The much-persecuted hen harrier has enjoyed its best breeding year in England for nearly two decades, benefiting from good weather and high numbers of voles. Grouse moor groups hailed the fledging of 60 chicks from 19 nests across the northern Pennines as a vindication of controversial “brood management”, whereby chicks are removed from some nests on grouse moors, reared in captivity and released elsewhere. Brood management is one part of a government action plan for the endangered hen harrier, but most conservation charities have disavowed it, arguing that the shooting industry must first stop the illegal killing of hen harriers. Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England, the government’s conservation watchdog, thanked partners including landowners, police and charities, and said: “Despite the great progress there is no cause for complacency. Too many birds still go missing in unexplained circumstances and I urge anyone who is still engaged in the persecution of these magnificent creatures to cease at once.” Although ecologists calculate that the English uplands could support a breeding population of 330 pairs of hen harriers, the birds virtually ceased breeding in England earlier this century because of persecution. Hen harriers are targeted because they predate red grouse, for which there is a lucrative driven shooting industry on the moors. This year’s success – the best since Natural England began working to revive the species in 2002 – means that 141 hen harrier chicks have fledged over the past three years. Amanda Anderson, the director of the Moorland Association, said: “Yet again it has been a fantastic year for hen harriers and we have now seen significant increases in successful nests and chick numbers for three years running as part of the hen harrier recovery plan, which includes the innovative brood management scheme trial. “Twelve of the nests reported today are on land managed for grouse shooting and this reflects a genuine commitment from moor owners and managers to work with others and help rebuild the harrier population.” Dr Ruth Tingay, a co-director of Wild Justice said: “It doesn’t matter how many successful hen harrier nests there were this year if those young birds are subsequently shot, trapped and poisoned on driven grouse moors. This is a species in desperate trouble, its population in continuing decline, and Natural England would do well to put its resources into targeting the criminals within the grouse shooting industry instead of issuing joint press releases proclaiming ‘success’.”