Month: April 2020

Jean Thorpe successfully releases rehabbed shot buzzard

For those of you not on social media who may have missed this…

Wildlife rehabilitation expert Jean Thorpe has worked her magic again and, after just under two weeks of superb care and attention, has been able to successfully release the buzzard that had been found with shotgun injuries near Shipton, North Yorkshire on 29 March 2020 (see here and here).

To see a short 13 second video of the buzzard’s release back to the wild click here (via Jean’s Facebook page but you don’t need to have a Facebook account to watch it).

[The buzzard during rehab. Photo by Jean Thorpe]

Incredibly, Jean has been on the receiving end of some vile trolling from some within the game shooting industry after news emerged that she was trying to help this latest victim. Here’s a small example:

It’s pretty disgusting but to be honest not entirely surprising. To be fair, there were others within the shooting industry who were supportive of Jean’s efforts and just as appreciative of her work as we all are.

For those still in any doubt, a vet confirmed that this buzzard had been shot and the crime has been reported to North Yorkshire Police, who are investigating. They have issued a crime number and have appealed for information (see here).

North Yorkshire Police revoke two shotgun certs after coronavirus rules breach

North Yorkshire Police press release (8 April 2020)

FIREARMS LICENSING ADVICE IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS RULES

North Yorkshire Police revoked the shotgun certificates of two men who were found to be shooting on land in a rural area near Ripon on the afternoon of Sunday 5 April 2020.

When officers attended, they established that the men were shooting on land where they did not have permission, and in breach of current Coronavirus guidance, as they were not shooting as part of their employment or at the request of the landowner.

Inspector Andrew Palmer, Head of Firearms Licensing at North Yorkshire Police, said: “I would like to reiterate the advice I have given certificate holders, which is if shooting is part of your work or employment, or it has been specifically requested by a landowner to protect their crops or livestock, then it is permitted.

However, any other shooting that is not part of a business is not essential, and should not be carried out at this time.

We will continue to review any breach on a case-by-case basis – so with that in mind, please follow the advice which is to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”

ENDS

Two legendary Bowland raptor workers recognised for dedication

Two raptor fieldworkers who’ve been monitoring the plight of hen harriers and other raptor species in the Bowland AONB for decades have been recognised for their dedication and commitment.

The Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF) has awarded Bill Hesketh and Bill Murphy (fondly known to many as ‘the two Bills’) certificates of merit for their fifty years of monitoring and protection.

To read the full citation please visit the NERF website here

Richly deserved recognition for two of the finest. Well done!

[Photo from NERF]

Police investigating suspected muirburn in Scottish Borders

Yesterday afternoon (Friday 10 April 2020) a local ecologist in the Scottish Borders posted this on social media:

This incident has been reported to the police, who are apparently visiting today.

Let’s hope the fire wasn’t deliberately lit, just four days after muirburn was banned across Scotland.

Mass poisoning of birds of prey in south Scotland: man charged

Police Scotland press release:

Man charged with wildlife crimes in Stewartry

Police Scotland can confirm that a 64-year-old man has been charged with a number of wildlife crime offences in the Stewartry area of Dumfries and Galloway.

Extensive investigations have been ongoing into the deaths of upwards of 20 birds of prey and other wild birds in the Springholm area near Castle Douglas between 2018 and 2020. Enquiries subsequently established the birds had been poisoned by banned pesticides.

A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Wildlife Crime Officer Constable John Cowan said: “Residents in Springholm and the surrounding area as well as wildlife enthusiasts further afield will be only too well aware of a worrying rise in poisonings in and around the Springholm area over the last few years following on from previous appeals for information.

Working alongside partners such as the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), SSPCA (Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture), SAC (Scottish Agricultural College), SGRPID (Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division), Scottish National Heritage and Scottish Land and Estates, there has been an overwhelming collective determination to halt these incidents.

I would like to thank members of the public for the information they have provided throughout the investigation. This sends out a strong message that Police Scotland and partners treat wildlife crime very seriously and should act as a strong deterrent to anyone engaging in such activities, irrespective of the underhand tactics that may be used.”

ENDS

We believe this case relates to the illegal poisoning of multiple red kites and buzzards, some of which have been reported here and here.

PLEASE NOTE: As usual, we will not be accepting comments on this case until legal proceedings have concluded. Thanks.

