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New collection of evidence protocol for incidents of raptor crime

We have been passed a document that shows the new protocol for the collection of evidence in raptor persecution crimes. The protocol has apparently been agreed by the Scottish Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (SRPPDG). This group includes representatives from the Scottish Government, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), Scottish Land and Estates (SLE), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Scottish Raptor Study Groups (SRSG), Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA), National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Scottish police.

Here it is, and we have added a few comments at the end:

COLLECTION OF EVIDENCE PROTOCOL FOR INCIDENTS OF RAPTOR CRIME

1.      Introduction

1.1    Police have a duty to investigate crime and all Forces have a single point of contact with regard to wildlife offences. Each Force also has a number of Wildlife Crime officers specially trained to deal with offences against raptors in a manner consistent with legal prosecution procedure.   This includes knowledge regarding relevant legislation, power to enter and search land, authority to seize evidence, requirements for corroboration, safeguarding chains of evidence and forensic capabilities.  Consequently, all crime or suspicious activity relating to raptor persecution should be reported to the Police.  

1.2    Such incidents could include reports of dead or dying birds, egg stealing, nest interference and disturbance, raptors caught in traps or devices set to catch them, suspected poisoned baits, incidents involving commercial operations and suspicious activity.

1.3    As crimes against raptors can occur in remote countryside, all investigations are risk-assessed by Police with regard to health and safety implications.

1.4    The specific legislation covering matters to do with raptor crime (including their nests) is the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

1.5    This protocol is intended for all groups and members of the public who are not authorised by statute to conduct criminal investigation into offences against raptors.

1.6   If evidence of suspected raptor persecution is found by members of the public, the protocol outlined below should be followed.  Occasions may arise when the public decide to choose between preserving a crime scene in accordance with prosecution procedures, and interference for the sake of human or animal welfare, or for reasons of urgency.  Consideration should always be taken with regard to all risks posed by equipment, live species or carcasses.  Any interference with a legitimate operation may result in prosecution.  Consequently, the protocol outlined below has been recognised as the recommended method of evidence recovery with regard to raptor crime.

2.      Protocol

2.1.   Incidents of raptor crime are often found by members of the public.  Those which, on the basis of the information available, are suspected of being a crime, must be reported to the police.  Any evidence should be neither handled nor interfered with at this stage. 

2.2    Any crime that is in progress or has just been committed, or where the suspect(s) is still in the vicinity, the Police should be contacted (if possible) using ‘999’ and the caller should be guided by the operator.  In all other cases where facilities allow, the caller should immediately contact their respective Police Force call centre, ask if possible to speak with a wildlife crime officer, and provide them with the following information:

  • Explain what has been seen or found and why crime is suspected.
  • Provide an estimate of how long the bird has been dead if a carcass is found.
  • Give descriptions of any suspects and vehicles seen.
  • Give a GPS reading or a grid reference of the crime spot (if possible).
  • Provide reasons if suspecting the presence of pesticides.
  • Divulge any other potential risk hazards.
  • Give any key landmarks to assist Police in finding the location at a later time.
  • Note if there are power lines overhead or any obvious sign of how the bird died.
  • Give any details known of the estate, farm, owner or employees

 The caller will then be guided by the Police as to what steps to take.

2.3    If the caller is unable to contact the Police immediately or has to leave the location, the caller should follow the course of action outlined below:

Carcasses

         In the event of finding a carcass in an area easily accessible to Police, to:

  • Record the grid reference.
  • Photograph the carcass and any other item that might appear to be obvious evidence (if possible).
  • Leave the carcass where found.
  • If the carcass looks like a bait, where possible cover it over with available branches or vegetation to lessen the risk of predation.
  • Report it to the nearest Police Station.

  In the event of finding a carcase in a remote area, to:

  • Record the grid reference.
  • Recover the carcass only if suitably equipped and deliver it to the nearest Police Station, or
  • Photograph the evidence (if possible), cover it over with available branches or vegetation to lessen the risk of predation and report it to the nearest Police Station. 

