Pioneering research in Scotland may lead to a new approach in detecting the perpetrators of wildlife crime. A new study has shown that low levels of human DNA can sometimes be retrieved from the carcasses of dead animals – in this case dead deer.
The original idea to look for human DNA on dead animals came from James Govan, a forensic scientist with the Scottish Police Services Authority, who was looking at ways of addressing the problem of bird of prey poisoning. He is reported to have said the following:
“It’s a horrendous problem, and nobody quite knows who’s doing it or why. Sometimes farmers are blamed, sometimes gamekeepers are blamed – but I associate with quite a few gamekeepers and most of them detest it, so it’s a mystery.”
Oh dear. Let’s hope his forensic skills are more impressive than his comprehension skills.
The researchers behind the new study (‘Recovery of human DNA profiles from poached deer remains: a feasibility study’) claim that this technique may be useful to identify deer poachers in the UK, as well as endangered species poachers in other parts of the world. They also suggest it has the potential to be used on other evidence collected in wildlife crime investigations such as feathers, eggs, snares or traps. This is encouraging news, although others have cautioned that the technique has yet to be tested on samples that have been exposed to the elements for any length of time, which may or may not degrade the quality and quantity of available DNA.
The study abstract can be viewed here
BBC news story here
Science Daily article here
Last week the SGA wrote to the Scottish Government about the threat of sea eagles eating children. The Scottish Government effectively told them to sod off, although not using those exact words, of course. The letter (or at least the snippets that we were privy to) caused astonishment around the world – a common response was, “What’s wrong with these people?” 
In a shock news release, Songbird Survival is reporting that a rare white-tailed eagle has snatched a vicar from the RSPB reserve at Abernethy Forest and taken it to feed its young.
The RSPB has launched a new fundraising campaign called ‘Save Birds of Prey’. It’s aimed at children and is encouraging them to help raise money to buy kit for ‘bird of prey detectives’.
Late last week, three dead buzzards were found next to a suspected poisoned rabbit carcass in an area with a long track record of raptor poisoning incidents. The person who found the dead birds took some photographs before returning home to alert the police. The police allegedly informed him later that night that they couldn’t attend, and instead they asked him to collect the evidence(!). When he returned to the scene, unsurprisingly the three dead buzzards and the suspected rabbit bait had vanished. A dead magpie, perhaps missed by the suspected poisoners, was recovered from the scene and has been sent for toxicology testing.
Two young buzzards and a sparrowhawk have been illegally poisoned in Ireland. The bait this time? Live pigeons, that were smeared with the banned pesticide Carbofuran, tethered to the ground with wire with their wings clipped.
Raptor Persecution UK 