‘Operation Major is a new partnership aimed at raising awareness about the use of dogs in wildlife crime. @badgertrust , @leagueagainstcs , @naturewatchfoundation , and the @rspca_official have teamed up with the police to launch the campaign’

‘The aim of the Operation Major campaign is to improve the recognition of wildlife crime indicators and to encourage investigations when dogs display unexplained injuries.

Operation Major sees the police collaborating with veterinarians in an initiative aimed at boosting vigilance in identifying and reporting suspected wildlife crime-related injuries in dogs.

‘Operation Major is working to raise awareness that dogs are frequently harmed in wildlife crime and to encourage the reporting of concerns through straightforward channels.’

If you see or suspect a wildlife crime, please follow this guidance:

– If the incident is happening now — Ring 999

– If the incident has already happened — Ring 101

– If you have information about a concerning dog and details of the persons involved — Ring 101

“Anyone with information on animal fighting can report it to the League Against Cruel Sports’ confidential Animal Crimewatch service’’ (there is a Whatsapp number for direct reporting via their website). 

Pressures on police resources mean that fewer officers are engaged in patrols and investigations in rural areas. Constabularies have easy-to-use systems where, in addition to using 999 or 101 to report incidents, you can send them evidential footage obtained on your smartphone or dashcam. 

Practice using Siri / Google Assistant / Bixby to ‘take a note’ handsfree whilst your driving for vehicle reg plates, descriptions and what you saw, and use @what3words to confirm locations.

Seeing suspicious activity or evidence and not bothering to take a few minutes to report it might mean that the ‘missing jigsaw piece’ never gets added to the investigation puzzle, and those that harm and kill wildlife and dogs are free to continue to do so. 

Please note that posting what you saw on a community whatsapp group or on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok IS NOT the same as reporting it to the police. 

P.S. Stay safe whilst helping 👍

More detail here

Whenever you read the MWIS forecast (and Dear Reader you really ought to) look out for the word ‘significant’, especially when prefixing the words ‘windchill’ or ‘snowfall’.

The translation of ‘significant’ from MWIS English to lay-person English is ‘will defo need your biggest coat, overmitts and a second hat’.

As an example, at about dusk on Saturday until y’all are in bed, the wind swings round to a northerly and gusts from 25-40mph. I’ve added a little grid to help you with the maths.

I’m not an expert but i think your gymshark bum enhancer tights (for men) and your sliders might not cut it whilst you’re wandering circles round Higher Shelf Stones at 5pm still trying to find RB-29A.

Mountain Hare

Lepus Timidus

This one was possibly/probably clipped by a vehicle above Bamford

The mountain hare population in the Peak is the only one in England and was probably translocated here in the 1870’s from Scotland

Their decline in numbers here is very very significant. Estimates put the population at 3562 in 2017 and reduced to 1038 in 2024

Researchers at @naturalengland and @manmetuni estimate that at that rate of decline the species will disappear from the Peak ‘within the next few years’.

The species does best here on areas of restored peat bog

Climate change is one of several factors leading to the stark reduction in numbers – coat colour mismatch aka the hare turning white but the terrain remaining brown / green – makes the hare more vulnerable to predators

You can see this animal was mid moult when it was killed

There is an excellent paper titled ‘Seven Year Decline of Mountain Hare Abundance in the Peak District, England’ by Dr Carlos Bedson et al published in ‘Ecology and Evolution’ Volume 15 Issue 3 (google it for an online copy) which dives deep in to this wonderful animal and the reason for its demise hereabouts

Next time you’re up high in the restored groughs and cloughs of the upper Dark Peak this winter have yourself a sit and a wait and a look …. patience pays

Shillito Cross

An ancient waymarker

eastern_moors_partnership had to fence it off recently due to repeated incidents of the cross having graffiti scratched in to it

The fence is to protect it until (and if) the graffiti could be professionally removed

Today somebody has decided to scatter what appears to be the ashes of a human (or large animal ?) around the cross

The spreading of cremation ashes in the @peakdistrictnationalpark and indeed in all countryside is not permitted without the explicit permission of the landowner or landmanager for scientifically proven reasons around the impact of introducing ashes to ecosystems

Just placing this here. Just an exercise last night but a casualty turned from uncomfortably cold to chipper and warm inside a bothy bag with 2 people for company in under 5 minutes. Several brands make them. I carry the Supalite version of these from summitgear dot co dot uk. (The Supalites are less weight than the standard model but more £ and they are warmer because they don’t have a window in them). Whether your stop is planned (aka lunch) or unplanned (aka you have suffered an injury which means you can’t continue), putting your arse on a £5 foam sit mat and getting in to one of these with a few mates will make a lot of difference.

