The following statement and photo was posted on social media on 19 January 2025:
GWENT POLICE: Another busy weekend for the rural crime team that included responding to a report of 2 dead birds of prey. Found in suspicious circumstances, they have been recovered for autopsy via the Wildlife Investigation Team (WIIS).
No further details available at the moment.
As many of you will be aware, the 2024 grouse shooting season in Scotland (12 Aug – 10 Dec 2024) saw the use of grouse moor licences for the first time ever, introduced by the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 passed by the Scottish Parliament in March 2024.
For new readers, this Act was introduced as the Scottish Government’s response to the continued widespread illegal killing of birds of prey on grouse moors. It works on the basis that all red grouse shooting must now be licensed in Scotland under a section 16AA licence and if, on the civil burden of proof (i.e. on the balance of probability) sufficient evidence is found that the licence has been breached (including evidence of illegal raptor persecution), the licence can be withdrawn as a sanction, preventing the shooting of red grouse on a particular estate for a period of up to five years.
The licences have already been weakened significantly by NatureScot after a legal threat from the game-shooting industry (see here) and I’ll be writing more about that, probably later this week.
As part of the new grouse moor licensing scheme, NatureScot published a Code of Practice for Grouse Moor Management (also known as the Grouse Code) which sets out the legal requirements associated with managing land for killing and/or taking red grouse.
The Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 requires that a licence holder comply with the Grouse Code. Non-adherence to the Grouse Code could result in a licensing sanction and/or suspension or revocation. Here is the Grouse Code:
You’ll note on pages 2-3 of the Grouse Code that it includes a section on compliance monitoring.
Stating the obvious, NatureScot says, ‘Compliance monitoring is a key aspect of any licensing approach‘ and then outlines the types of compliance monitoring checks it says it will conduct:
Sounds reassuringly comprehensive, doesn’t it?
However, in recent months I’ve learned that NatureScot can’t be trusted (more on that soon!) so rather than rely on what NatureScot says it will do with regard to Grouse Code compliance checks, I decided to find it what it actually did by submitting an FoI request as follows:
Here is NatureScot’s response:
So, NatureScot issued 264 grouse shooting licences for the 2024 season and says that 14 ‘were either cancelled, revoked or withdrawn‘. I’m guessing that none of them were ‘cancelled’ or ‘revoked’, but rather all 14 were ‘withdrawn’ by the licence applicant, probably as a result of the threatened legal challenge against NatureScot by the grouse-shooting industry that resulted in a narrowing of the licensable area, so perhaps some licence holders withdrew their original licence applications and submitted revised applications showing the more limited boundary.
Whatever the reason, I’m quite confident that no licences have been ‘cancelled’ or ‘revoked’ by NatureScot because if they had, NatureScot would have publicised it on its website in the same way it does for General Licence restrictions. I suspect in this case, NatureScot has deliberately included the words ‘cancelled’ and ‘revoked’ in its FoI response in an attempt to infer enforcement action when actually it hasn’t done any enforcement whatsoever.
That leaves 250 grouse shooting licences that NatureScot issued for the 2024 grouse shooting season. Of those, NatureScot didn’t undertake one single compliance check.
That’s astonishing, given that the Scottish Parliament introduced grouse shoot licensing on the basis that many grouse moor owners and managers couldn’t be trusted to abide by the law, despite years of warnings that if they didn’t stop illegally killing birds of prey they’d face imposed regulations. Given this long history of criminality, you’d think that compliance monitoring would be fundamental.
Regulation, in this case licensing, is only as strong as the associated compliance monitoring efforts and subsequent enforcement action. We’ve already seen the illegal shooting of an osprey (here) and a peregrine (here) since the licensing scheme began, and no sign of any subsequent enforcement action, which suggests that the licensing scheme simply isn’t an effective mechanism for stopping The Untouchables. NatureScot’s failure to undertake a single licence compliance check is playing right into their hands.
Further to this afternoon’s blog about the conviction today of Scottish gamekeeper Thomas Ebner for a snaring offence in April 2023 (here), the Scottish SPCA has issued the following press release:
GAMEKEEPER PLEADS GUILTY TO SNARING FOX
A man has been fined £1,250 and ordered to pay a £75 surcharge for cruelly snaring a fox.
Thomas Ebner, 74, from Reston in the Scottish Borders, pled guilty to setting a snare that could cause unnecessary suffering to any animal that came into contact with it. The snare was located on land belonging to Old Castles Farm in Chirnside.
The fox was caught by the neck and partially suspended on a broken fence line.
Ebner was sentenced at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, January 20 2025.
Sheriff Paterson remarked, “This is a breach of the act. You knew what you were doing, and the fox suffered. But, I must consider that you have no previous convictions and pleaded guilty.”