UPDATE 27th February 2021: Mass poisoning of raptors in south Scotland: has there been a conviction? (here)

SSPCA reminds trap operators of animal welfare obligations

Press release from the Scottish SPCA (8th April 2020)

Scottish SPCA appeals to trap and snare operators to fulfil welfare obligation

The Scottish SPCA has appealed for those who operate traps and snares to fulfil their legal welfare obligation of not causing unnecessary suffering to the animals caught in them.

Scotland’s animal welfare charity is offering to assist those who cannot leave their house due to current Government restrictions or if they are self-isolating.

Traps and snares can be set legally to control certain species but because of restriction of movement, they may now be illegal.

[Buzzard caught inside a crow trap. It’s not illegal to trap buzzards in these traps but it becomes illegal if the trap isn’t checked by the operator at least once every 24hrs and the buzzard released immediately upon discovery. Photo RSPB]

Scottish SPCA special investigations unit chief inspector, who cannot be named due to undercover operations, said:

“During the pandemic we understand that there is restricted movement and that people may be unwell or self-isolating.

Our concern is that those who may have set traps or snares may be in this situation and not able to get back to them within the legal timeframe of once every 24 hours. We have had evidence of creatures being confined for longer and dying of stress or starvation as a result of not being able to get free.

As the snares and traps will have not been checked within this timeframe, they will now be illegal and the person responsible for them will be breaking the law.

We are here to help anyone who finds themselves in these circumstances. People can contact us and let us know the whereabouts of the devices and we will attend and make them safe so that no animal will suffer.

We are willing to work with land managers and trap snare operators to ensure animal welfare law is being adhered to.

If anyone has any information relating to traps or snares they believe are not being checked, then this can be reported to us in confidence and we will investigate.

People can contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999 and we will do all we can to assist.”

ENDS

The legal obligation to check a trap at least once within every 24hr period applies only to what are called ‘live catch’ traps, i.e. traps designed to hold the trapped animal, alive. This includes snares and traps such as Larsen and crow cage traps that use live decoys to attract other victims. In Scotland snare operators and crow cage trap operators now need to have unique identification codes placed on their equipment so the police can identify an individual trap user if it is suspected the trap is being used unlawfully and/or is unchecked.

There is no legal duty to check other types of traps that are designed to kill the trapped animal immediately (e.g. legally-set spring traps).

Shot buzzard in North Yorkshire ‘more than just a statistic’

The buzzard that was found shot near Shipton in North Yorkshire on 29 March 2020 (see yesterday’s blog, here) is now in the care of wildlife rehabber extraordinaire Jean Thorpe.

Jean’s no stranger to having to rehabilitate birds of prey – she lives in the county that has a consistent record of hosting more annual raptor persecution crimes than any other county in England, mostly on land managed for grouse, pheasant and partridge shooting.

She’s been tweeting about the latest victim, the shot buzzard:

She’s also been making some videos to document the buzzard’s treatment. She told us she didn’t want this buzzard to be lost as ‘just another statistic’ but rather wanted people to see it as an individual bird.

The first video has been posted on Jean’s Facebook page. You don’t need to be a Facebook user to watch it here

Jean’s Facebook post:

What this video actually does is demonstrate the extraordinary skill, care and attention required to help just one injured bird. Imagine doing this, as a volunteer, for countless birds and other wildlife, every single day.

Presumably we’ll be hearing in due course about the three other raptor victims currently in Jean’s care.

If you are on Facebook, or on Twitter, please go and support her and show her your appreciation.

Shot buzzard found injured near Shipton, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire Police are appealing for information following the discovery of a shot buzzard found injured on 29 March 2020.

North Yorkshire Police press release (8 April 2020):

Appeal for information after buzzard found shot near Shipton, York.

Injured buzzard x-rayed and found to contain pieces of shot

[Photos via North Yorkshire Police]

North Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA are appealing for information after a buzzard was found injured near Shipton Grange close to Shipton-by-Beningbrough, York on 29 March 2020.

The buzzard, a male, was found by a local farmer who called the RSPCA and the charity’s Inspector Claire Mitchell collected the bird.

Claire said: “The farmer didn’t know the bird had been shot, but he wasn’t flying so the farmer knew there was something seriously wrong with him.

“He was a big healthy bird otherwise, and still quite feisty.

“I took him to a local vet for treatment and x-rays, and that’s when they discovered the shot.”

X-rays showed the bird contained five pieces of shot, two in a foot, one in a leg and two in a wing. The bird is now recovering well in the care of a local wildlife rehabilitator and will be released into the wild once ready.

