Category: 2013 persecution incidents

Police appeal 3 weeks after shot buzzard found dead in Borders

Police in the Scottish Borders are appealing for information after a shot buzzard was found dead close to St Mary’s Loch.

The dead bird was found by a dog walker on 6th March and it’s believed to have been there for about three days.

BBC news article here

It’s good to see the police launch an appeal but why did it take three weeks? Good to see also that this incident features on their own website (here). Perhaps this is the influence of the new wildlife crime officer in this region, PC Hannah Medley? Good for her if it is.

Anyone with info about this incident, please call the police on 101.

Oh, and Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, we’re hope you’re watching. Here’s ANOTHER crime against birds of prey in Scotland – and another one that won’t show up on the annual poisoning maps. How many more incidents are needed before you take the action you’ve promised us you’ll take?

Red kite poisoned, 20 months after its mother suffered the same fate

Poisoned kite photo Marc RuddockA young red kite has been poisoned in County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland, 20 months after its mother was killed the same way.

The young bird was found in January and tests have confirmed it had been poisoned with both Carbofuran and Alphacloralose – the first time both chemicals have been found in an Irish kite. It’s mother was poisoned with Alphachloralose in December 2011.

The Golden Eagle Trust (the group behind the reintroduction of golden eagles, white-tailed eagles and red kites in the Irish Republic) described the poisoning of two generations of a red kite family as “totally devastating”.

The latest bird (Blue White 21) is the first of 21 Irish-born kites to be poisoned. It was found by a member of the public close to the golf club in the town. The bird was still alive but died shortly afterwards.

News article from Golden Eagle Trust here

News article in the Irish Independent here

Convicted gamekeeper has membership ‘suspended’

filesLast week we blogged about North Yorks gamekeeper Shaun Leslie Allanson, who was convicted of committing wildlife crimes on the Blansby Park Estate (see here). We wondered at the time whether Allanson was a member of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation (NGO), the English/Welsh equivalent of the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association.

Well, it turns out that he was indeed a member at the time he commited those offences.

In a very welcome turn of events, the NGO have issued a public statement about Allanson (see here). Following his conviction, they immediately ‘suspended’ his NGO membership. Now, this isn’t as good as immediately booting him out and banning him from ever re-joining the organisation, but it is a good start.

According to the NGO’s disciplinary procedure (see here), Allanson will remain suspended until the NGO’s National Committee have a chance to meet and discuss the details of his case, and based on that meeting he will either be expelled or re-admitted. We will watch with interest to see what decision they make.

The NGO deserve some credit here. Regular blog followers will know that after previous cases of convicted gamekeepers we have struggled to get the relevant ‘professional body’ (i.e. the NGO or the SGA) to make any public comment at all. On this occasion though, the NGO took very swift public action without us having to spend weeks badgering them to do so. We blogged quite recently about the need for greater leadership amongst the game-shooting bodies and it looks as though the message has finally got through, to the NGO at least. They don’t often give us cause to congratulate them but this time they have. Well done to them.

Shot peregrine released back to wild after treatment

_66033291_peregrineA peregrine falcon was found with a broken wing in January – apparently it had been shot. It has now been nursed back to health and released back into the wild at the location where it was found.

According to the BBC (see here), the injured peregrine was found ‘in a field near a local shoot’ in Salwick, near Preston. Kudos to Turbary Woods Owl and Bird Sanctuary for their efforts in this bird’s recovery.

This is a good news story, in that a wild peregrine has been successfully rehabilitated and released, but disturbingly, this incident can be added to what looks like a growing trend in a different method of persecution – shooting. Has anyone else noticed this? In recent months there have been quite a few reported shootings, including golden eagles, hen harriers, red kites and buzzards. Is it a real trend or is the media just getting more savvy at reporting these incidents?

Reported poisoning incidents are dropping, of that there’s no doubt. Whether that’s a reflection of a downturn in actual poisoning incidents or simply an indication that gamekeepers are getting smarter at hiding the evidence remains to be seen. The cynical amongst us may believe that the method of persecution has simply been switched…

2 buzzards shot & dumped in ditch

4571243Two buzzards have been shot and dumped in a ditch in East Yorkshire.

The birds were discovered by members of the public on Tuesday, on the edge of Burton Constable estate near Sproatley. The RSPB has offered a £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Well done to Humberside police for publicising this incident so quickly, and particularly well done WCO Sergeant Dave Jenkins who made a short video to increase awareness about this crime.

Full story (and video) here.

And for posterity, the video can be watched on YouTube here

And here’s coverage of the story on BBC News website here

Red kite shot in Shropshire

_65765793_red_kite_xray_224A red kite is lucky to be alive after being blasted with a shotgun in Shropshire. The kite is currently being cared for by the RSPCA.

A member of the public watched the bird ‘spiralling out of the sky’ before it crash landed into an electric fence in a field in Sleap, near Shrewsbury, on Saturday. The bird was taken to the RSPCA Stapely Grange Wildlife Centre where an x-ray revealed shotgun pellets in its body.

The RSPCA say the bird is responding to treatment but it’s still too early to know whether it will survive.

Anyone with information about this shooting is urged to contact the RSPCA on: 0300-123-8018

News story here

Two more sea eagles poisoned in Kerry

Two more white-tailed eagles have been found dead in Ireland. One, found in January 2013, has been confirmed poisoned. Another one is currently undergoing toxicology tests, although it too is suspected of being poisoned.

Full story in the Irish Times here

WTE Kerry 2013