Essex Police are reporting the discovery of a sparrowhawk that was found shot in the Elder Street area of Uttlesford on Wednesday 13th March 2024.
The injured Sparrowhawk was taken to the South Essex Wildlife Hospital for treatment but it didn’t survive its injuries.
If anyone has any information about this crime please contact Essex Police on Tel 101, quoting incident ref 42/41024/24.
The county of Essex is becoming a real hotspot for bird of prey persecution.
Other raptor persecution crimes in recent years include the poisoning of two red kites reported in February 2024 (here), the suspected shooting of a peregrine in January 2024 (here), the shooting of a buzzard in December 2023 (here), the shooting of another buzzard in January 2023 (here), the shooting of a red kite in September 2022 (here), the shooting of another red kite in November 2021 (here), another red kite found dead in suspicious circumstances in November 2021 (here), the shooting of another three buzzards in 2020, one in Dec (here), one in September (here) and one in June (here), and the suspected shooting of a Hobby in August 2020 (here).
A young female white-tailed eagle has been found shot dead near Cranberry Lough in County Roscommon, Ireland.
She was part of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) long-running reintroduction project and had been released at Lough Derg two years ago.
The corpse of the shot white-tailed eagle. Photo: NPWS
As part of the reintroduction project, the young eagles are fitted with satellite tags to monitor their movements. Information from this eagle’s tag suggest she was killed sometime between Monday evening and Tuesday morning on 11th/12th March 2024.
She’d been present in the area for the last few weeks, having previously travelled around the north and west of Ireland once she’d dispersed from Lough Derg almost a year ago.
Director General of the NPWS, Niall Ó Donnchú, said forensic examinations were being conducted which he hoped would provide more information about the weapon used to kill the eagle.
“I deplore this wanton act of violence against this beautiful and endangered bird. We’re asking for the public’s help in bringing the perpetrator of this heinous act of destruction to justice.”
Meanwhile, just over the border in Northern Ireland, the investigation is ongoing into the illegal poisoning of two white-tailed eagles, found dead last year on the only moor that’s managed for driven grouse shooting in NI (here).
Four years ago in February 2020, nine UK game-shooting organisations made a massive U-turn after years and years and years of defending the use of toxic lead ammunition, and said they wanted to drag the industry into the 21st Century by making a five-year voluntary transition away from lead ammunition (see here).
A pheasant bought from Waitrose in Jan 2024 containing toxic lead shot. Photo: Mike Price
A lot of us were sceptical because (a) we rarely trust anything the industry tells us; (b) previous ‘voluntary bans’ by the industry on a number of issues have been spectacularly unsuccessful (e.g. see here, here and here); (c) the ongoing failure of the shooting industry to comply with current regulations on many issues, including the use of lead ammunition over wetlands in England (here) and in Scotland (here), means there should be absolutely zero confidence in its ability and/or willingness to stick to any notional voluntary ban; (d) the Scottish Gamekeepers Association refused to sign up to the proposed five-year transition period because they believe there is insufficient evidence to support the claim that lead can have damaging impacts on humans, wildlife and the environment (here); and (e) in the very same year that nine shooting organisations committed to the five-year transition, BASC announced it was set to fight a proposed EU ban on the use of lead ammunition on wetlands (see here).
We were right to be sceptical.
A Cambridge University-led research project called ‘SHOT-SWITCH‘ has been monitoring the progress (or not!) of this five-year voluntary transition by purchasing pheasants from supermarkets and other retailers across the UK each year and having them lab tested to determine whether they’ve been shot with toxic lead ammunition or with non-toxic ammunition.
The project is now in its fourth year. Reports on the project’s findings in the previous three years have been published in the well-regarded scientific journal Conservation Evidence:
2020/21 season results here – 99.4% of tested pheasants (n = 180) had been killed with lead ammunition.
2021/22 season results here – 99.5% of tested pheasants (n = 215) had been killed with lead ammunition.
2022/23 season results here – 94% of tested pheasants (n = 235) had been killed with lead ammunition.
Guess what? The 2023/24 season results have just been published and 93% of tested pheasants (n = 229) had been killed with lead ammunition.
It’s going well, isn’t it? In fact I’m sure I’ve read comments from the game shooting industry proclaiming ‘great progress’. Liars.
It’s interesting to see Waitrose re-stocking pheasants again this year. You might recall that twice before Waitrose has said it would no longer stock gamebirds shot with toxic lead ammunition, and twice it has been found to be doing exactly that after Wild Justice tested some of its products (see here).