  Injured Birds

         In the event of finding a live, injured raptor suspected to have been the victim of crime:

  • Record the grid reference.
  • Moving the bird is entirely at the risk and assessment of the finder.
  • Contact the Police at the earliest opportunity to arrange further specialist veterinary assistance.

Traps

         In the event of finding an unlawful trap:

  • Record the grid reference.
  • Make the trap inoperative only if safe to do so and if sure that it has not been lawfully set, otherwise do not interfere with it and report it to the nearest Police Station. 

Nest Disturbance

         In the event of finding physical nest disturbance in an area accessible to Police:

  • Record the grid reference.
  • Photograph any carcass and/or other item that might appear to be obvious evidence (if possible).
  • Leave the carcass and/or items where found.
  • Report it to the nearest Police Station

 In the event of any physical nest disturbance in a remote area:

  • Record the grid reference.
  • Photograph the nest and any other item that might appear to be obvious evidence (if possible) and report it to the nearest Police Station.
  • Recover any item that may appear to be obvious evidence only if corroborated and able to do so without destroying or contaminating fingerprints/DNA, and deliver it to the nearest Police Station.

 Shooting

         In the event of finding a shot raptor:

  • Ensure one’s own safety.
  • If a dead bird is found, follow the procedure for ‘Carcasses’ if safe to do so.
  • If the bird is still alive, follow the procedure for ‘Injured Birds’ if safe to do so.     

2.4    The police will follow up reports of suspected wildlife crime, including a scenes-of -crime examination if appropriate, within a time-scale appropriate to the effective investigation of the type of incident.

2.5    If a suitable response to an incident by the police is not possible within the time-scale needed for effective investigation, the police may make specific requests of the member of the public and that, if relevant, the crime scene is preserved until a scenes-of-crime examination can be carried out.

2.6    All efforts must be made to preserve evidence in a manner compatible with the standards required for admissibility as evidence in court by following the principles within this protocol.

2.7    Where there is evidence of an offence, costs of any necessary examinations will be met by the police. 

2.8    Any subsequent media release should be in accordance with existing protocols and must not compromise any subsequent Police investigation.

2.9    Some agencies have specific powers enacted by law to collect evidence under prescribed circumstances.  Those powers remain unaffected by this protocol but the organisations concerned are bound by alternative working arrangements with the Scottish Police.

It’s interesting that the protocol emphasises (in bold) that suspected raptor crimes should be reported to the police. It’s also noticeable that the protocol does not include the additional reporting of suspected raptor crime to the RSPB. Whilst the police have a statutory duty to investigate wildlife crime, we all know too well that some forces are better at this than others. Even former Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham acknowledged as much (see here). If another agency (e.g. RSPB) has also been informed about the suspected incident, then increased pressure can be applied to ensure the police do actually investigate the incident. The RSPB has a track record of doing this (e.g. see here), but if the suspected incident is only reported to the police, then who will check whether the incident has been investigated? This protocol does not provide for any follow-up procedures.

Not only that, in a recent report by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (Strategic Assessment, February 2011; see NWCU 2011_02 strategic-assessment), the following statement appears in the section about recent peregrine persecution:

“Almost half of these reports originated from the RSPB but were not reported by the police force the offence occurred in“. (Page 30, paragraph 6.12).

So again, if a suspected raptor persecution incident is only reported to the police, and that particular police force then fails to report the incident to the NWCU, then the NWCU’s annual figures on raptor persecution incidents will be flawed.

Thanks to the contributor who brought this document to our attention.

Shadow Environment Minister speaks out against illegal poisoning

The Shadow Environment Minister, Elaine Murray MSP, has spoken out against illegal poisoning following the report yesterday that a poisoned red kite and raven had been discovered in her constituency.

The following statement has appeared today on her website:

Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray has hit out at the “shocking cruelty” of the poisoning of a red kite and raven in the hills near Durisdeer in Dumfries and Galloway.

The local MSP is warning of the impact on tourism in the area, as visitors to the Galloway Red Kite Trail have spent at least £21M in the region since 2004, with more than £2.6M spent by people who came specifically to see the kites.

