Press statement from Police Scotland (21st April 2022)
[Photo by Jerome Murray]
Appeal for information after buzzard is shot in Fife
Officers are appealing for information after a protected bird of prey was found shot in woodland at Mominail, near Ladybank, Fife.
The dead buzzard was found by a member of the public in the morning of Sunday, 9 April, 2022.
Wildlife crime liaison officer, Detective Constable Ben Pacholek, said: “It is sad and disappointed to find this dead bird which would have suffered a lingering and agonising death after being deliberately shot.
Buzzards are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and I am appealing to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the wooded area to get in touch.
We reply on the public to help us tackle wildlife crime and I urge anyone in the local and wider community to come forward if they have any information about who may have been responsible.
If you can assist with our enquiries then please call us on 101, quoting incident number 2689 of Sunday, 9 April, 2022.”
Police Scotland encourages anyone without [sic!] information about wildlife to report it. This can be done via 101 and always call 999 if it is an emergency.
ENDS
UPDATE 27th May 2022: Police Scotland changes its mind about ‘deliberately shot’ buzzard in Fife (here)
Last week I blogged about Dorset Police’s refusal to respond to my Freedom of Information request, where I’d asked for copies of all correspondence between the Police and Dorset Conservative MP Chris Loder in relation to the poisoned eagle found dead on a shooting estate in January (see here).
Dorset Police tried to fob me off with what I consider an explanation that lacked any credibility (see here). I have since appealed that refusal notice and have asked for a review. Dorset Police are obliged to respond within a certain time period and I await their answer.
I also submitted an identical FoI request to the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Conservative David Sidwick. That response is well overdue and I’ll be following that up again this week.
Meanwhile, this week my colleague Chris Packham has also submitted FoIs to both Dorset Police and the PCC. Chris has previously spoken out about Dorset Police’s decision to end their investigation which came shortly after Mr Loder’s Twitter outburst about how the police shouldn’t be using resources to investigate suspected wildlife crime.
Chris’s FoIs are similar to mine but are more targeted, identifying named police officers who are likely to have been involved in the decision-making process about terminating the investigation on the poisoned eagle.
Here is a redacted copy of Chris’s FoI request to Dorset Police:
Here is a redacted copy of Chris’s FoI request to the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Conservative David Sidwick:
UPDATE 25th May 2022: Dorset Police and the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner in breach of Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond to Chris Packham’s request for info on poisoned eagle (here)
In late March, Life Peer Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (known to many of us as the former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett) posed a written question in the House of Lords about Dorset Police’s unthinkable decision to drop its investigation into the poisoning of the white-tailed eagle that was found dead on a shooting estate in Dorset (see here).
Here is Natalie’s question:
Natalie’s question has now been answered by the Parliamentary-Under-Secretary-of-State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Lord Benyon, who also happens to own a pheasant-shooting estate and a grouse-shooting estate.
Here is Lord Benyon’s response:
It’s predictably tedious and is just the latest version of the same old tosh repeated every time the Government is asked to respond to ongoing raptor persecution incidents, e.g. see this from Environment Minister Rebecca Pow in September 2021, and this from Richard Benyon in February 2022, and this from Rebecca Pow in February 2022.
There’s a running theme in all of these responses that is supposed to persuade us that the Government takes raptor persecution crimes seriously. For example, by the provision of custodial sentences (that have never been applied in England to a raptor-killing criminals and only once in Scotland, in 2014), by DEFRA’s participation in the sham-partnership that is the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) that has been in place since 2011 and has delivered precisely nothing of any use, and by the continued funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) which is supposed to ensure that regional police forces have sufficient support and expertise to undertake investigations into alleged raptor persecution crimes – clearly ineffective when it comes to Dorset Police.
It’s obvious to anyone who cares to look that the raptor-killing criminals continue to stick up two fingers to the law, time after time after time after time, and yet still the Government pretends it’s all under control. Meanwhile, inept police forces like Dorset can make stupendously stupid /suspiciously dodgy-looking decisions and not be held to account.
