lol of course i do! but song bird decline isnt caused by their native predator, its 100% man made, ...do you understand predator/prey relationship?? im no fan of the RSPB but this is really good.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...ppredator.aspx

are you worried about the impact 10 million domestic cats might be having on our song birds Jo? compare that figure to approx 80,000 sparrow hawks

So are you saying you'd like to see a cull on domestic cats? Well perhaps we ought to let foxes carry on with their natural progression then?

of course im not! i love all animals cats included... i merely asked you a question...habitat loss, pesticides,..cats! all put far more pressure on song birds ...so why make the sparrow hawk the scape goat??

The poison is illegal. Poison does not discriminate.

However ...

"They also found a dead fox, which had been poisoned, and a sheep carcass laced with carbofuran.

A Webley revolver and a Browning pistol were also recovered.

When interviewed by police, McKellar indicated that he had, in the past, placed carbofuran on meat for foxes to eat."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...-west-19517341

I'm not making sparrowhawks the scapegoat for anything, unless you're trying to tell me they are not victims of their own success. So tell me their numbers are low enough, and they don't predate on other declining species, that they themselves shouldn't be considered a threat. I'm sure pigeon fanciers, have absolutely b*gga all to do with current level of sparrow hawks, no matter what bizarre and historical references you may have come up with.

Ah right, so a common o' garden gamekeeper concealing hidden weapons with a practice of lacing a sheep carcass with poison to supposedly kill foxes, something that anyone on here who is pro hunting/shooting has already said they're absolutely against, they don't dispute it happens but do say it is simply not the norm and do not agree with people posting and making accusations as if it is the norm..

Nobody said it was the norm or made any accusations. It was simply stated that it does happen.

yes you are Jo you are putting the blame on them for song bird decline, again do you understand indiginous predator/prey relationships? you really ought to read this link it explains it well http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...ppredator.aspx

And nobody disputed that it doesn't happen, but to make it a point of dispute about the debate makes it seem as though it is something that is the norm, and it simply isn't, as has been said.

Nothing from the rspb will persuade me I'm afraid, I don't trust them one bit.

I asked you a question, you haven't answered it. Do you not believe sparrowhawks are responsible for the decline in some areas of our native species?

I can tell you from experience, I live in a row of cottages in the middle of nowhere, only once have I hard the garden birds calling in alarm in unison, I know there are two cats who are local to the area, neither hang about near my propty as the dogs bark at them. I wandered down into the garden the last time I heard the alarm calls, looked over the wall of the neighbouring proeprty, and a sparrowhawk made off with a young blackbird. It's not the first or last as they nest in this area.

I trust the rspb as far as I can sipt the anacronism, their figures mean nothing to me as long as they lie about their own stance on preservation. They deem it fit to allow an alien speices to predate on a protected raptor species, well, talk about pot calling kettle black!

Sorry to go back this long on a thread but this caugth my interest. Why do you you find this so distastful? The birds are released the birds are shot, the birds are dead, what's the difference, the birds dont know how they've been shot so whats the difference?