Dumfriesshire MSP and Shadow Environment Minister Elaine Murray, who was involved in releasing some of the red kites in Dumfries and Galloway for the RSPB, said:

“This is an act of shocking cruelty that puts the very recovery of the red kite in Dumfries and Galloway at risk. Instances of poisoning like this are a double whammy because not only do they do potentially irreparable damage to our natural environment, but so much of our region’s tourism industry depends on wildlife that illegal killing of birds could have massive knock on consequences on our economy.

“This is a huge blow after the great news earlier this year that red kites have been bred in Nithsdale for the first time in 180 years. People come here to see the magnificent birds of prey in our countryside and it is selfish and barbaric to use illegal poisons to target them. The Police and RSPB Scotland have my full support in tracking down those responsible and I would urge anyone with information that could help to come forward”.

Elaine Murray MSP is no stranger to the fight against illegal raptor persecution, having played an important role during the debates on the WANE bill last year. She was also reported to have made several visits to raptor breeding sites earlier this year in the company of members from the local raptor study group.

Elaine Murray website here

Red kite and raven found poisoned in Dumfries & Galloway

According to the BBC website, police are investigating the poisoning of a red kite and a raven in the Lowther Hills, SW Scotland.

The article does not provide any information about when these dead birds were discovered, nor the details of the poison used to kill them. Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary are appealing for information but the incident does not appear to be highlighted on their force website.

In the most recent regional breakdown of reported persecution incidents (see RSPB’s Birdcrime 2010 report), Dumfries & Galloway had the highest number of reported incidents in south and west Scotland.

BBC news article here

RSPB ‘may have been brainwashing children in schools’

We didn’t think it was possible to top the recent claim by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association that eagles might eat children (see here). How wrong we were. Their latest considered opinion is that the RSPB  ‘may have been brainwashing children in schools’.

This claim follows the article in the Telegraph last week where it was reported that Scottish landowners were upset about a cartoon in an RSPB kids magazine (see here). It’s not clear who wrote the latest SGA tirade, but we’re assuming it’s a view held by the organisation as a whole, seeing that it’s published on their website.

The article accuses the RSPB of ‘sponging off children’ and discusses ‘the incredible success raptors have enjoyed in the countryside since the cessation of DDT’. It also accuses the RSPB of ‘poisoning young minds’. An ironic choice of verb.

To learn more about the evil RSPB, read the full article on the SGA website here

Meanwhile, south of the border, Mark Avery continues his series about what he calls ‘the raptor haters’ on his blog. This month it’s well-known ‘countryman’ Robin Page. Well worth a read (here).

Convicted gamekeeper back in court part 3

Almost a year ago, back in December 2010, we reported on the case of a previously convicted gamekeeper who was due in court for more alleged wildlife crime offences (see here and here).

His case was delayed several times last December (partly due to the bad weather) and then just before Xmas it was delayed again for a legal technicality.

His case returned to a sheriff’s court today. The case was continued until 1st December. Full details of this case will be provided once criminal proceedings have ended.

Red kite and buzzard poisoned in Ireland

Meanwhile, back in the real world, an article in the Wicklow People yesterday says that a red kite and a buzzard have been found poisoned in County Wicklow, Ireland.

The red kite was found by a member of the public and handed in to the National Parks and Wildlife Service headquarters at  Wicklow Mountains National Park. It was sent to the State Veterinary Laboratories at Cellbridge where it was confirmed it had been poisoned. The article does not say when this happened, nor does it name the poison used. [Update: we have since been informed by the Golden Eagle Trust that alphachloralose was used in both incidents].

A buzzard was reportedly found in the same area and the article states it was poisoned with Alphachloralose.

Red kites have been recently reintroduced as part of a pioneering project to bring back native raptors to Ireland. The Golden Eagle Trust has been reintroducing red kites, as well as golden eagles and white-tailed eagles. Part of their project has included a high-level campaign to raise awareness about the use of poisoned baits.

Article in the Wicklow People here

Golden Eagle Trust website here

The denials have started – gamekeepers say persecution becoming less of an issue

With tedious predictability, one of the gamekeepers’ representative bodies is trying to play down the latest raptor persecution figures. According to an article in today’s Telegraph, the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation says birds of prey are doing well in the UK and persecution is becoming less of an issue.