A journalist from one of the nationals contacted me to ask my opinion on a statement he’d been sent by Dorset Police about the premature closure of the investigation into the poisoned white-tailed eagle found dead on a shooting estate in North Dorset in January (see here).
You may recall that Dorset Police published a short public statement on 29th March 2022:
The latest police statement sent to the journalist reads as follows:
Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya, of Dorset Police, said: “Dorset Police has responded robustly to allegations that a White-tailed Sea Eagle had been deliberately poisoned and killed by unknown persons. As a result of the sea eagle being found dead on land in the North Dorset area, our team has carried out a full and proportionate investigation under Section 1 of the Wildlife Countryside Act 1981 in conjunction with Natural England, National Wildlife Crime Unit, the RSPB and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to identify any offences and perpetrators who may be responsible.
“As you can imagine detecting the deliberate poisoning of a bird of prey is extremely difficult without local intelligence and information to support the investigation. GPS data provided information that over an 11-day period the White-tailed Sea Eagle spent time across a multitude of locations in the North Dorset area. Despite working with experts, we have been unable to confirm deliberate intent to kill this beautiful bird or identify potential offenders. A detailed examination and tests have been carried out on the bird, which were inconclusive, and it has therefore not been possible to confirm that any criminal offence has been committed. While high levels of brodifacoum were detected, it has not been possible to establish whether this was as a result of a deliberate act or due to secondary rodenticide poisoning. We would still encourage anyone with new information to come forward to support enquiries.
“The Force is committed to keeping everyone in our county safe, including our wildlife, which brings so much to our beautiful countryside and our communities. As part of the police uplift programme and working together with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner we have reviewed our Rural Crime Strategy for the county and allocated increased numbers of officers to the Rural Crime Team to tackle the issues that matter. This includes all aspects of rural, wildlife and heritage-related crime. We will continue to work closely with many different partner agencies in relation to these issues. As always, should any new information be received in relation to this investigation, this will be considered.
“We want to make it clear that we take any and all potential wildlife offences seriously and will act to prevent and detect offences wherever possible.”
As you can see, this statement provides a bit more detail than the first, but nevertheless, it’s still full of holes.
I don’t know how they can claim to have ‘carried out a full and proportionate investigation‘ when the planned multi-agency search of the estate where the poisoned eagle had been found dead was pulled shortly after Dorset MP Chris Loder had tweeted his lack of support for the investigation.
Dorset Police say that ‘detecting the deliberate poisoning of a bird of prey is extremely difficult without local intelligence and information‘. Yes, it is difficult but not impossible, and in this case Dorset Police have plenty of local intelligence and information, not least from on-going investigations into alleged raptor poisoning in the same area over the last few years.
Dorset Police say the poisoned eagle’s satellite tag data showed that in the 11 days prior to its death, the eagle had ‘spent time across a multitude of locations in the North Dorset area‘. What the tag data actually showed was that the eagle had visited just 2-3 locations.
Dorset Police say, ‘We have been unable to confirm deliberate intent to kill this beautiful bird or identify potential offenders‘. The high-level of Brodifacoum (x 7 the lethal dose!) is indicative of an illegal act, whether it was mis-used or targeted. And no, if you don’t conduct a search you’re not likely to be able to identify potential offenders, are you!
Dorset Police say, ‘A detailed examination and tests have been carried out on the bird, which were inconclusive…’. That’s simply not true. The eagle clearly died from Brodifacoum poisoning.
Dorset Police say, ‘While high levels of brodifacoum were detected, it has not been possible to establish whether this was as a result of a deliberate act or due to secondary rodenticide poisoning‘. It doesn’t matter if it was deliberate or not, it’s still an offence (mis-use).
Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for information from the public after two goshawks were found dead in ‘unexplained’ circumstances in two separate incidents over the last few weeks.
The first dead goshawk was found on Saturday 26th March 2022 in the ‘Llanidloes area’ of Wales. There are no further details about the location.
PCSO Gary Gwilt said: “After receiving the report, a Rural Crime Team officer attended the location and recovered the bird. We cannot speculate on the cause of death at this time (as it may well be natural causes) however the bird has been submitted to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) for an autopsy to be carried out, in an attempt to confirm a cause of death.”
