Row erupts between wildlife groups and gamekeepers The GWCT's Langholm Moor Study, which began in 1992, shows that moorlands managed by gamekeepers in the right way can benefit hen harriers. The study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, shows that between 1992 and 1997 numbers of hen harriers went up from just two females to 20. This is because the site in southern Scotland was managed by gamekeepers who did not persecute the birds but did kill other predators like foxes and carrion crows that take hen harrier eggs and compete for food. However the number of hen harriers rose so high that the grouse population plummeted from several thousand to a few hundred, meaning the driven shoot on the Duke of Buccleuch's land was cancelled. From 1999 gamekeepers stopped managing the land and the predators were allowed to return. In that period the number of hen harriers fell back to just two females this year. Dr David Baines, the GWCT's Upland Director of Research, said the study is the first to prove that management of moorland is essential to the survival of the hen harrier - as well as other rare birds like the curlew. "The control of generalist predators by gamekeepers not only helps conserve important species of ground-nesting birds and grouse but is also beneficial for our spectacular hen harrier," he said. The RSPB conceded that the right kind of grouse moor management can boost numbers of hen harriers. However the charity accused gamekeepers of persecuting the birds, blaming them for the decline in their numbers. Grahame Madge, an RSPB spokesman, said that the shooting industry must make the end of persecution a priority to stop the extinction of hen harriers in England. It is clear that the favourable management of grouse moors is a key aspect of conserving the hen harrier. However, while illegal persecution on grouse moors remains the most significant threat to their future, the bird will continue to struggle. The hen harrier, especially in England is in a perilous state and the RSPB is challenging grouse moor owners to ensure this bird's continued survival in our uplands. "Dr Baines called it a "conservation conundrum" - that the management of moorland benefits the hen harriers, but at the same time this reduced grouse numbers so much there was no driven shoot and therefore no incentive for gamekeepers to keep killing predators." He insisted there is a solution by managing moorlands for the rural economy and wildlife but at the same time sustaining hen harrier numbers. The GWCT is now trying "diversionary" feeding of hen harriers to see if Langholm Moor can sustain a population of grouse as well as hen harriers. The idea is to prove that shooting estates can continue, while rare birds of prey are also protected. He suggested that if hen harrier numbers become too high chicks can be caught and released elsewhere in the UK in a new "quota system." "Devising techniques that can be put in place to reduce the impact of harriers on grouse would mean that harriers could breed more successfully on grouse moors where their natural predators such as carrion crows, hooded crows and red foxes, which predate clutches, chicks or even adults, are legally killed by gamekeepers on grouse moors to optimise grouse stocks," he said.