Liam Stokes, Head of Shooting Campaigns at the Countryside Alliance, has written for the ShootingUK website on "the RSPB's inconsistent position on shooting issues." In "Are the RSPB pro or anti shooting?" Liam observes that while the Society claims neutrality on shooting, there is a marked editorial difference from different sections. While RSPB Conservation Director Martin Harper has written that "the grouse industry [sic] can deliver environmental benefits and can make a real and valuable contribution to species conservation.....Contrast this message of neutrality with the most recent edition of the RSPB e-newsletter "Legal Eagle". The RSPB doesn't trumpet this publication too loudly, possibly because of its wilfully incendiary delivery. It is the newsletter of the organisation's investigations team, detailing ongoing prosecutions and highlighting pieces of news the investigations team finds of interest.
One such piece of news, found on page 15 of the March 2016 edition, is the publication of a new report on Scottish grouse moor management by that distinctly less than neutral organisation, the League Against Cruel Sports. The findings of the report from this animal rights group are laid out for the reader in bullet point form, including concerns regarding entirely legal heather burning and predator control, both of which the RSPB carry out themselves, and a scornful look at the economic impact and employment data of grouse shooting." Read Liam's article in full here. Follow Liam on Twitter @LNJStokes.