2013 persecution incidents – Page 9

A community buyout proposal for Leadhills?

RK Leadhills 2013 This looks interesting….

There will be a public meeting at 2.30pm next Saturday (January 18th 2014) at Leadhills Village Hall to discuss the possibility of a community land buyout scheme at Leadhills, South Lanarkshire.

The meeting, which is open to everyone, will hear talks from two prominent figures involved with community land buyout schemes as well as presentations by local residents on the community land buyout process and the benefits these schemes can bring.

A brighter future for the wildlife in and around Leadhills? We think so.

Further details of the meeting here

Photo: this red kite was found critically-injured in Leadhills village in August last year. It had been shot. It didn’t survive (see here).

Subtle editing of Angus gamekeeper poison article: at whose request?

Courier original On Wednesday we blogged about an article that had appeared in the Courier that morning. The article was all about a retired Angus gamekeeper, Colin Gair, who claimed that gamekeepers were being put under pressure to use poison baits to protect grouse stocks. Here is what we wrote in that blog.

The Courier article seemed to cause quite a stir and was soon being cited all over social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. That’s not surprising – it’s not very often that you get a gamekeeper willing to admit that illegal practices such as poisoning are still taking place so of course, people would be interested in reading about that.

We didn’t think anything more of it until Thursday morning. After reading one of the comments left on our blog it became apparent that the original article in the Courier appeared to have been edited with some material removed and some new material added.

That’s not so unusual – many on-line news articles are edited, often adding new quotes from different sources when they become available; we even do that on our own lowly blog. However, not many news articles are edited in such a radical way as to change the original information into something completely different. Bizarrely, that is exactly what looks like has happened with the Courier article.

After some digging, we have been able to find a cached version of the original Courier article, which was published on-line at 9.07 am on Weds 8th Jan 2014. Here is the text:

Gamekeepers are being put under pressure to use illegal poison to protect grouse stocks, a retired keeper has claimed.

Colin Gair, who worked across a variety of Angus estates during a 50-year career, has hit out at the use of poisoned baits, which claimed the life of a golden eagle in Angus in November.

Fearnan’s death is the latest in a series of incidents — several other eagles and other raptors having been shot, poisoned or trapped on sporting estates.

Mr Gair, 66, claimed the situation in Angus had deteriorated in the past two years and is urging gamekeepers to speak out if they are being asked to use poison.

He said: “Grouse have to be reared naturally on the heather moors, therefore vermin must be controlled, but legally all the keeper can do is trap and shoot.

“If you are a gamekeeper who is a married man with wife and family and the very nature of the job entails living in a tied house, pressure can be applied to you.

“If you are asked by a landowner or the tenant to use poison it is not easy for a keeper to say ‘I refuse to do this’ when his house, job and future might be at risk.”

The Tayside division of Police Scotland said their inquiries into the death of Fearnan are continuing.

Fearnan Angus Glens Dec 2013 Now, compare the original version of the Courier article with the edited version that appeared on-line five hours later at 2.07 pm on Weds 8th Jan 2014. Here is the text:

Gamekeepers are being urged to contact police if they are asked by landowners or tenants to use illegal poisons to protect grouse stocks.

Retired keeper Colin Gair made the plea in the wake of the death of the golden eagle Fearnan, which died after being poisoned in Angus in November.

The type of poison used has not been revealed by police, but website Raptor Persecution Scotland, which has been tracking the series of killings in Angus, claim the poison was the illegal pesticide carbofuran.

In the past five and a half years, four eagles, a red kite and seven buzzards have been shot, poisoned or trapped on sporting estates in the Angus glens.

Mr Gair said he didn’t have pressure applied to him to use poison during his career, but was aware of the practice taking place.

He claimed young keepers who are fearful of losing their job could easily be coerced into using poison by unscrupulous tenants.

“I am certain many moors do not use poison, but some do and there are areas of Angus which are regarded as raptor black holes,” he claimed.

“If you are a young keeper with a wife and kids you dare not stick your head above the parapet, but I hope that someone will come forward and report that they have been asked to use poison to police.”

Mr Gair, 66, said the agricultural poisons used would be very difficult to obtain by gamekeepers and speculated that they were more likely to be supplied by corrupt traders to one or two shoot managers before being passed down to keepers.

He added: “Who is the real criminal in the poisoning cases? Is it the keeper who knowingly uses the chemical or is it another person who deliberately buys the chemical and passes it on to keepers with instructions to use it for vermin control?

“With most of these concentrated agricultural chemicals you would just need a few drops on an animal’s carcase and it would be deadly for anything that eats it.”

