14 DAY TRIAL // Poaching activities, correlated with climate change and illegal trade have made the hen harrier population vulnerable, according to a recent study issued by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Natural England.
Conservation groups managed to reintroduce the creatures after they were declared extinct at the end of the 19th century, the Guardian reports.
According to RSPB, hen harriers are some of the most "intensively persecuted" birds of prey, because they compete with hunters. Their impact on the number of grouse available for hunting activities generates a modern conflict that threatens their survival in various parts of the UK.
Authorities are saying England currently has a significantly reduced number of hen harrier, mostly because humans still consider them valuable trophes and keep disrupting their balance. Although these creatures are now rare and critically endangered, once they were widespread all across the country.
Biologists say England should have at least 300 pairs of hen harriers, but as we speak, only four nesting pairs can be spotted in the Forest of Bowland in Lancashire.
Experts say the hen harrier population is only “four steps away” from extinction. The government has little time left to come up with effective measures, meant to change the fate of these vulnerable birds.