximately £300,000 annually to the National Wildlife Crime Unit, which monitors and gathers intelligence on wildlife crime, including raptor persecution, and aids police forces in their investigations when required.