This year Waitrose was very late to the game meat-selling party, only stocking its shelves in late January. And once again, according to the Shot-Switch results, Waitrose pheasants were found to contain lead shotgun pellets. What’ll be their excuse for the contamination this time? It’s just embarrassing that they can’t find a UK supplier of lead-free gamebirds, and even more embarrassing that they promote this stuff as part of the Waitrose No 1 “the very best” range. I’d hate to see their very worst range.
I note with amusement that Waitrose won Best Large Retailer of the Year at BASC’s Eat Game Awards last night. I don’t know what the judging criteria was but perhaps it included a willingness to sell game meat contaminated with poisonous lead shot whilst shouting very loudly in the other direction about toxic lead shot being unacceptable.
Waitrose selling pheasant as part of its No 1 “the very best” range in Jan 2024. Photo: Ruth Tingay
In addition to the Shot-Switch study, which examines the shot pellets found inside gamebird carcasses, over the last few years conservation campaign group Wild Justice has also been testing gamebird meat from supermarkets and other retailers to examine the level of lead found inside these birds (e.g. see here).
More samples were bought in the 2023/24 shooting season from a range of retailers and the results are expected in the next few weeks. Watch this space.
This post isn’t about raptor persecution per se, but it is about the mindset of the gamekeeping community, which is directly relevant to raptor persecution given that the majority of those convicted for killing birds of prey are from the gamekeeping industry.
For a very long time the Scottish Gamekeepers Association referred to its members as the ‘true custodians of the countryside‘ and even the ‘doctors and nurses of the countryside‘ (here). In recent years the terminology has been upgraded and now regularly references the SGA’s role in reaching ‘net zero’ and ‘biodiversity targets’. Unfortunately, the mindset of many in this industry hasn’t been upgraded to match the rhetoric, as will be so clearly demonstrated in the rest of this blog.
Like many organisations, the SGA engages with its members, followers and supporters on social media. Here is the SGA’s header on Facebook, claiming that “SGA members are sustaining Biodiversity on land and river“:
A couple of days ago the SGA posted a short video of a seal (I’m not sure whether its a Grey seal or a Common (Harbour) seal but no matter, both are protected species) in the River Dee and encouraged comments from its followers:
Just to be clear, it is an offence to kill either Grey or Common Seals without a licence. Under the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020, which amended the Marine Scotland Act (2010), the penalty for illegal seal shooting was increased to 12 months’ imprisonment/£40,000 fine or, on indictment, unlimited fine/5 years’ imprisonment. This legislation also removed the provision for licences to be issued to kill seals to protect fisheries.
With this information in mind, have a look at the following comments on the SGA’s post where contributors are openly calling for the illegal shooting of this seal:
With the notable exception of a couple of sensible voices, it’s a real eye opener to the appalling prevailing attitude towards (a) predators and (b) compliance with the law. Actually the intolerance towards predators is no surprise at all, but the stupidity of posting calls on a public forum to illegally shoot this seal is astonishing. I wonder how many of those inciting a wildlife crime are firearms/shotgun certificate holders?
They’d do well to heed the advice of the SGA’s legal advisor, David McKie, whose latest column in the SGA’s rag includes the recommendation to “Remember at all times be discreet in all your dealings, both private and public, particularly on social media!“.
At the weekend I blogged about a claim made by BASC that Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie might be considering a U-turn on the proposed snare ban, one of several measures being brought in by the Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill (see here).
A dead fox killed in an illegally-set snare. Photo: Scottish SPCA
Many thanks to those of you who wrote to the Minister (and your local MSPs) calling for the proposed snare ban to remain in place.
Today, STV is reporting (here) that BASC has written to the Minister calling for the snare ban to be abandoned. BASC is apparently also asking for the scrapping of proposals that will allow other gamebird species to be added to the list that will require a licence to be shot, and also doesn’t want the Scottish SPCA to have increased investigatory powers. Quelle surprise.
STV states that the letter, which hasn’t been published, ‘raises the spectre of a potential legal challenge to the Bill’.
Jim Fairlie has responded robustly and is quoted as follows:
“It is vital that Scotland’s grouse moors are managed in a way that is both sustainable and environmentally conscious.
Our Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill will ensure that land managers adhere to responsible land management practices.
It is clear to me that our countryside continues to suffer from the damaging effects of wildlife crime, including raptor persecution on grouse moors.
