It is a tragedy when birds that once soared plentifully in the skies over Scotland are threatened with serious decline. One such is the hen harrier. Often described as a national treasure, its persecution and that of other birds of prey has been, in the words of the late Donald Dewar a “national disgrace”.

Recent decades have seen sharply reduced numbers of hen harriers in parts of Scotland, while in England a government report found the bird was “threatened with extinction as a breeding species”.

Wildlife protection groups place this decline firmly at the hands of illegal persecution, particularly on grouse-shooting estates. Certainly, it hardly requires forensic deduction to conclude the interests of the noble hawk wheeling silently above the moor are at odds with those of men firing guns below. The birds were almost wiped out in the 19th century when sporting estates first spread.

Game conservation groups, for their part, point to good breeding results in some parts of Scotland, and note that numbers have also been poor where grouse shooting has all but ceased. In addition, they adduce predation of young by foxes and crows, and highlight danger from wind turbines.

The Scottish Raptor Study Group (SRSG), celebrating Hen Harrier Day at RSPB Scotland’s Loch Leven nature reserve next weekend, is unimpressed. It wants the Scottish Government, as a matter of urgency, to introduce state-regulated licensing of game bird hunting. According to the SRSG, self-regulation by game bird shooters has “patently failed” and a step change is now required into the management of game bird hunting.

Its petition to the Scottish Government is now gathering signatures and, when finally presented, will have to be given serious consideration. The hen harrier is a natural part of Scotland’s skies, and its absence would be a terrible judgment on us all. It is time now to reverse the tragedy of its decline – before it is too late.