Change law to save eagles from ‘melancholy madness’, falconers tell MSPs

The law should be amended to allow eagles to hunt mountain hares and stop birds of prey from falling into “melancholy madness”, falconers have urged MSPs.

As part of a public petition, a golden eagle called Stanley was brought to the garden of the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday.

Stanley perched on the wrist of MSP Jackson Carlaw, who said a change is needed to allow the bird of prey to hunt once again.

The eagle’s owner, Barry Blyther, has brought a petition to Holyrood which has gathered thousands of signatures, seeking an amendment to the Animals and Wildlife Act 2020 to allow mountain hares to be hunted for the purposes of falconry.

Mr Blyther, who runs Elite Falconry, said the law prevents eagles like 15-year-old Stanley from flying in large parts of Scotland as owners could be prosecuted if a hare is caught.

He said being unable to fly in mountain regions limited the opportunity for birds of prey to show their natural behaviour.

He told the PA news agency: “Worse than that, it actually creates behavioural problems, they get psychologically damaged and that manifests itself as self-mutilation, they start plucking their feathers out their legs and backs.

“They generally become unbalanced. It’s kind of a melancholy madness.”

Mr Blyther said the impact of falconry hunting on mountain hares would be “infinitesimal” and hills on managed moorland are “burgeoning” with the prey animals.

The legislation was designed to stop mass culls of hares rather than falconry, he said.

Mr Carlaw, the Conservative MSP who convenes the Public Petitions Committee, said falconers had suffered from “unintended consequences” of the law.

He told the PA news agency: “97.5% of Scotland would now not be a legitimate place for a bird like Stanley to fly and hunt.

“And if he did, then Barry here would be prosecuted and that’s just ridiculous.

“As a consequence, Stanley has not been able to fly for over two years, in case he – not realising where the invisible tram lines are – crossed them and managed to seize a hare.”

The Public Petition Committee decided to continue the petition and would support an amendment to the law.