According to the RSPB, when tagged hen harriers die naturally, tags usually continue to transmit, allowing the bird to be recovered and examined. RSPB figures show that between 2015 and 2024, 67 confirmed or suspected raptor persecution incidents were recorded in or near the Yorkshire Dales National Park – including 39 cases of birds of prey being poisoned, trapped or shot. 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. “As a committed conservation organisation, we are taking progressive steps with our partners to oversee the continued recovery of hen harriers.