RSPB announced on Wednesday that it had been vindicated by two Charity Commission rulings after the conservation charity came "under concerted attack" from shooting enthusiasts.

image expired

Hunting organisation the Countryside Alliance and 'You Forgot the Birds' – a group linked to shooting interests and fronted by former cricketer Ian Botham – made complaints about the RSPB's work in November 2014 and January this year. In November, RSPB hit out at the groups, claiming "It is no coincidence that [pressure from the hunting lobby] comes at a time when the RSPB is calling for greater controls on the environmental impacts of some game shooting activities, amid growing public concern over the illegal killing of birds of prey."    

The Charity Commission did not investigate RSPB, but stated that the charity had not breached any regulations or guidelines. The bird conservation charity said in a statement on Wednesday, "We welcome the fact that these attacks have been systematically rejected. We will continue to play a proper role in campaigning for nature in the wider countryside and speaking out against wildlife crime."