Tayside Raptor Study Group expert and wildlife artist Keith Brockie has called on the Scottish Government to licence shooting estates, a move Mr Gair said he would not oppose.

However, if licensing did come in, he said there would have to be some “give and take” and that the killing of certain raptors be allowed.

He added: “If gamekeeping and shooting interests are to face a licencing system, then we should be given something in return.”

Anyone with information that could assist police inquiries regarding the death of Fearnan is asked to contact 101, or speak to any officer.

That’s quite a different story being told in the edited version. What struck us the most was the change in the opening paragraph. In the original version, Mr Gair’s claim is crystal clear:

“Gamekeepers ARE BEING put under pressure to use illegal poison to protect grouse stocks“.

In the edited version, this claim has been considerably diluted to this:

“Gamekeepers are being urged to contact police IF they are asked by landowners or tenants to use illegal poisons to protect grouse stocks“.

Suddenly the article has gone from ‘they are being put under pressure’ to ‘if they are being asked’.

Another significant change is the removal of Mr Gair’s claim that ‘the situation in Angus has deteriorated in the past two years‘. That statement does not appear in the edited version.

New material in the edited version includes: a reference to this blog, Mr Gair’s claims that he was never asked to poison anything throughout his career, his claim that ‘young keepers could easily be coerced’ [into poisoning], his view that ‘many moors do not use poison’, his view on the ‘difficulty’ of obtaining poisons, the reference to Keith Brockie and Keith Brockie’s view that estate licensing should be on the cards, and Mr Gair’s view of estate licensing.

We are intrigued by the scale of the editing that took place on the original article, and we’re particularly interested in who or what might have prompted such fundamental changes to the original article. Who might not have been happy with the claims made in the original article, that gamekeepers were being pressurised by landowners to use poison to protect grouse stocks? And who might have the power and influence to instruct those editorial changes? Hmmm….

Meanwhile, the landowners’ organisation Scottish Land & Estates has written a letter to the Courier to complain about the [edited] version of the article. Here’s what they had to say:

Sir,

The article by Rob McLaren “Gamekeepers urged to report unscrupulous owners” (January 8) repeats some very dangerous assumptions. The death of the golden eagle “Fearnan” has been subject to police investigation for over a month and there has been no indication that it resulted from the actions of a gamekeeper or that it was related to grouse moor management. Anything more than was included in the police press release of 19th December is speculation.

The gamekeeper Colin Mair [sic], whose purely personal comments are repeated in the article, admits that he “didn’t have pressure applied to him to use poison during his career” and merely speculates that others might have done. To be quite clear, landowners do not put pressure on gamekeepers to use poison or break the law, indeed any gamekeeper would have full protection of employment legislation if that should happen. In the few cases where gamekeepers have been convicted for using poison to control predators, there has been no indication that they were told by their employers to do so and particularly no evidence that poisons were supplied by shoot managers, as the article alleges. Since 2011, the already strong laws on employer liability have been tightened further by a “vicarious liability” offence whereby a land owner, manager or employer can be held liable for wild bird offences carried out by another person even if he was not aware of them. Any estate employing gamekeepers now has to make it doubly clear that no illegal activity can be condoned.

If anyone, including a gamekeeper, has specific evidence as to who was responsible for the death of the golden eagle, it should be reported to the police immediately. This case needs to be resolved as soon as possible, not least to put an end to speculative comment of the kind repeated in this article.

Tim Baynes

Director, Scottish Land & Estates Moorland Group

Gamekeepers put under pressure to use poison, claims retired Angus keeper

A retired gamekeeper whose 50-year career included working on Angus sporting estates has claimed that gamekeepers are being put under pressure to use illegal poison to protect grouse stocks, according to an article in today’s Courier (see here).

Colin Gair, 66, says the situation in Angus has deteriorated in the past two years and he is encouraging other gamekeepers to speak out if they are being asked to use poison.

His comments come after the discovery of ‘Fearnan’, the golden eagle found poisoned on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens in December. Fearnan is the latest victim in a long line of alleged poisoning incidents in the area (see here).

Mr Gair deserves a great deal of credit for his willingness to speak out on a subject that is usually vehemently denied by all connected with the game-shooting industry, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and we applaud his courage.

It’ll be interesting to see whether there’s any response to his claims from certain game- shooting industry organisations that are usually at the forefront of the denials.

UPDATE 10th January 2014: see here

Environment Minister faces more questions on tackling wildlife crime

Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse is facing a busy few weeks as he comes under increasing pressure, not just from the public but also from politicians, about the problems of effectively addressing wildlife crime in Scotland.