Anyone who has information that could help with the police investigation can contact the Rural Crime Team by phoning 101 and quoting incident reference number 205 of 26/03/22
The second dead goshawk was found in the ‘Brecon area’ on Sunday 10th April 2022. There are no further details about the location. The goshawk has also been collected by the Rural Crime Team and its death is currently being described as ‘unexplained’. Presumably it, too, has been submitted for a post mortem/toxicology analysis.
Anyone who has information that could help with the police investigation can contact the Rural Crime Team by phoning 101 and quoting incident reference number 288 of 10/04/22.
Last month, Dorset Police did the unthinkable and prematurely closed their investigation into the poisoning of a white-tailed eagle that was found dead on an undisclosed shooting estate in North Dorset in January 2022 (see here).
This was an astonishing decision for a number of reasons (e.g. see here), not least because prior to this incident, Dorset Police’s Rural & Wildlife Crime Team enjoyed a good reputation for it’s proactive stance in the investigation of raptor persecution crimes, and indeed the team had been preparing to conduct a multi-agency search of the estate where this dead eagle had been found, until the head honchos at Dorset Police decided to pull the plug.
It’s even more surprising when you learn what other police investigations into alleged wildlife crime have taken place on that unnamed estate – more on that soon.
Dorset Police’s decision to close the investigation came soon after an extraordinary outburst from local MP Chris Loder, who had argued on Twitter that Dorset ‘wasn’t the place for eagles’ and that Dorset Police should be focusing their resources on other types of criminality (see here) and not on suspected wildlife crime. And it wasn’t an off-the-cuff remark made in haste; he continued his tirade for sometime afterwards (e.g. see here). A quick look at Chris Loder’s Register of Interests on the Parliamentary website showed that his local Conservative party had received large donations from at least one shooting estate in North Dorset.
Unsurprisingly, there was widespread suspicion that Dorset Police’s decision to close the poisoned eagle investigation had been influenced by undue political interference so I submitted two Freedom of Information requests to find out if there was any evidence to support that suspicion. One FoI request was submitted to Dorset Police and the other to the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner.
Dorset Police have since attempted to fob me off with this idiotic response:
Obviously, I have requested a review of Dorset Police’s Refusal Notice. I don’t accept the likelihood that an MP might have written to any one of 2,500 Dorset Police employees about this poisoned eagle. That would include those employed as call handlers, personal safety trainers, crime analysts, enquiry officers, IT consultants, project managers, administrations staff, mechanics, accountants, lawyers, to name just a few.
It’s common sense that an MP interested in the investigation of a poisoned eagle would be more likely to have corresponded with senior officers responsible for the supervision of the Force’s Rural & Wildlife Crime Team, and that probably means a handful of officers, let’s say ten, max (and that’s being generous). So Dorset Police can probably strike 2,490 people from their search, leaving ten people to spend two minutes searching their inboxes, amounting to 20 minutes of total search time, well within the statutory 18 hours of search time permitted for a Freedom of Information request.
I’ve also pointed out to Dorset Police’s Freedom of Information Officer that MPs are not classed as public authorities under the Freedom of Information Act so advising me to submit an FoI to Chris Loder MP was non-sensical, although surely an FoI Officer would already know this?!
I’ll blog about the outcome of my review request in due course.
As mentioned above, I’d originally submitted two FoI requests. My second one was an identical request for information about correspondence between Chris Loder MP and the Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Conservative David Sidwick.
Initially I received an automated response from the PCC office confirming receipt of my request. Then it all went quiet. I have since emailed two further times to highlight that their response is overdue (they’re allowed 20 working days). Yesterday I finally had a response, apologising for the delay and saying:
“The response is just being pulled together and wewill come back to you asap“.
I’ll blog about that response when it finally arrives.
