According to the RSPB, when tagged hen harriers die naturally, tags usually continue to transmit, allowing the bird to be recovered and examined. The charity said 29 tagged hen harriers, including Sita, had also vanished in suspicious circumstances over the same period. Paul Samuels, co-chair of Hen Harrier Action, which sponsored Sita’s satellite tag through public donations, said: “The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a landscape where hen harriers ought to be thriving. Sita’s short life and sad end should be a catalyst for change.”The RSPC claims crimes against hen harriers are linked to land managed for grouse shooting, with the charity calling for a licensing system to be introduced in England for shoots. “As a committed conservation organisation, we are taking progressive steps with our partners to oversee the continued recovery of hen harriers.