Back in his office today after the Xmas break, he will have been met with a backlogged barrage of emails concerning the poisoned golden eagle ‘Fearnan’ (see here), in addition to complaints about the latest ridiculous police appeal for information concerning the dead buzzard “that had not died of natural causes” (see here).

Today, MSP Christine Grahame (SNP Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale) lodged the following question in parliament:

Question S4T-00552: To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent discovery of six badger carcasses near Peebles, whether it is content with Police Scotland’s resource allocation for detecting and preventing wildlife crimes.

This question is due to be heard in Chamber tomorrow (7th Jan 2014).

The badger incident she refers to was reported on the BBC website on Saturday 4th January 2014 (see here). The appeal for information made by Police Scotland was in stark contrast to the appeal for information they put out about the dead buzzard “that had not died of natural causes“.

The badger appeal came out less than 24 hours after the six skinned badger carcasses had been discovered; the buzzard appeal didn’t come out until 25 days after the carcass had been found.

The badger appeal provided a vivid description of what state the badgers were in when found (i.e. skinned). The buzzard appeal just said the bird “had not died of natural causes“.

The badger appeal gave a precise location of where the victims had been found, including their position (‘east banking’) on a named road (‘Bonnington Road’) that led to a named farm (‘Bonnington Farm’). The location provided in the buzzard appeal was given as ‘near the village of Tomatin’, with no indication of scale.

The badger appeal even gave a precise time of when the carcasses were discovered. The buzzard appeal did not.

You couldn’t get two more different appeals for information. One (the badger appeal) was timely, detailed and informative. The other was anything but.

sspca_badge Christine Grahame’s question is bang on the money. It’ll be interesting to see how Wheelhouse responds. Perhaps he’ll mention the long-promised public consultation on increasing the powers of the SSPCA to allow them to investigate more wildlife crime than they are currently allowed.

We have blogged A LOT about this promised consultation. The consultation was first suggested by former MSP Peter Peacock as an amendment during the WANE Bill debates, way back in February 2011. The then Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham rejected it as an amendment but suggested a consultation was in order.

Seven months later in September 2011, MSP Elaine Murray lodged a motion that further powers for the SSPCA should be considered. In November 2011, Elaine Murray MSP formalised the question in a P&Q session and the next Environment Minister, Stewart Stevenson, then promised that the consultation would happen in the first half of 2012. Nothing happened.

In September 2012 we asked Paul Wheelhouse, as the new Environment Minister, when the consultation would take place. The response, in October 2012, was:

“The consultation has been delayed by resource pressures but will be brought forward in the near future”.

Nothing happened, so nine months later in July 2013 we asked again. In August 2013, this was the response:

“We regret that resource pressures did further delay the public consultation on the extension of SSPCA powers. However, I can confirm that the consultation document will be published later this year“.

The end of 2013 came and went, and still nothing.

So, nearly three years after Scottish Ministers committed to undertaking this consultation, where is it?

Questions to Mr Wheelhouse at the usual address: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Another dead buzzard in Scotland: another pathetic police response

Police Scotland has issued an embarrassingly vague press release following the discovery of a dead buzzard in suspicious circumstances.

According to the BBC report (here), which is presumably based upon the police’s press release, the dead bird was found “near the village of Tomatin in the Highlands” by a member of the public on 9th December 2013.

“Police said an examination of the buzzard suggested it had not died of natural causes“.

In other words then, it had been illegally killed. The cause of death has not been mentioned, and nor has the specific location.

Given that Tomatin is in the heart of grouse moor country, and that this area is a well known raptor persecution hotspot on a par with the Angus Glens, we can’t help but question why this press release has been designed to be so deliberately cryptic. Who are the police trying to protect?

It’s not the first time, either. In June 2013 they issued a similarly cryptic press release following the discovery of a dead red kite in Aberdeenshire. They said: “After recovery of the carcass, a post mortem was carried out. This revealed that the bird’s death was not by natural causes“. It was later reported that the kite had been shot (see here).

In September 2010, they issued a vague appeal for information following the discovery of an osprey in the Highlands that died from what they described as “deliberately inflicted injuries“. It was later reported that the osprey had been shot (see here).

Is it any wonder that we’ve lost complete confidence in Police Scotland to investigate this type of wildlife crime? What other offence would trigger such an uninformative police statement? Have you ever seen a police response like it? It’s like a new game show, ‘Guess the Crime’, hosted by Police Scotland: Something illegal happened in the Central Belt four weeks ago. We’re not telling you what it was or where it happened; you’ll have to guess. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police‘.