UPDATE 21st April 2022: Chris Packham submits FoI requests to Dorset Police and the Crime Commissioner about poisoned eagle (here)
UPDATE 26th April 2022: The office of the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner: incompetent or something more sinister? (here)
UPDATE 29th April 2022: Email correspondence between Chris Loder MP and Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner re: poisoned eagle (here)
UPDATE 25th May 2022: Dorset Police and the Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner in breach of Freedom of Information Act by failing to respond to Chris Packham’s request for info on poisoned eagle (here)
UPDATE 26th May 2022: Further breach of Freedom of Information Act by Dorset Police re: poisoned eagle (here)
Given the furore over SNP MP Angus MacNeil’s call for a cull of white-tailed eagles in Scotland (see here), here’s a timely press release from the charity Birds of Poole Harbour:
Reintroduction programmes working: historic osprey & white-tailed eagle projects bring education and eco-tourism opportunities to the south of England
The recent arrival of a pair of Ospreys and several White-tailed Eagles into Dorset – specifically Poole Harbour – has seen new, exciting environmental education and eco-tourism opportunities arise which are set to benefit schools and the local economy.
Ospreys, which haven’t bred in Southern Britain for nearly 200 years, are on the brink of returning thanks to a reintroduction program which began in Poole Harbour in 2017. Whilst White-tailed Eagles, which haven’t bred in England for over 250 years, began regularly appearing in Poole Harbour in September last year with a young male called G461 who began exploring and making the harbour his home. The eagles, which have an 8ft wingspan, originated from the Isle of Wight reintroduction programme that’s being hosted by The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England.
The Poole Harbour Osprey reintroduction programme, which is being carried out by local charity Birds of Poole Harbour and The Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, received a boost this week when a male and female Osprey arrived back safely on their migration from West Africa and settled on a nest platform at a secret location in the area. The pair known as CJ7 and 022 first met last summer, although the male was too young to breed. However, they’ve now both retuned early enough meaning there’s a good chance the pair will attempt to breed this summer, which will be a historic moment for Dorset and southern Britain.
[Ospreys CJ7 (female) and 022 (male) on a nest platform in Poole Harbour, April 2022. Photo by Birds of Poole Harbour]
During the latter months of 2021, a male White-tailed Eagle known as G461 spent his days touring the harbour, being seen regularly at sites like RSPB Arne, Brownsea Island and from public bird boat tours. Local school Longfleet Primary also had a special encounter, whilst taking part in the School Bird Boat project, an initiative run by the Birds of Poole Harbour charity when they saw the massive lumbering giant over the Brownsea Lagoon, providing a nature experience never to forget.
[White-tailed eagle on Brownsea Lagoon with Poole Quay in the background. Photo by Alison Copland]
As a result of the reintroductions of both White-tailed Eagles and Ospreys in southern Britain, it’s predicted that both species will establish breeding populations on the south coast over the coming years, which will not only help re-establish the species across their native range, but bring significant economic benefits too.
A recent study called the “The Economic Impact of White-Tailed Eagles on the Isle of Mull”, published by RSPB Scotland, has revealed the scale of the economic benefits that White-tailed Eagles have in that area. Tourism inspired by these majestic birds of prey accounts for between £4.9 million and £8 million of spend every year on Mull with the money supporting between 98 and 160 full time jobs on the island, and between £2.1 million and £3.5 million of local income annually. It’s hoped that the South Coast will benefit in a similar way, with evidence already emerging that the eagles are beginning to have a positive impact in the area.
In recent weeks several other White-tailed Eagles have found their way into Poole Harbour, including two regularly visiting females known as G801 and G318. Their presence has seen excitement build even more with visits to nature reserves and bird boat bookings increasing as a result.
There are also now plans through different initiatives to use the eagle’s and Osprey’s presence as a platform to engage local schools in educating students about the process of nature recovery, reintroductions and restoration. Live webcams have been installed on several of the Osprey nests so schools and members of the public can hopefully watch this historical moment.
Paul Morton from the Birds of Poole Harbour charity stated:
“It’s been a fascinating last 6 months. Never in our wildest dreams did we ever think we’d regularly be seeing White-tailed Eagles in Poole Harbour, but here we are, thanks to the hard work and persistence of multiple teams, that dream has become a reality. Also, to now have a pair of Osprey back in the harbour looking to set up territory is a perfect scenario.
