ACTUAL EVIDENCE??
"...most numerous raptor in Britain and also
seems to be killed in the greatest numbers."
"...with each brace of grouse
supposedly worth up to..."
"Because the
chance of anyone detecting these baits
is considered low,
it is likely that the numbers of baits and poisoned birds found represent a small fraction of the totals"
"Using field data and population modelling, the authors
calculated that a total of 166 Red Kites had
probably been illegally poisoned in this region between 1999 and 2006,
but only 41 poisoned carcasses were found and reported."
"This was not necessarily because poisoning had increased there but because
it had probably declined in lowland areas (Whitfield
et al.
2003)."
"....but are now allegedly used ...."
"
One would not expect to find these methods described in the scientific literature but they seem widely acknowledged among those familiar with grouse moor management"
"Such was the impact of
inferred persecution in northern Scotland." It was inferred on the preposterous basis that the North of Scotland was as productive and hospitable an environment as the Chilterns. Similar death rates of red kites were found in non-grouse moor areas, but mainly attributed to other causes.
All of the above is not actual evidence, but at best circumstantial evidence. Some of it is totally worthless nonsense. No actual evidence is presented to back up claims that keepers are systematically killing birds of prey, yet mere rumours merited inclusion.
Here's some of the little "actual evidence" from the paper - "Analysis of BTO Atlas data for 1988–1991 and 2008–2011 showed that the proportion of 10‐km grid squares on managed grouse moors occupied by breeding Merlins in England doubled from 40 to 80%, but on other open upland it fell from 55 to 20% (Rogers
2014). " "Nevertheless, some of the highest densities of ground‐nesting Merlins occur in parts of northern England (Balmer
et al.
2013), where the management of grouse moors is intense. Sufficient tall Heather for nesting Merlins evidently remains, despite sward burning to benefit grouse. Conversely, in the Berwyn Special Protected Area of North Wales, where moorland management ceased in 1992, numbers of breeding Merlins declined from a peak of 14 pairs in 1992 to eight in 2000, and then to only two pairs in 2014 (Sotherton
et al.
2017)."
He does talk some sense pointing out that populations would not necessarily be any higher if grouse shooting didn't occur, because of the enormous amount of beneficial management done by grouse moor owners.
How about even the RSPB's figures? Which amount to about 1 bird per year per 1,000 square miles.
Why are you unable to accept that raptor persecution is rare, when you are presented with ample evidence?
The case in your paper boils down to alleging a crime because some species are not present in the full numbers the habitat is estimated to be able to support. That's a ludicrous premise.
