Defra have hit out at the RSPB, after claims that the charity closed down all potential sources of hen harrier chicks to populate a Natural England (NE) reintroduction project based in Wiltshire.
The reintroduction project - which has already cost over £300,000 - is now stalled and Defra has provided a succinct summary of the reasons: “Due to contact by RSPB with conservation groups in France and Spain, NE has been unable to source chicks for the re-introduction. Without chicks the reintroduction cannot go ahead and we cannot stop RSPB.”