The Bill contains a range of measures that will strengthen protections for our wildlife and will combat the blight of raptor persecution throughout Scotland.
I recognise the depth of feeling associated with these issues.
That’s why we have consulted extensively with groups from across the debate, and they have been involved in every step of the Bill’s process.
I am confident that this Bill strikes the right balance between further safeguarding our environment and supporting our rural economy“.
That’ll be a no then, BASC.
I see that BASC has now removed the claim that the Minister had suggested in discussions with BASC that he might be considering a U-turn on the snare ban. I hope BASC hasn’t been making false claims designed to appeal to its members.
Here’s the wording in the original blog:
And here’s how it looks today:
As for a legal challenge, this just seems like an empty threat. A judicial review can only be granted on the basis that a decision was made unlawfully (i.e. without due process). It cannot be made on the basis that someone (i.e. BASC) doesn’t like the decision.
Given the extensive level of consultations and evidence sessions relating to the Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill, in all of which BASC has been engaged, I’d be utterly gobsmacked if a court decided the process of this Bill has been unlawful in any way, shape or form.
The Bill is currently at Stage 3 and will be debated by the entire Scottish Parliament on Tuesday 19th March, followed by a final vote to pass it onto statute.
UPDATE 15.00hrs:
Other media sites are also covering this story and a piece on the politics.co.uk website includes a bit more detail about BASC’s foot-stamping tantrum. It’s not just the snare ban, addition of more gamebirds for licensing, or SSPCA powers that they’re objecting to- it’s also the extent of the relevant offences that may trigger a licence suspension/revocation, and the definition of peatland being 40cm depth:
The National has also run a piece, including a quote from Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager at REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform:
“It’s unsurprising to see the shooting fraternity making a last ditch attempt to water down this legislation, to avoid necessary scrutiny of their woefully unregulated and destructive industry.
“Grouse moors are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals, the burning of huge swathes of Scotland and the pollution of the land from lead shot and toxic medicated medicated grit that’s spread throughout the countryside – all so more grouse can be shot by a few wealthy people for sport.
“While the grouse moor bill could go further to tackle this circle of destruction, it marks an important and necessary intervention into land management activities and a full ban on snaring would be an important gain for animal welfare, something that seems is of little concern to the industry.
“The Government would do well, to continue to reject these cynical attempts to rebrand snaring which up until now, has fooled no-one.”
Whilst the political news is dominated by the story of a £10m donation to the Tory party by a donor accused of racism, it seems timely to look at another donation made earlier this year to Tory MP Guy Opperman, Minister for Roads and Local Transport, although there is no suggestion that the donor in this case is a racist.
As well as being a Government Minister, Opperman is the Conservative MP for Hexham in Northumberland, a constituency that includes a number of grouse moors in the North Pennines AONB (now re-named a National Landscape) and Northumberland National Park.
Unlike some of his Conservative colleagues, Opperman is not especially known as being an outspoken, hardcore supporter of the blood sports industry, although he has popped up occasionally, being seen to participate in a few PR stunts led by the Moorland Association.
Here he is in 2017 attending a Parliamentary reception for the Moorland Association:
And here he is in 2019 visiting gamekeepers on the Knarsdale grouse moor, featuring in a Moorland Association propaganda piece about how great grouse moors are for merlins (unfortunately this moor isn’t quite so good for hen harriers – this is where the shot corpse of hen harrier ‘Dagda‘ was found last year – nobody has been prosecuted, natch, but I’ll be writing more about that case in due course):
Hansard shows Opperman also spoke in Parliament in 2014 supporting the Moorland Association and describing gamekeepers as ‘custodians of the countryside’, although he also said he was supportive of the RSPB and its campaign to ban lead ammunition:
And just this morning there’s a local article (here) about Opperman visiting local stores that have been nominated for a Countryside Alliance award, although his visit does seem to be more about his particular support for a local business as opposed to blindly supporting the nasty brigade at the Countryside Alliance.
So I think it’s fair to say that Opperman isn’t a dyed-in-the-wool grouse shooting supporter, and his current Ministerial responsibilities seem to bear no significance for the grouse shooting industry.
How curious then, that in January this year his register of interests showed up this £10,000 donation from an unassuming-sounding company called GMS Partnership Ltd:
Who they?