Public anger over the continued illegal killing of raptors on grouse moors is already at an all-time high following the death of golden eagle ‘Fearnan’ last month, found poisoned in the Angus glens. The police’s continued unwillingness to provide transparency over these investigations is sure to add to that sense of fury. These criminals are getting away time after time, and it’s not hard to see why.

If you want to express your frustration and dissatisfaction with the way Police Scotland are behaving during these wildlife crime ‘investigations’ (and we use that term loosely), please email Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse and ask him for an explanation: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

We know that hundreds of you emailed him just before Xmas following the death of golden eagle Fearnan. Don’t underestimate how powerful that volume of messages from the public can be.

31 eagles, 7 years, 0 prosecutions

In April 2012, we wrote an article called ’21 eagles, 6 years, 0 prosecutions’ (see here).

In September 2012, we updated it and called it ’26 eagles, 6 years, 0 prosecutions’ (see here).

In July 2013 we updated it again. This time, ’27 eagles, 7 years, 0 prosecutions’ (see here).

Here’s the latest version: 31 eagles, 7 years, 0 prosecutions.

This article should provide some context the next time you hear someone (usually from the game-shooting industry or from the government) say that “we’re making real progress in the fight against raptor persecution”. So much ‘progress’ in fact that 13 of these eagles have been lost in the last 3 years; 4 of them this year, the so-called Year of Natural Scotland.

As before, a number of eagles included in this list (7 of them, to be precise) may not be dead. However, they are included here because their satellite tags unexpectedly stopped functioning (i.e. they’d been transmitting perfectly well up until the eagles’ last known location, often a known persecution hotspot). Two further satellite-tagged eagles (‘Angus’ and ‘Tom’) are not included in this list as although their transmitters stopped functioning, there had been recognisable problems with their tags prior to the final transmissions and so the benefit of the doubt has been applied.

A couple of eagles have been added that should have featured in the previous version but we’ve only just received details about them.

Many of these listed eagles from recent years have only been discovered because the eagles were being satellite-tracked. Much kudos to the dedicated teams of fieldworkers who have put in hours and hours of skilled hard work to allow this to happen. Obviously there are many other eagles out there that have not been sat-tagged and on the balance of probability will have been killed at the hands of the game-shooting industry. 31 eagles in the last 7 years is the bare minimum. The number of prosecutions (zero) is undeniable.

MAY 2006: A dead adult golden eagle was found on the Dinnet & Kinord Estate, near Ballater, Aberdeenshire. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Grampian Police launched an investigation. Seven years and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

JUNE 2006: A dead golden eagle was found on Glen Feshie Estate in the Cairngorms. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Northern Constabulary launched an investigation. Seven years and 6 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

AUGUST 2007: A dead adult female golden eagle was found on an estate near Peebles in the Borders. She was half of the last known breeding pair of golden eagles in the region. Tests revealed she had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Lothian & Borders Police launched an investigation. Six years and 4 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

bird-n NOVEMBER 2007: Tayside Police received a detailed tip-off that a young male white-tailed eagle (known as ‘Bird N’) had allegedly been shot on a grouse moor estate in the Angus Glens. The timing and location included in the tip-off coincided with the timing and location of the last-known radio signal of this bird. Six years and 1 month later, the bird has not been seen again. With no body, an investigation isn’t possible.

MAY 2008: A one year old male white-tailed eagle hatched on Mull in 2007 and known as ‘White G’ was found dead on the Glenquoich Estate in the Angus Glens. Tests revealed he had been poisoned by an unusual concoction of pesticides that included Carbofuran, Bendiocarb and Isofenphos. A police search in the area also revealed a poisoned buzzard, a baited mountain hare and 32 pieces of poisoned venison baits placed on top of fenceposts on the neighbouring Glenogil Estate. Laboratory tests revealed the baited mountain hare and the 32 poisoned venison baits contained the same unusual concoction of highly toxic chemicals that had killed the white-tailed eagle, ‘White G’. Five years and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

JUNE 2009: An adult golden eagle was found dead at Glen Orchy, Argyll, close to the West Highland Way. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Strathclyde Police launched a multi-agency investigation. Three years and 3 months later, estate employee Tom McKellar pled guilty to possession of Carbofuran stored in premises at Auch Estate, Bridge of Orchy and he was fined £1,200. Four years and 6 months on, nobody has been prosecuted for poisoning the golden eagle.

