What Is Natural England Hiding?
Campaigners say a suppressed report could expose failings in the Hen Harrier Brood Management scheme – and its political motivations.
“Brood Meddling” or “Brood Management”?
Natural England (NE) is under fire after refusing to release a social science report linked to its now-concluded Brood Management trial for Hen Harriers. The controversy has been reignited by campaigning website Raptor Persecution UK, which argues that the agency is obstructing public access to crucial evidence. The group uses the term “brood meddling” – a deliberately critical rephrasing of NE’s official “Brood Management” – to reflect what it views as a fundamentally flawed and unethical conservation strategy.
The Brood Management scheme, part of DEFRA’s 2016 Hen Harrier Action Plan, allowed chicks to be removed from grouse moors, reared in captivity, and later released into the wild. Natural England claimed this would reduce conflict between harriers and grouse moor interests. But Raptor Persecution UK and other critics viewed the policy as appeasement of illegal activity, pointing out that several released birds were later found dead or disappeared in suspicious circumstances.
Unpublished report cited in key decision
When NE announced in March 2025 that it would not be renewing the trial beyond its original 7-year licence, it cited a 2024 social science report commissioned from the National Centre for Social Research. Yet that report remains unpublished, and a formal request to obtain it has now been refused.
Raptor Persecution UK, who submitted the request in April 2025, noted: “This second report has never been published, and nobody outside of Natural England has seen it.” Despite being central to NE’s public announcement about the end of the scheme, the report remains inaccessible.
Freedom of Information delays and refusals
Initially, NE used the full 20 working days allowed under the Environmental Information Regulations before seeking an additional 20 days, citing “complexity/volume.” This was despite the fact the request was only for a single document.
On 18 June, NE issued a formal refusal. It claimed the report was still a “final draft” under internal review and invoked Regulation 12(4)(d) to justify non-disclosure – a clause allowing material to be withheld if still “in the course of completion.”
Raptor Persecution UK strongly contested the excuse, asking: “How can a report be considered to be in the ‘course of completion’ if it was completed last year and was used to support Natural England’s announcement in March 2025 that the brood meddling trial would not be extended?”
Concerns about accountability and public trust
Campaigners argue that withholding the findings of publicly funded research undermines transparency and weakens public trust. Raptor Persecution UK wrote: “It’s a disgrace that Natural England continues to operate in this way, refusing to publish material of huge public interest and importance.”
The blog continues: “The public has a right to see the evidence that was used to inform Natural England’s decisions. What is Natural England hiding?”
Growing calls for immediate release
With the Brood Management trial now concluded, pressure is mounting for Natural England to release the 2024 report without further delay. The incident has once again focused attention on the agency’s relationship with grouse moor interests and its perceived failure to protect persecuted raptors.
For groups like Raptor Persecution UK, the affair is emblematic of a broader pattern: one where conservation bodies appear more concerned with political sensitivities than with exposing the reality of wildlife crime on Britain’s uplands. Until the full findings are made public, suspicions about the true legacy of the brood management trial – or “brood meddling,” as its critics insist – will continue to grow.
For further background on this story visit the Raptor Persecution Website
June 2025
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