Well according to Companies House, GMS Partnership Ltd is a ‘management consultancy’ whose sole director is none other than Andrew Gilruth, the recently-appointed Chief Executive of the Moorland Association:
I’ve previously written about Gilruth’s ‘interesting’ Directorship of another company, Moorland Communities Tradition, here, although Companies House is showing that he resigned as a Director of that outfit on 18 December 2023, leaving it in the capable hands of William van Cutsem and Jonathan Kennedy.
There’s no suggestion that the £10,000 donation made in January 2024 to Opperman from GMS Partnership Ltd is underhand (unlike allegations made about some of the donations Opperman has previously accepted (see here but also here where a Government probe cleared Opperman) but the donation from GMS Partnership Ltd is certainly interesting given Gilruth’s new role as Chief Exec of the Moorland Association.
For new readers, this is proposed new legislation to regulate grouse shooting and its associated management practices by way of licensing schemes, introduced because of the continued illegal persecution of birds of prey on many Scottish grouse moors.
A police officer examines the corpse of a young White-tailed eagle, found illegally poisoned on a grouse moor in the Cairngorms National Park. Photo: Police Scotland
The Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill, introduced in March 2023, has been examined and critiqued by the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee over the last year and after a number of amendments has now reached the final stage (Stage 3) of its progression through the Parliament.
Conservationists are generally satisfied with the Bill as it currently stands. It’s not perfect by any means, but it represents a significant shift away from the previous situation of driven grouse shooting being a largely unregulated hotbed of wildlife crime, animal suffering and environmental damage, where those committing offences were rarely held to account and the few who were only suffered minimal consequences.
The new legislation will introduce a licensing scheme for all grouse shooting in Scotland and where there’s sufficient evidence of unlawful activity (e.g. the poisoning, shooting or trapping of birds of prey) the licence can be revoked to prevent any further grouse shooting on that area of land. Crucially, the evidence will be assessed on the civil burden of proof (i.e. the balance of probability) rather than the criminal burden of proof (i.e. beyond reasonable doubt).
Muirburn will only be permitted under licence and not on peatlands where the peat depth is greater than 40cm. The muirburn season will end on 31st March instead of running through April as it currently does.
Grouse shooting and muirburn will both be covered by two new statutory codes of practice. Breaches of the code may result in the revocation of the relevant licence.
The SSPCA will be given increased investigatory powers to allow them to help with enforcement measures against wildlife crime alongside their current powers for enforcing animal welfare legislation.
Wildlife trap users will be licensed and all must first complete training for each trap type they intend to use. All snares (including so-called ‘humane cable restraints’) will be banned.
This is all looking very good. However, it’s not over the line yet. Further amendments to the Bill at Stage 3 may be lodged up until Tues 12th March and then some of those amendments will be selected for debate by the whole Parliament on Tues 19th, followed by a final vote on the Bill before it’s sent for royal assent.
Those further potential amendments have yet to be published but we expect to see them later next week. Of particular concern is a suggestion by BASC (British Association for Shooting & Conservation) that the Minister (Jim Fairlie MSP) may be considering a U-turn on the snare ban. This is what appeared on a recent BASC blog that was updating its members on the progression of the Bill after Stage 2:
A U-turn on the proposed snaring ban at Stage 3 would seem unlikely given the Government’s strong position shown at Stage 2 on implementing the ban, but BASC clearly seem to think that it’s a possibility.
With this in mind, I’d encourage all blog readers in Scotland to write to your respective MSPs to encourage them to support the Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill as it currently stands and let them know how important it is that no U-turns are undertaken on the snaring ban.
Tell them how long you’ve been waiting for these new measures to be introduced and that you welcome and support the Government’s plans to finally bring some meaningful regulation to the grouse-shooting industry.
You can find the names of your MSPs by entering your postcode here.
Thank you.
UPDATE 14th March 2024: BASC throws a wobbler as Minister Jim Fairlie stands firm on Wildlife Management & Muirburn Bill (here)
Some of you may remember a joint statement issued by five pro-shooting organisations in January 2020 professing ‘zero tolerance’ for raptor persecution crimes.
I wrote at the time why I didn’t find their claim convincing and that the five signatory organisations (BASC, Moorland Association, National Gamekeepers Organisation, Countryside Alliance, Country Land & Business Association) needed to do much more to persuade anyone to take them seriously. Just being so-called partners on the sham Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) is nothing more than a greenwashing exercise, in my opinion.
More evidence has now surfaced about the National Gamekeepers Organisation (the membership body for gamekeepers in England & Wales) and what I would call its underhand tactics to try and disrupt investigations into alleged raptor persecution crimes.
