About Crows
Britain has a long history of persecuting corvids, whose members include crows, jackdaws, rooks, ravens, magpies, jays, and choughs in the UK. It has been legal and encouraged to shoot and kill crows and magpies for centuries for perceived agricultural attacks and the inter-generational memory has haunted both sides ever since - crows are shyer in areas with a history of persecution, and myths about corvids blinding lambs and decimating song bird populations still exist today. Since the revocation of the "general licence" to kill "vermin" birds like crows and pigeons in 2019 (those wishing to do so must now apply for individual licences), protesters representing the side of Natural England have left dead crows outside Chris Packham's house in response.
A survey by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) evidenced no difference in songbird population where magpie populations differed, suggesting that predator birds like corvids are being unduly blamed for a decline of songbirds caused by factors linked to human activity, such as changing farming techniques. Yet the RSPB continues to use larson traps to cull magpie numbers at some locations as a last ditch effort to preserve rare birds. Why should we value one life over another based on scarcity alone?
The general public, even those who claim to be "animal lovers", have never given the humble crow a second glance. You can bet that most of them will take no issue with calling for the extermination of city seagull populations, or calling pigeons 'sky rats.' But little do they know that we are behind the declining gull population, perceived as an increase because of us pushing them out of their natural, depleted habitat and into our rubbish-littered cities, and public efforts to cull the birds will only worsen the divide between man and animal.
My photography is a testament to the first hand experience of befriending some of the most hated birds in Britain. Crows who are afraid, who have leucism (white and low-quality feathering) caused by nutritional deficits, and who are ultimately trying to survive in the new world we have given them. They are the last bastion of nature amongst the urban sprawl, and our country hates them for it. Urban birds defy all of man's hatred and squandering of natural resources and habitat, representing hope for survival in the new age.