North Yorkshire Police have issued the following press release:
Buzzard shot in Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
North Yorkshire Police are investigating an incident in which a Buzzard was shot in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
A dead buzzard was found on 1 February 2017 in an area called High Skelding, near the village of Grantley It was in a small coniferous plantation close to where the Ripon Rowel footpath crosses the upper River Skell.
The police arranged for an x-ray at a local vet and this shows that the bird had been shot. It is thought to have been shot between 31st January and 1st February.
Buzzards, along with all wild birds, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is a criminal offence to kill or injure any wild bird. The government has set persecution of birds of prey as one of their wildlife crime action priorities.
If you have any information about this crime please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101. After being connected to North Yorkshire Police select option 1 and quote reference number 12170018791 when passing on information. Alternatively contact the investigating officer PC820 Hickson by email: bill.hickson@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
ENDS
A good, detailed press release and appeal to the public that has only taken three weeks, not three years, to come out (take note Police Scotland).
North Yorkshire is consistently rated the worst county in the UK for the number of reported crimes against raptors, and a lot of it takes place in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the neighbouring Yorkshire Dales National Park. We were only talking about this region two weeks ago in relation to the poisoning of red kites.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Three weeks is still too long. Imagine if the crime in question was some wee nyaff had slashed the wheels on a police car, would it have taken three weeks to appeal for witnesses then? No it would not. Requests for witnesses and information needs to be made within hours, not weeks. And certainly not after the egregious three years of covering it up. This is only good by comparison to PS.
Hasn’t the Yorkshire police force taken the role of national wildlife crime lead and isn’t Raptor persecution a wildlife crime priority, how many convictions has this force accounted for, last I recall was when they let off the gamekeeper caught setting pole traps, Amanda Oliver acting chief superintendent tweeted about this incident at the time while she was on holiday, any one know if she is back off holiday yet and how many others on this force still on their jollies
Merlin, please do not worry – our friend Amanda is on the case.
She says “North Yorkshire police have amended our policy on how wildlife crimes are dealt with by investigators and decision-makers, and advice from specially trained officers is now sought in every case. We are also using our position as the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on rural and wildlife crime, to share what we have learned with other police services across the UK”.
How about actually catching a perpetrator for once! I think the North Yorkshire police force needs to be proactive to stop these crimes happening on their patch in the first place rather than just responding, at predictable and regular intervals, to seek help once crimes with guns, poisons and traps have been committed. As you say, North Yorkshire is consistently rated the worst county in the UK for the number of reported crimes against raptors particularly in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and neighbouring Nidderdale areas.
If I were Amanda, I would get the relevant parties together in North Yorkshire and read them the wildlife crime version of the Riot Act.
Nidderdale again. I hope they are investigating this the gamekeepers covering that area.
its too late now, you dopes, should have been right away, theyll get away with it as usual, same old, same old,