In December 2023 I submitted an FoI request to Northumbria Police asking for, amongst other things, copies of 2023 correspondence between the National Gamekeepers Organisation (NGO) and Deputy Chief Constable Debbie Ford, who at the time was the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Lead for Rural & Wildlife Crime.
It turns out that the NGO had written to DCC Ford in February 2023 to highlight its three concerns in relation to bird crime.
The NGO’s first complaint was redacted by the FoI officer at Northumbria Police (see below). I’ve since submitted a separate FoI request for this detail and await a response.
The second complaint related to, surprise surprise, the NGO’s objection to the involvement of the RSPB in raptor persecution investigations. I’ll come to that below.
The third complaint related to the RSPB and members of the North of England Raptor Forum (NERF) and about what happens to birds and eggs once an investigation had concluded. It isn’t clear to me what the basis of this complaint is.
Here’s a copy of the FoI response I received from Northumbria Police:
Let’s focus on the NGO’s second complaint about the RSPB’s involvement in raptor persecution investigations.
This is a tired old trope that gets regurgitated every now and then by those who seek to marginalise the expertise and experience of the RSPB. Expertise and experience that has been utilised by police forces across the UK, time and time and time again, resulting in criminal gamekeepers being hauled before the courts and being convicted of raptor persecution crimes. This partnership working has been particularly effective in recent years, with the police leading many multi-agency raids (with partners including the RSPB, Natural England, NWCU and Natural England), resulting in the high profile conviction of a number of criminal gamekeepers (e.g. here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here).
Perhaps it’s these successful convictions of gamekeepers that have triggered the NGO’s complaint? But in this case, the NGO has provided wholly misleading ‘evidence’ to DCC Ford to justify their complaint. They reference a poisoned red kite found in Yorkshire in 2021 by the RSPB’s Investigations Team and argue that ‘police officers didn’t find out about this until 6 months later‘.
That’s not a factual account of what happened at all, and I daresay the NGO probably knows this because I wrote about that case 12 days before the NGO sent its email to DCC Ford. It relates to a poisoned red kite found on Swinton Estate that North Yorkshire Police failed to investigate, despite being told by the RSPB about the discovery of the kite on the day it was found (see here for case details).
So not only is the NGO going crying to the National Police Lead on Wildlife Crime with a baseless complaint about the RSPB, it’s also attacking an organisation that it’s supposedly in ‘partnership’ with on the RPPDG – you know, that ‘partnership’ that is supposedly focused on tackling raptor persecution crimes.
There’s more.
According to the FoI response I received from Northumbria Police, DCC Ford didn’t reply in writing to address the NGO’s complaints, but someone from DCC Ford’s office had a conversation with the NGO and suggested that the NGO raise the issue at the next RPPDG meeting.
In response to that suggestion, the NGO’s Development Officer (North), who I presume is John Clarke, wrote back to DCC Ford’s staff officer wanting “assurances that there will be 100% support from the police to carry this through” and he included a veiled threat about the NGO leaving the RPPDG (having already resigned once before) if the police didn’t support the NGO’s attack on the RSPB:
Interestingly, the NGO’s complaint has not been raised at any subsequent RPPDG meetings, presumably because the police refused to support it.
Why is the National Gamekeepers Organisation still serving on the RPPDG? It’s absurd to think that this so-called ‘partnership’ for tackling raptor persecution crimes will achieve anything of significance whilst the NGO is attempting to disrupt police investigations via the back door.
Press release from North Wales Police (7th March 2024):
Wrexham man charged with wildlife offences
A man has been charged with attempting to take Goshawks in a cage trap on land on the outskirts of Wrexham.
Young goshawk in a cage trap. Photo by RSPB (file photo, not linked to this case)
Birds of prey such as Goshawk are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The 47 year old man from the Wrexham area was postal charged with using a trap for the purpose of killing or taking a wild bird and possessing an article capable of being used to kill or take a wild bird.
He is due to appear before Wrexham Magistrates Court on Thursday, March 28th.
North Wales Police rural crime team will pursue anyone targeting wildlife and continue to work with our partners the RSPB and National Wildlife Crime Unit.
ENDS
This press release is quite vague, and I believe deliberately so. Definitely one to watch. Comments are closed until criminal proceedings have concluded.
UPDATE 9th March 2024: This blog article has been picked up by Nation Cymru, the Welsh news service, here.
UPDATE 27th March 2024: Gamekeeper Stuart Hart due in court tomorrow to face charges of alleged wildlife crime (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 