Campaigners are renewing calls for the National Trust to protect wildlife on its land after evidence emerged of poison baits having been placed in the entrances of a badger sett on moorland owned by the conservation charity in the High Peak.

This morning Wild Moors fired off a letter to National Trust Director General Hilary McGrady, urging her to consign grouse shooting to the history books over fears it is resulting in wildlife crime and hampering nature restoration efforts.

It follows the Trust ending grouse shooting on Park Hall, the moor where the poison baits were discovered, but making no comment on the future of its three remaining grouse shooting leases.

“Like many others, Wild Moors welcomed the news that the National Trust is ending grouse shooting at Park Hall and will instead restore the moorland for nature, climate and people. This is the right thing to do,” writes Wild Moors Executive Director Luke Steele.

“But while we applaud the Trust for making progress by ending the grouse shooting lease, we are worried that your approach continues to fall short of the action needed to protect wildlife across the High Peak Estate.”

In its letter, Wild Moors notes that there have been 11 other incidents of wildlife crime on the High Peak Estate since 2006, which includes birds of prey having been shot, trapped, poisoned and vanishing under suspicious circumstances.

Last spring two hen harrier nests, each with five eggs, failed to produce chicks on the High Peak Estate due to the sudden disappearances of the male bird. The males were feeding the females incubating the eggs. When they failed to return the females abandoned the nests.

Since then the Trust has tightened up the rules on grouse shooting by no longer permitting the use of a number of practices, which includes heather burning, laying of medicated grit and predator control, which were performed to increase the number of game birds for the guns.

Wild Moors has said that it will continue working towards a complete end to grouse shooting on National Trust land.