Category: 2023 persecution incidents

Barn owl found dead in a crow cage trap on an Angus Glens grouse moor

Over the weekend I was advised that a barn owl had reportedly been found dead inside a crow cage trap situated on a grouse moor in the notorious raptor persecution hotspot, the Angus Glens.

The discovery was apparently made during the first week of January 2023.

I understand the trap was tagged with the operator’s registration number (now a legal requirement in Scotland) and that the trap had not been disabled (i.e. the door hadn’t been removed/padlocked open) and so as far as the law is concerned, the trap was considered to be in-use, which means the trap operator has a legal obligation to check the trap at least once every 24 hours and release any non-target species. The General Licence conditions also state, ‘A check must be sufficient to determine whether there are any live or dead birds or other animals in the trap‘.

I asked Police Scotland to confirm the details of this case, whether a police search had been undertaken, if so, when, and what the current status is of the investigation?

After some hesitation, this afternoon a police spokesperson provided the following statement:

“The incident has been reported to police and enquiries are ongoing“.

There’s more to this case than meets the eye. Watch this space…

UPDATE 19th January 2023: This blog article was picked up by The Courier, here

‘Vast’ egg collection, including hen harrier & osprey eggs, seized by Suffolk Police

Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Team has seized what it describes as a ‘vast’ egg collection in Halesworth. The haul is thought to include clutches of hen harrier and osprey eggs.

The police raid last Friday was part of Operation Easter, a policing initiative that began in Scotland 25 years ago (see here for background) that primarily targets wild bird egg thieves, although in recent years it has been expanded to also cover related crimes such as the online trade in eggs and the disturbance of nests for photography (see here).

This initiative is a good example of partnership-working. It’s facilitated by the National Wildlife Crime Unit that leads on intelligence reports and key partners include UK police forces and the RSPB’s Investigations Team. It’s seen some major successes over the years, with convictions often including custodial sentences, and large numbers of wild bird eggs being taken out of circulation.

More information about illegal egg collections can be found on the RSPB’s website here.

Well done to Suffolk Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Team for keeping the public informed.

Three barn owls, one tawny owl & one red kite found dumped in ditch – police appeal for information

More detail has emerged about the discovery of five dead birds of prey and two magpies found in suspicious circumstances and the subject of an appeal for information yesterday by Lincolnshire Police’s Wildlife Crime Team (see here).

The five raptors are reported to be three barn owls, one tawny owl and a red kite.

The police appeal for information contained very little detail yesterday – no date of discovery, no specific location and no species identification, although the dismembered wings of a barn owl could be seen in the accompanying police photograph:

Many thanks to BBC reporters Simon Hare and Paul Murphy for providing a bit more information:

If you have any information that could assist the police investigation please contact DC Aaron Flint at Lincolnshire Police, either by calling 101 and quoting incident number 22000747007 or by emailing aaron.flint@lincs.police.uk

UPDATE 27th May 2023: Update from Lincolnshire Police on discovery of raptor body parts found in ditch (here)