JULY 2009: A two year old female golden eagle known as ‘Alma’ was found dead on the Millden Estate in the Angus Glens. Tests revealed she had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Alma was a well-known eagle – born on the Glen Feshie Estate in 2007, she was being satellite-tracked and her movements followed by the general public on the internet. Tayside Police launched an investigation. Four years and 5 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

AUGUST 2009: A young white-tailed eagle was found dead on Glenogil Estate in the Angus Glens. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Tayside Police was criticized in the national press for not releasing a press statement about this incident until January 2010. Four years and 4 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

MAY 2010: #1 of three dead golden eagles found on or close to Skibo Estate, Sutherland. Tests revealed they had been poisoned; two with Carbofuran and one with Aldicarb. Northern Constabulary launched a multi-agency investigation. One year later (May 2011), Sporting Manager Dean Barr pled guilty to possession of 10.5 kg of Carbofuran stored in premises at Skibo Estate. Three years and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted for poisoning this eagle.

MAY 2010: #2 of three dead golden eagles found on or close to Skibo Estate, Sutherland. Tests revealed they had been poisoned; two with Carbofuran and one with Aldicarb. Northern Constabulary launched a multi-agency investigation. One year later (May 2011), Sporting Manager Dean Barr pled guilty to possession of 10.5 kg of Carbofuran stored in premises at Skibo Estate. Three years and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted for poisoning this eagle.

MAY 2010: #3 of three dead golden eagles found on or close to Skibo Estate, Sutherland. Tests revealed they had been poisoned; two with Carbofuran and one with Aldicarb. Northern Constabulary launched a multi-agency investigation. One year later (May 2011), Sporting Manager Dean Barr pled guilty to possession of 10.5 kg of Carbofuran stored in premises at Skibo Estate. Three years and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted for poisoning this eagle.

JUNE 2010: #1: Leg rings with unique identification numbers that had previously been fitted to the legs of four young golden eagles in nests across Scotland were found in the possession of gamekeeper James Rolfe, during a multi-agency investigation into alleged raptor persecution at Moy Estate, near Inverness. It is not clear how he came to be in possession of the rings. The bodies of the eagles from which the rings had been removed were not found. No further action was taken in relation to the discovery.

JUNE 2010: #2: Leg rings with unique identification numbers that had previously been fitted to the legs of four young golden eagles in nests across Scotland were found in the possession of gamekeeper James Rolfe, during a multi-agency investigation into alleged raptor persecution at Moy Estate, near Inverness. It is not clear how he came to be in possession of the rings. The bodies of the eagles from which the rings had been removed were not found. No further action was taken in relation to the discovery.

JUNE 2010: #3: Leg rings with unique identification numbers that had previously been fitted to the legs of four young golden eagles in nests across Scotland were found in the possession of gamekeeper James Rolfe, during a multi-agency investigation into alleged raptor persecution at Moy Estate, near Inverness. It is not clear how he came to be in possession of the rings. The bodies of the eagles from which the rings had been removed were not found. No further action was taken in relation to the discovery.

JUNE 2010: #4: Leg rings with unique identification numbers that had previously been fitted to the legs of four young golden eagles in nests across Scotland were found in the possession of gamekeeper James Rolfe, during a multi-agency investigation into alleged raptor persecution at Moy Estate, near Inverness. It is not clear how he came to be in possession of the rings. The bodies of the eagles from which the rings had been removed were not found. No further action was taken in relation to the discovery.

JUNE 2010: A golden eagle was found dead on Farr & Kyllachy Estate, Inverness-shire. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Northern Constabulary apparently did not search the property until July 2011. Three years and 6 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

JUNE 2010: A white-tailed eagle was found dead on Farr & Kyllachy Estate, Inverness-shire. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Northern Constabulary apparently did not search the property until July 2011. Three years and 6 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

DECEMBER 2010: A decomposing carcass of a white-tailed eagle was found and photographed on Logie (Lochindorb) Estate, Morayshire. It was reported to Northern Constabulary. By the time the police arrived to collect it, the carcass had disappeared. The police said they couldn’t investigate further without the body.

FEBRUARY 2011: The signal from a young satellite-tracked golden eagle ( ‘Lee’, hatched in 2010) unexpectedly stopped transmitting after a final signal from the North Angus Glens. A technical malfunction or another mysterious ‘disappearance’?

MARCH 2011: The body of a young golden eagle was discovered on North Glenbuchat Estate, Aberdeenshire. Tests revealed it had been poisoned by the illegal pesticide Carbofuran. Grampian Police launched an investigation and raided the property in May 2011. Two years and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

APRIL 2011: The body of a white-tailed eagle was found at the base of cliffs on Skye. The person who discovered it (a professional medic) considered it to have been freshly shot with a rifle, decapitated with a sharp implement and thrown from the cliff top. He took photographs and alerted Northern Constabulary and RSPB. There was a delay of two weeks before the now probably decomposed carcass was collected. A post-mortem was inconclusive. This incident was not made public until one year later after a tip off to this blog. Two years and 8 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

SEPTEMBER 2011: The signal from a satellite-tracked young golden eagle (‘Strathy’, hatched in 2010) unexpectedly stopped transmitting after a final signal from an Aberdeenshire grouse moor. A technical malfunction or another mysterious ‘disappearance’?

