Why won’t the RSPB spend its own money?

The RSPB has been accused of “chasing grant money” to do its job, in collusion with Natural Resources Wales (NRW). 

Campaign for the Protection of Moorland Communities (C4PMC), a group dedicated to protecting moorland communities and driven grouse shooting, has alleged that the RSPB, a charity with a turnover of £165 million, understands the steps required to reverse the decline of black grouse in Wales, but has been refusing to spend its own money to do so. 

C4PMC suggests that the RSPB will only take action to halt the decline of black grouse in North Wales if it receives grants from organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) or the taxpayer. C4PMC alleges that NRW encourages this approach by acting as an external validator to HLF for the money it provides, while failing to agree delivery of tangible results with the RSPB. 

Since 1984, the RSPB has managed 8,000 acres of moorland and pasture near Lake Vyrnwy in North Wales, home to one of the most southerly remaining black grouse populations. The RSPB claims that in the 1990s it led a “hugely successful” black grouse project in the area, “saving the species from extinction”. 

Yet in another grant application a few years later for £3.3m, the RSPB stated: “Without the serious interventions RSPB is proposing in this bid, in the next few years curlew, black grouse and merlin will cease to appear as breeding species in this area.” 

In February the RSPB received £244,059 from HLF for “sustaining the uplands of north-east wales for black grouse”. 

Wildfowler Gethin Jones, who lives in Wales, said: “There was a time when I would have been delighted to hear that the RSPB was getting involved in a project to help save Wales’s remaining black grouse. However, pragmatism and good practice at ground level seems to have been lost in the rush to it becoming a grant-chasing, million-plus membership organisation that has lost sight of its raison d’etre. The future for black grouse, as well as curlew, in Wales looks bleaker than ever.” 

Sarah Wood, biodiversity and ecosystems resilience manager for NRW, told Shooting Times: “Protecting species at the greatest risk of extinction is a key focus of our work to see nature recovering in Wales by 2030. 

“Birds are a crucial part of a resilient and biodiverse environment in Wales and our staff are working hard with our partners to restore and improve their habitats and increase the population of some of our most threatened species, including black grouse. 

“But we cannot do this alone. Collaboration will be key if we are to reverse nature’s decline,” she added. 

The RSPB had not responded to our request for comment at the time of going to press.