Missing hen harrier in the North Pennines AONB

11 November 2022

We are aware of the disappearance of a satellite-tagged hen harrier in the North Pennines in early October and subsequent investigations by Durham Police. This is the seventh tagged hen harrier to ‘disappear’ in the North Pennines in the last four years.

Director of the North Pennines AONB Partnership, Chris Woodley-Stewart, said: “We can’t at this stage be sure of what happened here, but to repeat what I’ve said before, these tags are reliable, regardless of any misinformation on them that you may have seen. One might be an accident, two is unfortunate, but seven might be considered a pattern that suggests people are breaking the law. Then there’s the other satellite tagged harriers that have gone missing in other parts of the English and Scottish uplands. It’s staggering that we keep having to make these appeals, but if you have any information about this latest incident, please call 101 quoting incident reference number 79 of October 19, email PC Williamson at david.williamson@durham.police.uk or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”