Harriers are protected because in the past they were heavily persecuted, they were killed by humans with a vested interest in game shooting and almost all harriers on mainland Britain were eliminated. Nowadays because they are protected and attitudes have changed this is much less of a problem but the numbers of harriers are still below historical figures and due to habitat loss the population is struggling to increase. Protection of the birds and their moorland habitat is giving them the best chance to recover.