One of the highlights of my career was the school bird boat last year when we saw male eagle G461 with Longfleet School. It was a really significant moment as it highlighted how far we’ve come as a society in our understanding, acceptance and knowledge in taking on ‘big’ projects like this. It’s not just eagles either. We’re of course currently carrying out our Osprey reintroduction right here in Poole Harbour, another species that hasn’t bred here for nearly 200 years due to human persecution, and with both ‘CJ7 and 022’ now safely back, we’re on the brink of seeing them back where they should be.
We’ve seen a real increased desire from the public to learn about and experience these reintroduction stories. On our Spring Safari Cruises recently we’ve been seeing the female White-tailed Eagles from the boat and most recently displaying Osprey too. It’s just magical. It was without doubt one of the most incredible moments of my career. To witness and share these moments with like-minded people was truly special, as it symbolised hope, progress and willingness to make things better. It was a hugely positive experience, something we all need at the moment”.
The Poole Harbour Osprey reintroduction has also shown the positive economic impacts these kinds of projects have on an area with the Birds of Poole Harbour charity seeing an increase in the number Osprey boat tours they’re now hosting each year. When the reintroduction project started in 2017 they hosted just three boat tours, however, this coming August and early September they’re hosting thirty. The team have now also begun twice weekly tours to cater for the demand in interest.
[Eager members of the public have been flocking on to the Birds of Poole Harbour ‘bird boat tours’ to have a guided view of the ospreys, eagles and other wildlife. Photo by Ruth Tingay]
[Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Paul Morton from the charity Birds of Poole Harbour giving a running commentary on one of the guided ‘bird boat’ trips. Photo by Ruth Tingay]
It’s not all good news as sadly, the male eagle G461 was recently found dead on a private estate in North Dorset having been confirmed by Dorset Police to have ingested high levels of a rat poison called Brodifacoum. Conservationists involved in the project have seen this a tragic loss, but are committed to persevering and completing the reintroduction despite this set back. This wasn’t only devastating for the team carrying out the project, but also the school children that saw him on their school trip and the members of the public who watched in awe as he made his way around the harbour in late 2021.
To help protect any current or future nesting attempts of Osprey in Poole Harbour, the Dorset Wildlife Crime Team have committed to supporting and advising on keeping the birds safe from disturbance.
Paul Morton added: “It’s a really fascinating time for nature conservation. There will always be challenges and the death of the male sea eagle won’t be forgotten, but it’s through close, collaborative partnership working, including with Dorset Police, that we can all make things better. For example, in 2016 we discovered there was a mass-illegal collection of gull eggs from Poole Harbour’s Black-headed and Mediterranean Gull colony. As soon as we found out we contacted Dorset Police who played pivotal role in getting the issue stopped with regular harbour patrols and liaising with us. It was so successful that the story made the national news and even featured on BBC’s Countryfile. Dorset Police have also been hugely supportive in regards to any immediate or future nesting attempts of our Ospreys making sure any nests get the best protection they can. It’s these types of partnerships and positive approaches to tackling these issues which will ultimately see success”.
Birds of Poole Harbour has said they’re committed to making sure that the pupils exciting experience last year doesn’t end on a negative, and are keen the children understand efforts are being made to look after the remaining eagles that are currently exploring the UK. With other White-tailed Eagles from the reintroduction program now beginning to visit Poole Harbour, more opportunities will be arise to see these awe-inspiring birds of prey in a wild setting.
Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation explained:
“When we heard last year that the school children had seen the sea eagle from their boat trip it was really exciting because we know that experiences like that can ignite a real passion for natural history and conservation. The fact that other White-tailed Eagles are now visiting the harbour on a regular basis is an extremely encouraging sign for the future and shows what a superb place Poole Harbour is for these amazing birds. I hope that many more people, of all ages, will be able to enjoy the thrill of seeing them here and in other locations along the South Coast for many years to come”.
