The hen harrier: our symbol
Hen Harrier Action wants to see nature flourishing again on our uplands. The scourge of driven grouse shooting still dominates vast tracts of our uplands, reducing them to a barren emptiness where you will be lucky to see any wildlife other than a red grouse. Mammals are systematically trapped and killed, raptors routinely subject to illegal persecution. The hen harrier, a rare and beautiful raptor, which has the misfortune to include grouse in its diet, is perhaps the most persecuted bird in the UK and so we have adopted it as the symbol of our campaign.
Hen Harrier Days
Hen Harrier Days celebrate our uplands and enable us to raise our voices against their abuse. They are locally organised by local people, and take many forms: stalls, events with speakers, gigs, walks and so on. Most take place across the weekend which immediately precedes the ‘Inglorious’ 12th of August, the date the grouse shooting season starts – but there are always some on other dates too.Covid is making planning very difficult for 2021, but we are still confident that there wiil be some larger and smaller events. If they can co ahead, you will be able to use this website to find a Hen Harrier Day near you.
Hen Harrier Action's role
Hen Harrier Action’s original and leading purpose is to provide central support to local Hen Harrier Days. We do this in three main ways. First, we organise publicity and marketing at a national level to raise general awareness of Hen Harrier Days and what they are all about. Second, we put local events ‘on the map’, helping a wider public find one near them. And third, we encourage and support local events, for example by putting them in contact with those who have run such events previously, providing checklists on what to do when running a public event, and offering resources such as artwork for posters and so on. Covid has presented severe problems, and for two years running we have majored on direct presentation of online events. We remain in close touch with local organisers to ensure that when possible on-the-ground events will bounce back stronger than ever.
Contact Us
We’d love to have your ideas and offers of help – including proposals to run a Hen Harrier Day. Please get in touch here or by emailing info@henharrierday.uk.