If you can be arsed to read any more of these ridiculous statements, the article can be found here.

RSPB’s Birdcrime 2010 report published

The RSPB has published its annual report on raptor persecution in the UK (Birdcrime 2010). Poisoning reports are down (128 reported in 2010; 153 reported in 2009). Birds confirmed poisoned in 2010 include:

20 red kites, 30 buzzards, 8 peregrines, 5 golden eagles, 2 goshawks, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 white-tailed eagle.

Meanwhile, the RSPB are using the publication as an opportunity to call for a crackdown on poisons, according to the BBC website. It says the current law, which makes it illegal to possess certain pesticides, is rendered ‘impotent’ because the list of controlled substances hasn’t been published in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

We’ll write more about the Birdcrime 2010 report over the coming few days. BBC news article here. Birdcrime 2010 report here

 

Scottish landowners complain about RSPB’s cartoon landowner/villain

There’s a great article in today’s Telegraph that reports that Scottish landowners have complained about an RSPB cartoon strip, which they claim portrays landowners as cartoon villains.

The Telegraph reports that the cartoon strip appears in the RSPB’s Bird Life magazine for children and features a man in green boots and a country jacket putting out poisoned bait to kill protected birds of prey. It also features police vehicles arriving on a dawn raid and an RSPB investigator staking out the scene.

Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land and Estates (an organisation that claims to represent 2,500 landowners in Scotland), has apparently written a letter of complaint to the RSPB and copied it to the Scottish Environment Minister. The Telegraph reports that McAdam refused to comment to them on the issue, but The Telegraph claims to have seen a copy of the letter and their subsequent article includes some interesting alleged quotes from McAdam. There’s also a response from an RSPB spokesperson who suggests the cartoon was based on a real incident last year.

Perhaps someone should ask McAdam and co. what sort of image would have been more acceptable to them? Or perhaps they’d rather that the topic wasn’t raised at all? Brush it all under the carpet and pretend that raptors aren’t illegally poisoned in Scotland?

Article in The Telegraph here

Tip of the iceberg

Anyone who has been reading the ‘official’ annual raptor persecution reports over the last few decades will be familiar with the phrase, “These figures represent the tip of the iceberg”. Conservationists have long held the view that many illegal raptor persecution incidents go unreported, given the remote locations involved and the cultural and social pressures that inhibit certain sectors of the rural community from speaking up about these crimes. Most reports of poisoned, shot, or trapped raptors come from people who have found them by chance, for example hill walkers and dog walkers. The game shooting lobby, in response to the ‘tip of the iceberg’ statement, usually asks, “Where’s the evidence?” The numerous (and ever-increasing) glut of peer-reviewed scientific publications, that show a clear correlation between persecution and upland grouse moors, are usually dismissed as ‘pseudo-science’ by the landowners and gamekeepers, and the conservationists are often accused of conducting some sort of smear campaign against the game shooting industry.

No doubt we will hear all of this, and more, in the coming few days once the RSPB Birdcrime 2010 report has been published later this week. For certain, the report will contain the statement, “These figures represent the tip of the iceberg”, or words to that effect.

So, if the gamekeepers want evidence, here’s some that was unwittingly provided by….er, gamekeepers. It comes in the form of a recently (Sept 2011) published paper in the journal Scottish Birds, which is published by the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club. The paper was written by R.L. McMillan and is entitled, ‘Raptor persecution on a large Perthshire estate: a historical study’. Unfortunately we’re not allowed to publish the whole paper here (you have to be a member of the SOC to get access, or google the author and ask him for a PDF for your personal use) but here is the abstract:

The Atholl Game and Vermin Lists provide an almost continuous record from 1867 until 1988 and in many respects are unique for a large estate in Scotland. Large numbers of raptors and owls were destroyed by gamekeepers during the latter part of the 19th century and into the late 20th century. The implementation of legislation to protect predatory birds appears to have made little difference to persecution levels. Gamekeepers on individual beats seemed able to decide whether they killed predators or not. A few gamekeepers chose not to kill any birds of prey. Some persecution continued well into the late 20th century and a comparison between estate records and incidents recorded by the authorities strongly suggests that a substantial amount of illegal persecution was not recorded.