ENDS
The live webcam which will hopefully document the first breeding pair of ospreys in southern England in nearly 200 years can be viewed here:
HUGE congratulations to the conservationists who have spent years working on the osprey reintroduction project, particularly Roy Dennis, Tim Mackrill, Paul Morton, Brittany Maxted, Liv Cooper and Lucy Allen. They’ve had a long slog, including plenty of heartbreak, but hopefully this will be the year where their efforts finally pay off.
I have to say I’m totally unconvinced by Dorset Police’s ‘commitment to supporting and advising on keeping the birds safe from disturbance‘ after their appalling failure to conduct a proper investigation into the poisoning of a white-tailed eagle on a shooting estate in Dorset (here). Really, don’t bother.
If anyone is interested in booking on to one of the Birds of Poole Harbour Osprey Cruises in August (which I thoroughly recommend), you’ll find booking information here.
In February this year, Dorset MP Chris Loder astonished us all with his [unfounded] anti-eagle hysteria about white-tailed eagles, stating on Twitter:
“I don’t want eagles in Dorset, killing our lambs and plaguing our farmers” (see here and here).
It is widely suspected that Mr Loder’s views have influenced Dorset Police’s decision to prematurely end an investigation into the poisoning of a white-tailed eagle found dead on a shooting estate in January (see here) but I’ll be writing more about that shortly because the search for evidence to support this theory is being somewhat hampered.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the country and perhaps emboldened by Mr Loder’s comments, another MP has emerged from the woodwork to stoke even more anti-eagle hysteria by calling for a cull of white-tailed eagles in Scotland.
This headline comes from today’s edition of The Times (Scotland) here. The article is based on a series of tweets posted over the last few days by Angus MacNeil, SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar covering the Outer Hebrides, including:
The ignorance on display about the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles in Scotland and the species’ ecology and biology is nothing new; we see this rhetoric pretty much every year from some parts of the Scottish sheep-farming sector, supported by the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS). For those new to this topic may I suggest you read this stunningly dreadful ‘Sea Eagle Action Plan’ published by the NFUS in 2014 (see here).
It’s no surprise to learn that, according to The Times article, Mr MacNeil keeps 33 ewes.
Of course eagles (both white-tailed and golden) will eat dead lambs – both species have broad, generalist diets that includes carrion (e.g. see the results of a dietary study of both species in Western Scotland here). And, no, Angus, there isn’t any scientific evidence that white-tailed eagles are ‘persecuting’ golden eagles (e.g. see here).
This is a long-standing and controversial issue that has attracted a lot of attention over the years with several variations on the demonisation of this species. Isn’t it funny though that video evidence of sea eagles actually killing live healthy lambs never seems to emerge, only photographs of bloodied carcasses?
However, it would appear that if farmers/crofters want to deter sea eagles there’s a simple solution which doesn’t include culling – attach a small black plastic box (about the size of a matchbox) to the lamb’s neck. Why? Because a load of lambs were radio tagged during an earlier study into alleged lamb-killing eagles and the results showed that not one single lamb was killed by an eagle. The crofters claimed the eagles had been ‘put off’ because of the radio collars/tags. (They also claimed that the eagles had been given supplementary food during the study period, and that some eagles had been ‘bird-napped’ to remove them from the study area!).
The Times article includes a quote from NatureScot:
Nature Scot said that a cull was not being considered, adding: “We understand the concerns of farmers and crofters, and continue to work closely with them . . . to trial management techniques which can help reduce these negative impacts.”
Fortunately, not everyone shares Mr MacNeil’s ignorance as demonstrated by the recently-commissioned study showing that white-tailed eagles are bringing in between £4.9 million and £8 million to the tourism sector on the Isle of Mull, supporting up to 160 jobs (see here).
There has been yet further delay in the trial of a Scottish gamekeeper from the Millden Estate in the Angus Glens, who is accused of a number of animal welfare offences related to animal fighting.
This trial was due to commence today, after a series of adjournments going back to November 2020(!) but once again the case has been delayed, this time until May 2022.
