The first ever ‘official’ report on raptor persecution in Northern Ireland has been published.
The report was prepared by the Raptor Subgroup of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime in Northern Ireland (PAWNI) – group members include the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group (NIRSG), Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU).
The report details confirmed raptor persecution crimes between 2009-2013, including location maps. A total of 33 raptors were confirmed to have been illegally killed during this five-year period, with buzzards, red kites and peregrines the most frequent victims but other species included golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, merlin and sparrowhawk.
The report serves a useful purpose to focus attention on the extent of raptor persecution in Northern Ireland and to encourage members of the public to report suspicious activity in their areas. It is anticipated that an annual persecution report will be published in future years.
NIRSG press release here
Read the report here
Raptor Persecution UK 
The membership of their PAW group looks very interesting compared to what we have. There doesn’t seem to be anyone involved in game conservation (shooting). All the members look like they look like they want to uphold the law and protect raptors, and certainly no gamekeeper associations. Or have they just been missed out?
Good point…but no doubt if it becomes effective someone will say they are “not representative enough”…they need to “sign protocols”..”to stop tarring everyone with the same brush”….to “understand the pressures on the wildlife killers”…but thats only if they start becoming effective, in stopping the persecution….