North Yorkshire Police Rural Task Force Inspector, Matt Hagen, said:

“This is yet another despicable act of someone deliberately injuring a bird of prey in our county. I would urge anyone who has any information about this incident or might have seen anything which could help our investigation to please get in touch with us on 101.

“North Yorkshire should be a haven for wildlife and we will do everything in our power to ensure we deal with the individuals who target our birds of prey in this way.”

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting reference number: 12200052238 or the RSPCA appeal line 0300 1238018 and ask to leave a message for Claire.

ENDS

Well done, North Yorkshire Police. This is a fast and detailed response with good illustrative photographs, and it needs to be. The illegal persecution of birds of prey in North Yorkshire is relentless.

Recently North Yorkshire Police have recorded reports of a shot kestrel (here), a shot buzzard (here), another shot buzzard (here), a shot hen harrier (here), another shot kestrel (here), a poisoned red kite (here), a shot marsh harrier (here), another shot hen harrier (here), another shot buzzard (here), another shot hen harrier (here), another poisoned red kite (here), another shot hen harrier (here) and another red kite that was both poisoned and shot (here). This list isn’t exhaustive, it’s just the ones remembered off the top of the head and of course there are records of similar crimes in this country going back years and years.

Meanwhile, the game-shooting industry feigns ‘zero tolerance’ for crimes against birds of prey and the Westminster Government, with all its vested interests, refuses to acknowledge there’s even a problem, let alone a systemic culture of wildlife crime.

UPDATE 9 April 2020: Shot buzzard in North Yorkshire ‘more than just a statistic’ (here)

SLE’s formal complaint to Roseanna Cunningham re: muirburn ban (artist’s impression)

Yesterday we blogged about how the landowners’ lobby group, Scottish Land & Estates, had told its members it intended to write a letter of complaint to Environment Cab Sec Roseanna Cunningham about the “disproportionate and unnecessary” temporary ban on setting grouse moors alight during a time of national crisis (see here).

Mr Carbo has provided us with an artist’s impression of what that formal complaint might look like:

Landowners’ lobby group who called for muirburn moratorium now complains about the ban!

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

On 25th March 2020, the landowners’ lobby group, Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) urged its members to use voluntary restraint and stop setting fire to grouse moors, to ensure ‘there was no chance for additional strain on public services’ (i.e. the fire and rescue service, if a so-called ‘controlled’ burn became, er, uncontrolled) (see here).

This call to halt muirburning was welcomed by many, not just with respect for the emergency services during a national crisis but for many, many environmental and conservation reasons too, not least the climate emergency. And whoever thinks that it’s a sensible idea, under the guise of so-called ‘conservation’, to set the moors alight at the onset of the bird breeding season (i.e. throughout April), even though the Muirburn Code permits it, is frankly deranged.

[Burning up a grouse moor, photo by Ruth Tingay]

However, the grouse shooting industry isn’t celebrated for its sensible ideas nor its willingness to self-regulate nor its participation in voluntary restraint, so it came as no surprise to see, five days later, evidence of selfish defiance of SLE’s call for restraint as smoke rose from grouse moors from the Borders to Morayshire (see here).

This led to Andy Wightman MSP proposing an amendment to The Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill (Emergency Bill) calling for an immediate (but temporary) ban on all muirburn across Scotland (see here).

On 1st April Andy’s amendment received widespread cross-party support (apart from the Conservatives) and was passed (see here and here).

As of today (7 April), the emergency legislation is enacted and all muirburn is now illegal in Scotland (see here).

So how has Scottish Land & Estates reacted to the news that its call for a voluntary, temporary halt was ignored but has now been shored up by being written in to statute, thanks to Andy Wightman’s quick thinking? If you look at the SLE website you’ll not find any comment or statement about it, just silence. SLE probably took one look at BASC’s embarrassing public reaction (here) and thought better of exposing itself as being equally absurd.

But equally as absurd is exactly what SLE is. The day after Andy’s amendment was approved by the Scottish Parliament, but away from the public eye, SLE’s Chief Executive Sarah-Jane Laing sent a briefing email to SLE members to provide an ‘urgent update on emergency legislation’.

Here’s what she told members about the new muirburn ban:

So despite SLE calling for a halt to muirburn, and despite clear evidence that this call was being ignored by some grouse moor owners, SLE is now howling that the resulting enforced temporary ban, which in effect lasts for just four weeks and is what SLE wanted anyway, is ‘disproportionate and unnecessary’!

Does anyone still think the grouse shooting industry has the public interest at its core?