BIRDWATCH

Over the past week you may have heard a very interesting news item. Two hen harriers are reported to have been shot on the Sandringham estate. It's not that surprising as, sadly, this happens all the time and every now and again makes the birding or shooting press.

Obviously this is a little more exciting for the media as it is a royal estate and as a result it has achieved national coverage.

Radio 4's Today and made some very clear and powerful points against this outdated and ignorant practice.

What particularly interested me was that the interviewer, seeking to create some tension and make the piece more interesting, took a line of questioning along the lines of "Surely this is a waste of valuable police time, investigating the shooting of a bird when they could be fighting crime related to humans?"

The RSPB man was presumably not prepared for this and did an excellent job of sticking to his guns and getting his message across.

But I really wanted him to throw caution to the wind and answer the question.I have heard a similar question, with different detail, asked many times, often by well-informed, sensitive and intelligent people, but the ignorance of the question amazes me every time.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette November 7