Hen Harrier Day Wales 2020
Today (July 18 2020) sees the first Hen Harrier Day ever hosted in Wales. Which does seem strange given that uber-Welsh conservationist and broadcaster Iolo Williams has been a vocal and passionate supporter of Hen Harrier Day since the first HHD in the Peak District on 10 August 2014, but that makes it all the more welcome as the once-small protest movement against the persecution of birds of prey on grouse moors continues to gather pace.
Today’s event is also the first to be held online, as organisers have had to bow the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic and bring the Day inside. There will still be a great cast of speakers though – and the line-up is exactly who you’d want to hear from if you want to learn the truth about raptor persecution, wildlife crime, and the driven grouse shooting industry.
- These include Iolo, Chris Packham, Dr Ruth Tingay (Raptor Persecution UK and Wild Justice), Dr Cathleen Thomas (RSPB Hen Hen Harrier LIFE project manager), Rob Taylor, Head of rural crime team at North Wales Police, Alan Davies (Bird Watching Trips and former site manager at RSPB Conwy) and Dan Rouse (Welsh Ornithologist and wildlife conservationist) .
There’ll also be (to quote) “some fantastic raffle prizes up for grabs including guided nature walks, guided mountain days in Snowdonia, rock climbing day, birdwatching trips and many more”.
The event is being streamlined live on Facebook from noon, and ‘tickets’ (it’s free, a small donation is being asked for) can be ordered through Eventbrite at https://eventbrite.co.uk/e/hen-harrier-day-wales-2020-tickets-98302008955
The grouse shooting industry is under immense pressure to either reform or get the heck out of the countryside – events like these keep the focus on the wildlife crime, the environmental destruction, and the slaughter of native wildlife that the industry is repsonsible for.
If you’ve a few hours spare please join in….

EDIT: The event was recorded and is now online at https://facebook.com/watch/live/?v=281288396459863
It was hosted by Alan Davies and Ian Cooper and includes excellent contributions from the likes of Iolo Williams, Ruth Tingay, Cathleen Thomas, Dan Rouse, Rob Taylor, and Chris Packham. A great first event (tricky to pull off online but remarkably smooth given that it was a first event), congratulations all.