Britain to kill magpies, crows to protect songbirds
By IANSThursday, January 27, 2011
LONDON - Noisy birds like magpies and crows will be trapped and killed in Britain so that songbirds could survive, according to a report.
Birds of prey, including buzzards and sparrowhawks, may also be culled in the same way, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Songbirds such as the yellowhammer, corn bunting and skylark - whose songs are described as treasured part of the countryside - have been in decline.
But the killing plan has provoked anger from bird campaigners who believe other factors are responsible for the population drop in songbirds.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says it is the removal of their traditional habitat and food sources that has done the damage.
Another group - Songbird Survival - is backing the cull and says despite billions of pounds being paid to farmers to protect bird habitats and numbers, they are still dropping.
According to figures published by the department for environment, food and rural affairs, there was a fall in farmland bird numbers of seven percent between 2003 and 2008.
Populations of main predators of songbirds have doubled in the past 30 years.
Sparrowhawks, which kill an estimated 50 million songbirds a year, have increased by 152 percent to 40,100 breeding pairs.
Magpies, which raid nests, steal eggs and kill chicks, have increased by 98 percent.
Nick Forde, a trustee for Songbird Survival, criticised the RSPB for defending its interests.
“How many old ladies would want to leave their money to an organisation that goes round killing birds? There are a lot of vested interests who resist the idea of managing wildlife but if we don’t we are going to lose our biodiversity.”
An RSPB spokesman said: “There are dark forces at work here. There is a lot of rhetoric going on about all our songbirds being eaten by nasty predators. We think these declines are driven by changing farming practices.”
The trial culling of crows and magpies will be carried out in sites in Hampshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Herefordshire or the Scottish Borders.