The paper provides a detailed insight into the extent of raptor persecution on Atholl Estate,  covering the historical period when it was legal to kill raptors (pre-1954), and the current period when it is illegal to kill raptors (1954 onwards). Gamekeepers on the nine beats at Atholl Estate were required to submit annual report cards that recorded the number of game and ‘vermin’ [including raptors!] that was killed on each beat. According to the paper, McMillan writes of Atholl Estate:

“To maintain the estate record of game and vermin killed, the individual shooting beats were required to complete a card by the end of February each year and this contained details from the preceding year. The same printed card had been in use for many years and this included hawks, owls and ravens. Although the estate factor regularly checked the returns on these cards, it was only when a member of staff expressed concern that protected birds were included in the returns, that a new form was introduced for the 1988/89 season which excluded protected species”.

The historical records covering part of the period (1867-1911) when it was legal to kill raptors don’t provide any surprises, showing that 11,428 ‘hawks’ were killed on Atholl Estate, in addition to 3,731 owls. Sadly the records do not distinguish between different species of ‘hawks’ or owls and McMillan has interpreted the term to include every raptor and owl species that would typically occur in the area.

The more recent records, however, are of far more interest. They show the period covering the introduction of the 1954 Protection of Birds Act (making it illegal to kill all raptors except sparrowhawks, which weren’t protected until 1961) and McMillan’s graphs of persecution incidents show that the legislation was ignored on the two beats whose records he analysed. In fact on one beat, McMillan shows that persecution actually increased at the time the Act was implemented.

But the most interesting part of this paper comes in Table 3. It is a comparison of gamekeeper records from just one Atholl Estate beat, with the ‘official’ RSPB data for the whole of Scotland, from the period 1980 – 1988. The RSPB data only include details of raptors that have been killed (so not details of ‘suspected’ incidents). Here’s an overview of McMillan’s findings:

1980/81: Atholl Estate beat = 19 raptors killed; RSPB official data for all of Scotland= 9 raptors killed.

1981/82: AE beat = 21; RSPB all Scotland= 23.

1982/83: AE beat = 36; RSPB all Scotland= 16.

1983/84: AE beat = 36; RSPB all Scotland  = 13.

1984/85: AE beat = 25; RSPB all Scotland= 12.

1985/86: AE beat = 22; RSPB all Scotland= 8.

1986/87: AE beat = 14; RSPB all Scotland= 13.

1987/88: AE beat = 30; RSPB all Scotland  = 15.

So, in each of the years listed, with the exception of 1981/82, the ‘official’ RSPB figures for the WHOLE of Scotland were lower than the number of illegally persecuted raptors on just one shooting beat. Does anyone need any clearer evidence that the ‘official’ statistics of illegal raptor persecution are just the tip of the iceberg?!! Of course, there are plenty of arguments that could be made about the reliability of the gamekeepers’ records – i.e. keepers could have inflated the number to earn a bonus, or alternatively keepers could have reduced the number for fear of providing potentially incriminating evidence. McMillan deals with these and other issues in the paper. And for those who think the persecution stopped when Atholl Estate stopped recording it in the 1988/89 season, McMillan reports that “between 1989 and 1999, a number of incidents were logged by the RSPB on several shooting beats on the Atholl Estates, not all of which were confirmed, but which included shootings of raptors, trapping of birds including golden eagle and the deliberate destruction of broods of hen harrier and peregrines“.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these figures in Table 3 are from just ONE beat on just ONE sporting estate. You don’t need much imagination to guess what these figures would look like if records from every sporting estate in Scotland were included in the analysis. This should provide some perspective when we read the ‘official’ figures in the RSPB Birdcrime 2010 report later this week.

It should be noted that under the current management, Atholl Estate regularly provides a home for breeding golden eagles, peregrines, hen harriers and other raptors.

Full paper citation: McMillan, R.L. (2011). Raptor persecution on a large Perthshire estate: a historical study. Scottish Birds 31(3): 195-205.

Atholl Estate website here

Thank you to the contributor who alerted us to this publication.