MARCH 2012: The body of a young golden eagle being tracked by satellite was discovered in Lochaber. Tests revealed it had been poisoned with the banned pesticides Aldicarb and Bendiocarb. Information about this incident was not made public until three months later. One year and 9 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

MARCH 2012: The signal from a satellite-tracked young golden eagle (‘Angus 26’, hatched in 2011) unexpectedly stopped transmitting after a final signal from a grouse moor in the Angus Glens. This bird’s suspiciously damaged sat tag was found in the area.

MAY 2012: The signal from a young satellite-tracked golden eagle (#32857) unexpectedly stopped transmitting when the bird was north-east of the Cairngorms National Park. A technical malfunction or another mysterious ‘disappearance’?

MAY 2012: The dead body of a young satellite-tracked golden eagle (hatched in 2011) was discovered near a lay-by in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. The data from its satellite tag & the injuries the bird had when found (2 broken legs) suggested it had been caught in an illegal trap on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens and then removed, under cover of darkness, to be dumped in another area where it was left to die, probably a slow and agonising death. Information on this incident was not released until almost five months later, by the RSPB. It appears the police failed to properly investigate this incident as we understand that no search warrants were issued and no vehicles were searched. One year and 7 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

OCTOBER 2012: An adult golden eagle was found shot and critically injured on grouse moor at Buccleuch Estate, near Wanlockhead, South Lanarkshire. The bird was rescued by the SSPCA and underwent surgery but it eventually succumbed to its injuries in April 2013. One year and 2 months later, nobody has been prosecuted.

MAY 2013: The signal from a two-year-old satellite tracked golden eagle (‘Angus 33’, hatched in 2011) unexpectedly stopped transmitting after it’s last signal from North Glenbuchat Estate in Aberdeenshire. A technical malfunction or another mysterious ‘disappearance’?

JUNE 2013: A dead golden eagle was found on an RSPB reserve on Oronsay. This bird had been shot although it is not known whether this was the cause of death or an historical injury.

JULY 2013: The signal from a young satellite tracked golden eagle (‘Cullen’, hatched 2010) unexpectedly stopped transmitting after its last signal in Aberdeenshire. A technical malfunction or another mysterious ‘disappearance’?

DECEMBER 2013: A two year old satellite tracked golden eagle (‘Fearnan’) was found dead on a grouse moor in the Angus Glens. Tests revealed he had been poisoned with the banned pesticide Carbofuran.

Case against Stody Estate gamekeeper Allen Lambert: part 2

Last week we blogged about Norfolk gamekeeper Allen Lambert who had been charged with seven alleged wildlife crime offences including the killing of 14 buzzards, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 tawny owl (see here).

The case against 64-year old Lambert, a gamekeeper on the award-winning Stody Estate, was heard last Thursday (19th December 2013) at Kings Lynn magistrates court.

It has been reported that Lambert pled guilty to keeping banned pesticides (Mevinphos & Aldicarb) but denied killing raptors and keeping some of their bodies.

His case was adjourned until 22nd January 2014.

Interestingly, the news report calls Lambert a ‘former’ gamekeeper.

News report from EDP24 here.

The life, and death, of golden eagle Fearnan

Yesterday we learned that yet another young golden eagle had met an untimely death at the hands of an industry incapable or unwilling to move into the 21st century (here). The shocking result of a series of secretive, evil acts pervading the remote glens and mountainsides of Scotland. Secretive yet relentless. A lonely agonising death as the eagle spasms and fits and gasps its last breath, its feet clenched in chemical paralysis.

To most of us, Fearnan is just another statistic; one of a growing list of eagles lost in the most barbaric way. But here is his story, in the words and pictures of Keith Brockie, a man who knew Fearnan well. Thanks, Keith, for sharing with us.