It might well make all the difference.

P.S. unless you’re in a walking group for the Under 5’s i wouldn’t recommend the 2 person tbh. 2 normal size humans wearing winter clothing probably won’t fit inside most two person bothy bags. Get a 4.

#bothiesbeforebandages

‘The Global Wildfire Information System estimates that by November, wildfires had burned 47,026 hectares (116,204 acres) in 2025 in the UK – the largest area in any year since monitoring began in 2012, and more than double the area burned in the record-breaking summer of 2022’

A recent article in the Guardian.

‘The Best Time To Plant a Tree Was 30 Years Ago, and the Second Best Time To Plant a Tree Is Now’ …. so the quote goes.

…. ergo the best time to equip all the parties involved in wildfire response was 30 years ago, and the second best time is now.

But the government won’t.

The country is up to a decade behind in many aspects of education, technology, prevention and response around wildfires, and the only thing that will accelerate the process (and close the gap) is when wildfires start removing large numbers of properties and people off the map.

And by then it will be too late.

There was a 717% increase in the number of wildfires between 2024 and 2025 (*the figure is probably much higher because that was the statistic in June).

Like so many aspects of the relationship between humans and landscapes, the scale of the growth of the problem is exacerbated by the chronic defunding of the organisations expected to do the education, engagement, prevention and extinguishing of wildfires.

Yes, you can quote me on that.

‘Hope is not a good plan’.

….. and so it was that from the thousands that had applied to attend the traditional 17th of November gathering, i whittled it down to just six. Two of which were dogs.

In maybe 10 years of doing this today was the best weather by a stellar mile. Cold but not too cold and full on bluebird.

The mantra of ‘Never Knowingly Under Catered™️’ was upheld and the buffet i ‘prepared’ filled both an @aiguillealpine Guide 50 and an @ospreypacks Mutant 30.

The tradition of supping Nescafe 3in1s whilst dad-dancing to Manchester Rambler was also upheld.

It was all going swimmingly until Stef wandered part way up the hillside to take some photos wearing a sheep fleece coloured jacket and for some bizarre reason Isla and Archie mistook him for an attacking yak and went full on guard dog attack mode. I haven’t heard the labrador bark in at least 3 yrs.

Fine weather, food and friends. I’ll take that.

Big love to

@paulmorris433
@tomrichardson1811
@rhona_gram
@stefanamato
Archie
and Isla

for joining in the tradition 🙏

First glove day of the season the other day. Emerging out in to the wind above Lose Hill Farm and the northerly strips the heat from my hands …

@niwaki.hq Season. Fleece lined Japanese winter gardening gloves. Waterproof. Grippy palms. Enough dexterity for most tasks. I carry probably 3 pairs right through until the end of Spring. Hammered them on winter ⛑️ rescues last year and all the pairs are still usable.

Did i mention that they’re £12 a pair ?

Buy online direct from Niwaki or in the shop in the @rheged_centre. Dry them out away from direct heat.

Oh, and don’t overlook ways of warming the blood in your forearm and wrist before it gets in your hand …. a fleece wristwarmer is the secret weapon for warm hands – @needlesports sell the @terranovaequipment ones for <£20

Cold hands outdoors in winter are a liability.

The leaves have fallen off the trees and the bare landscape offers less opportunities to hide. Winter is a time when raptors become more conspicuous. Fewer daylight hours coupled with reduced prey abundance, means birds of prey are hunting more frequently too. Peregrine, hen harrier, goshawk, short eared owl, barn owl, common buzzard and kestrel all regularly seen over the last few weeks.

The wire guards for the ‘Ethel Trees’ (the 100 trees planted on moorland by @cpre_pdsy and @eastern_moors_partnership to commemorate in 2024 the centenary of the charity that Ethel Haythornthwaite founded) provides a vantage point for this female kes.

The pop quiz fun fact about the kes is that it has ultraviolet vision – it sees light in shorter wavelengths (10 to 400 nanometers) than humans (who see between 400 and 700 nanometers) ….. and it just so happens that the urine of many small mammals and insects reflects UV light. So a kes on a perch or in the hover looks for these UV ‘footprints’, follows them in the direction in which the UV is reflected most strongly, and bingo … finds its next meal.
The efficiency with which a kes hunts due to its UV vision is much greater than that of a bird with non-UV vision.

You’re welcome.

Excellent article on winterising kit for mountain rescue duty. Much of this advice is as relevant to ‘ordinary’ hill and mountain walkers as it is to MR volunteers.