Here’s some history on this case:
Police Scotland and the Scottish SPCA raided a property on Millden Estate and another property in Aberdeenshire in October 2019 after intelligence suggested animal fighting was taking place. A number of dogs were seized (see here) and a number of dead raptors were also discovered. The Scottish SPCA was dealing with the alleged animal fighting offences and Police Scotland were supposed to be dealing with the discovery of the dead raptors.
Section 19 (concerns offences related to unnecessary suffering).
Section 23 (concerns offences related to animal fights).
Section 24 (concerns offences related to ensuring the welfare of animals).
A preliminary hearing was due to be heard in court in November 2020 but was adjourned until 11th May 2021 and a trial date was set for 2nd June 2021.
The June trial date came and went and the case was further delayed, with a new trial date set for 3rd December 2021.
That December trial was adjourned, apparently at the behest of the gamekeeper’s QC, and a new trial date was set for 11th April 2022 (i.e. today).
Today’s trial has also been adjourned and a new trial date has been set for 5th May 2022.
There hasn’t been any public statement from Police Scotland about the circumstances in which the dead raptors were found. I have been asking the Police Wildlife Crime Officer about this aspect of the case for a couple of years now but the responses have been evasive and non-committal. Until January this year, when I was told:
“… A report is being submitted [to the Crown Office] forthwith.”
Unfortunately as this is a live case I am unable to publish further details or accept comments until proceedings have concluded. Thanks for your patience.
The Scottish Government has published its latest annual wildlife crime report, covering the period April 2019-March 2020, which reveals an increase of 13% in recorded wildlife crime incidents.
Raptor persecution offences increased during this period, with shooting and poisoning being the joint highest recorded crime type. Obviously, these figures only represent offences that have been discovered; there will be many more that went undiscovered, as acknowledged by the report’s foreword written by Environment Minister Mairi McAllen.
Here are a few excerpts from the Minister:
‘After a drop in recorded wildlife crime incidents of over 60% between the 2014-15 report and 2018-19, it is frustrating to see an increase of 13% in recorded wildlife crime incidents in 2019-20. Wildlife crime is not only abhorrent, it is also completely at odds with our work to address the biodiversity crisis, which is supported by so many people and organisations across Scotland.
While it is reassuring that incidents of wildlife crime have not returned to previous higher levels, we remain aware that recorded wildlife crime does not provide the full picture. This is an area where the victims are unable to speak for themselves and we know that many wildlife crimes are not witnessed and not reported. This has been especially true in the area of raptor persecution where tagged birds have disappeared in unexplained circumstances and where expected numbers of some species are not present in certain areas.
The Scottish Government has always been clear that wildlife crime is unacceptable, and we have brought forward a number of measures to tackle the issue over the years. These measures have included a poisons amnesty, vicarious liability, restrictions on general licences and most recently, significant increases in penalties for wildlife crimes. I am sure many of you reading this share my frustration that despite these measures there are some who continue to take a selfish, cruel and callous approach to our wildlife.
It is disappointing to see a rise in raptor persecution offences from the previous year. We have committed to taking forward the recommendations made by the Grouse Moor Management Group as a matter of urgency, to tackle this type of offence. We will bring forward legislation during this parliamentary term with the aim of putting in place a meaningful, effective and workable sanctions through a licensing system to deter and punish those who deliberately commit crimes in our uplands, without placing unworkable and disproportionate burdens on the majority who work within the law‘.
Yada, yada, yada. The Scottish Government’s idea of what constitutes ‘a matter of urgency’ is very different to mine. The Werritty report on grouse moor management, on which the Government made it’s decision to implement a licencing scheme for grouse shooting in Scotland, was submitted in November 2019. Here we are in April 2022 and nothing has happened except repeated statements from Ministers, now over a period of years, about it being a ‘matter of urgency’.
It’s obvious that raptor persecution isn’t going to stop without further statutory intervention, and depending on what that looks like and how it’s implemented and enforced, it probably still won’t stop without a ban on certain types of gamebird shooting. The longer the Scottish Government procrastinates, the longer these crimes will persist.
Pick a date and get on with it.
You can read/download the Scottish Government’s 2020 annual report on wildlife crime here:
Raptor Persecution UK 