Male golden eagle chick in his eyrie in Glen Lyon, Perthshire with oven-ready red grouse and red-legged partridge as prey. 25th June 2011:

Fearnan1

Portrait of the eaglet prior to being satellite-tagged:

Fearnan2

Holding the young male golden eagle chick prior to tagging the chick. Ringed by my wife, Hazel, her first eagle chick ringed:

Fearnan3

Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB, fitting the satellite tag harness onto the eaglet prior to stitching and glueing the harness bands to establish a good fit:

Fearnan4

Fearnan flying alongside a hillside in Glen Lyon on 18th December 2011. You can clearly see the satellite tag and aerial mounted on his back. Unusually he stayed with his parents hardly venturing more than a few kms out of his natal territory from 23rd July when he fledged ’till 4th March 2012. His parents no doubt forced him out of their territory as they were about to lay eggs:

Fearnan5

His movements were monitored by Roy Dennis (see here where you can see his movements throughout Scotland). This map shows his last movements ’till his untimely death on 22nd November 2013. Prior to this he had travelled from Loch Awe, Ben Dearg, spent much of his time in North Perthshire and the Monaliaths ’till he made the fatal mistake of visiting the grouse moors of Angus. Indeed whilst I was doing golden plover monitoring on Dunmaglass estate near Inverness in June this year, Fearnan flew past only 50 metres away:

Fearnan6

Fearnan lying dead on a hillside overlooking Glen Lethnot on 3rd December 2013, when he was picked up by RSPB Investigations personnel (photo courtesy of them) and police. Later veterinary investigations revealed that he had been poisoned by carbofuran, a highly poisonous systemic insecticide (now banned) which is particularly toxic to birds. The golden eagle was recently voted most popular of the ‘Big Five’ wildlife species in a poll by Scottish Natural Heritage. This is the way they are treated in the ‘Year of Natural Scotland 2013’:

Fearnan7

The area where Fearnan was found dead is really bad for the persecution of raptors. Here are some of the known examples, merely the ‘tip of a very large iceberg’. 2008: a white-tailed eagle and a buzzard found poisoned, with 32 meat baits and a baited mountain hare also found. 2009: a white-tailed eagle and 2 buzzards found poisoned on one estate and a poisoned golden eagle and buzzard found on another estate. 2010: a poisoned red kite and nearby 2 poisoned buzzards with pigeon baits laced with poison. 2011: a buzzard seen shot. 2012: a tagged golden eagle trapped and transported overnight into a Deeside wood with a feather trail from a lay-by where it later died. 2013: the first white-tailed eagle eyrie in Eastern Scotland for 200 years chopped down by a chainsaw! These are just the known raptor deaths. Considering four satellite-tagged eagles have been killed in this area recently and fewer than 10% of young golden eagles are tagged each year in Scotland, how many moor are lying rotting amongst the heather on these grouse moors – another 36? These grouse moors where the persecution is taking place are acting as a sump, constantly killing immature eagles trying to find vacant territories. THE TIME IS LONG OVERDUE FOR SHOOTING ESTATES TO BE LICENSED to add further pressure on estates to curb the illegal persecution of raptors. The SGA and SLE would have you believe that persecution is declining but those of us who monitor raptors know differently! Please write to the Environment Minister to express your disgust: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Fearnan8

Golden eagle found poisoned on Angus grouse moor

A two-year old golden eagle named ‘Fearnan’ has been found dead on a Scottish grouse moor. He had been poisoned with a banned pesticide. The poison hasn’t been named but we’ll take an educated guess at Carbofuran, the gamekeepers’ poison of choice.

Interestingly, there are three separate press releases about this latest disgraceful crime:

One from the government via PAW (here)

One from the police (here)

One from RSPB Scotland (here)

Usually, we’re lucky to see anything for at least 4-5 months after the crime so it’s somewhat surprising to see the scuffle for media attention on this one. Could this be a sign that Environment Minister Wheelhouse has put his foot down and demanded that timely press statements are released? We can’t think of any other reason why the police should suddenly change their tactics from seemingly apathetic to seemingly responsive.

Of course, regular blog readers will already know that Fearnan is not the only poisoned eagle to have been found dead in the Angus Glens. In fact, there’s been a fair bit of raptor persecution over the last nine years. Here’s a list of incidents we’ve compiled from various published reports:

2004 May, near Edzell: long-eared owl and two short-eared owls starved to death in crow cage trap. No prosecution.

2004 May, Invermark Estate: peregrine nest destroyed. No prosecution.

2006 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2006 April, Easter Ogil: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.

2006 April, Easter Ogil: poisoned tawny owl (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.

2006 May, Glenogil Estate: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2006 June, Glenogil Estate: poisoned woodpigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2006 June, Glenogil Estate: Traces of Carbofuran found in estate vehicles & on equipment during police search. No prosecution. Estate owner had £107k withdrawn from his farm subsidy payments. This was being appealed, but it is not known how this was resolved.

