This week’s Landward programme featured a section on the (mis)-use of crow traps, quite often used by gamekeepers to target birds of prey.
The programme featured Hugo Straker from the GWCT and Ian Thomson from RSPB Scotland Investigations. It didn’t cover any new ground, mainly because the same old problems that have existed for years with the mis-use of these traps, still exist.
Here’s some stuff we wrote about crow cage traps three years ago. It was based on material that the RSPB and OneKind had produced years before that. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that SNH has still not addressed many of these issues:
https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/crow-traps-what-you-should-know-part1/
https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/crow-traps-what-you-should-know-part-2/
https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/crow-traps-what-you-should-know-part-3/
The Landward programme is available on BBC iPlayer for 29 days: HERE (starts at 08.21).
Raptor Persecution UK 
I cant put into words how much I hate the Gamekeeping profession. Although ‘profession’ sounds far to grand for the kind of work they do which includes burning our countryside, producing that ugly patchwork. Also the tools of the trade existing of guns, poisons, traps and stink pits and the wholesale slaughter of our wonderful wildlife.
I couldn’t agree more, the sooner these dinosaurs from our distasteful past are relegated to the history dustbin the better.
Ok so nothing new here but some interesting points raised just the same that folks might not be aware off, particularly the ones up on mountains with king size funnels. Apparently if one finds one of these things with a bird of prey inside it is illegal to interfere with it ? Er ok then.
The more you look into this the more it seems that certain factors either in or in control of SNH and NE are hand in glove with the shooting estates. Until SNH and NE distance themselves from the control freaks in the government and become autonomous then persecution of our so-called protected wildlife will continue.
and…not for the first time recent research keeps showing that crows are nowhere near as big a problem as previously thought. These arent crow traps anyway – they are hawk traps that also catch corvids.
“The George Mutch case shows that at least once these traps have been misused.”
Good of Landward (and the Establishment Broadcasting Corporation) to suggest that the Mutch incident may have been the one and only time that that such illegal methods have been used by gamekeepers and the shooting industry!
nirofo hit the nail on the head, unfortunately the organisations that have the biggest influence over wildlife welfare in England, NE & Defra, are not fit for purpose!