2006 July, Millden Estate; poisoned sheepdog (Lindane). No prosecution.

2007 November, Glenogil Estate: Disappearance of radio-tagged white-tailed eagle ‘Bird N’ coincides with tip off to police that bird been shot. No further transmissions or sightings of the bird.

2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned white-tailed eagle ‘White G’ (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned buzzard (Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned mountain hare bait (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 May, Glenogil Estate: 32 x poisoned meat baits on fenceposts (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 October, ‘Glenogil Estate: poisoned meat bait on fencepost (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 April, Millden Estate: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.

2009 July, Millden Estate: poisoned golden eagle ‘Alma’ (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 August, Glenogil Estate: poisoned white-tailed eagle “89” (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned red kite (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 September, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Chloralose). No prosecution.

2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2011 February, Airlie Estate: buzzard caught in illegal crow trap. (see below)

2011 March, Airlie Estate: 3 x buzzard caught in illegal crow trap. Prosecution (!) but dropped after statement from suspect given to SSPCA deemed inadmissible.

2011 April, Millden Estate: shot buzzard. No prosecution.

2012 April, ‘Nr Noranside’: Remains of buzzard found beside pheasant pen. Suspicious death.

2011 June, Rottal & Tarabuckle Estate: dead kestrel inside crow cage trap. No prosecution.

2012 February, ‘Nr Edzell’: spring-trapped buzzard. No prosecution.

2012 February, ‘Nr Bridgend’: remains of buzzard found under a rock. Suspicious death.

2012 May, Millden Estate: satellite-tagged golden eagle caught in spring trap, then apparently uplifted overnight and dumped on Deeside. No prosecution.

2012 May, Glen Esk: disappearance of sat-tagged red kite. No further transmissions or sightings of bird.

2013 January, Invermark Estate: white-tailed eagle nest tree felled. No prosecution.

2013 November, Glen Lethnot: poisoned golden eagle. Prosecution? Highly unlikely!

We think you’ll agree, this is overwhelming evidence that some people in the Angus Glens are systematically persecuting birds of prey, they have been for many years, and those same people are avoiding criminal justice for their disgusting and illegal activities. We call them The Untouchables.

Why have they been able to avoid prosecution for so long?

Now would be a good time to ask the Environment Minister for an explanation. While you’re at it, please also mention your revulsion about the continued practice of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors. The time for estate licensing is here; the game-shooting industry, quite clearly, cannot or will not self-regulate. Emails to: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

RIP Fearnan.

posioned GE Lethnot 2013

Gamekeeper convicted of setting an illegal pole trap

Here’s another example of how our fine ‘custodians of the countryside’ are the “most effective conservationists working in the British countryside today“.

On 9 December 2013 at Herefordshire Magistrates Court, 39-year old gamekeeper Wayne Priday was convicted of setting an illegal pole trap close to his pheasant release pen near Elton, close to Ludlow, in August this year.

He was fined £375 and ordered to pay £170 costs. Gosh, a £545 fine – that’ll learn ‘im.

Priday was caught thanks to covert video footage filmed by the RSPB Investigations Team. (Remember, this is in England where covert video evidence is readily accepted by the courts, unlike here in Scotland).

RSPB investigators visited Priday’s pheasant pen on 7th August 2013 and found a pole trap set in position on top of a post. The trap had been camouflaged with moss. Investigators disabled the trap and set a covert camera in place to identify the trap user.

The following day, along came Priday who was filmed examining the trap and clearly looking puzzled that it had been sprung without catching anything (see the covert video footage here – it’s hilarious). He unfastened the trap, put it in his vehicle and drove away.

Priday was later interviewed by West Mercia Police and he admitted setting the trap, although he claimed it was for squirrels.

Well done to the RSPB Investigations Team and also to West Mercia Police for a successful conviction.

We wonder whether Priday is a member of the National Gamekeepers Organisation? And if so, whether they will be expelling him from their club or whether they think Priday’s crime is not a ‘wildlife crime’ (e.g. as they did here). Shall we ask them? Emails to: info@nationalgamekeepers.org.uk

Pole traps have been illegal in the UK since 1904. Essentially they consist of a spring trap which is attached to a post, often by a chain. Posts are often used by birds of prey to perch on to give them a good vantage point. When the raptor lands on the set pole trap, one or both of its legs gets caught in the jaws of the trap. When the bird attempts to fly away it is prevented from doing so because the trap is attached to the post. This causes the bird to dangle upside down where it will inevitably die a prolonged and horrific death. It is probably one of the most barbaric traps around, hence it being banned for over 100 years.

Here is a photograph of a buzzard (still alive) caught in another pole trap. It did not survive its injuries.

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