The sheriff then fined Ebner £1,250, plus a £75 surcharge.
A Scottish SPCA Inspector from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said, “The fox was found caught in a snare along a broken fence line by members of the public. It was seen jumping through the fence in considerable distress and foaming at the mouth. The snare was wrapped around a fence post and was blood-stained. The public was able to free the fox from the snare.
“This snare was set in a way that caused suffering to the fox. There was a significant risk of it becoming entangled in the fence, which could have led to strangulation. It was clear that the fox was experiencing both mental and physical distress. The animal was at further risk of injury from surrounding barbed wire and broken wood.
“The snare was set by an individual who had attended an official snare training course, where they were taught the correct way to set snares.
“This is yet another example of the cruel impact snares can have on animal welfare and the unnecessary suffering they cause. We welcome the ban on snares implemented by the Scottish Government.”
A ban on the use of snares came into effect in March 2024 as part of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act.
“We have also been given additional investigative powers to tackle wildlife crime. These powers allow our inspectors, who are already investigating animal welfare offences, to search, examine, and seize evidence.
“The Bill includes various measures to protect wildlife, such as a ban on all forms of snares and glue traps.
“We have long called for an outright ban on snares due to the suffering they inflict on animals, whether used legally or illegally. Animals caught in snares can endure unimaginable physical and mental anguish. Snares are non-selective and can harm both domestic animals and non-target wildlife.”
ENDS
A Scottish gamekeeper has pleaded guilty to a snaring offence and has been fined £1,250.
Thomas Ebner, 74, of Lakeside, Reston, Berwickshire, had previously pleaded not guilty to four charges relating to an incident that took place on land believed to be used by a small shooting syndicate at Old Castles Farm, Chirnside, in the Scottish Borders on April 25th 2023, which resulted in a fox being suspended by its neck in a snare on a broken fence line where it was found foaming at the mouth and thrashing around trying to escape (see here for previous blog on this case).
At the time of the offence, snares were still lawful in Scotland but were not permitted to be set in a position where a trapped animal could be suspended, and users had to first attend a snare training course and then apply for an identification tag that would identify the snare operator and the target species.
Ebner’s previous not guilty plea had led to a trial date being set for 4th February 2025. However, in a pre-trial hearing this morning at Selkirk Sheriff Court, Ebner changed his plea to guilty of one charge and the other three charges were dropped.
I’d argue that Ebner got off lightly. A fine of £1,250 + £75 surcharge is well below the maximum sentence available, which is a custodial sentence of six months and/or a fine of £5,000. So much for those so-called ‘tougher penalties‘ for wildlife crime.
Thankfully, the use of snares in Scotland has now been banned (since 25th November 2024) under the new Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act, thanks to a long-running campaign by animal welfare campaigners who spent decades putting forward evidence that these devices, recently and cynically named ‘humane cable restraints’ by the game-shooting industry, are actually cruel, indiscriminate and inhumane and have no place in modern society.
UPDATE 16.30hrs: Gamekeeper pleads guilty to snaring fox – press release from SSPCA (here)
The UK Government has announced that licence fees for firearms and shotguns are set to increase next month to allow for ‘full-cost recovery’, which means that taxpayers will no longer be subsidising the use of these weapons.
Those wishing to possess, buy or acquire a firearm or shotgun and ammunition in the UK are required to have a certificate, issued by the user’s local police force who act as the licensing authority. These certificates are valid for five years, unless revoked.
Before a certificate is granted, the police undertake a vetting procedure which includes medical checks and a range of suitability checks including referee interviews and a home visit to ensure the applicant has a secure facility to store a weapon and ammunition. All of this costs money from the force’s budget and until now, this cost has been significantly subsidised by the tax payer, costing the national police budget an estimated £17 – £20 million pounds a year.
Last week the Home Office announced an increase in licensing fees, the first since 2015, that will, for the first time, achieve full-cost recovery for police forces.
Here are the current licence fees and the new fees that begin on 5th February 2025:
This has been a long time coming. It was in Labour’s election manifesto and I’m pleased to see the speed with which it’s being rolled out.
Some game-shooting organisations, such as BASC, are dramatically claiming that the fee increase ‘poses a threat to rural livelihoods‘. Having to pay the equivalent of £25.20 per year for a shotgun certificate renewal isn’t exactly going to ruin the rural economy, is it?
Let’s hope the £17-£20 million pounds saved from the annual police budget can be put to good use to chase down all those certificate-holding gamekeepers who continue to use their firearms and shotguns to illegally kill birds of prey.
DEFRA has responded on behalf of the Westminster Government to the latest petition calling for a ban on driving shooting.
Here is DEFRA’s pathetic statement in full:
16th January 2025
The Government has no plans to ban driven grouse shooting. It recognises well-managed grouse shooting can be an important part of a local rural economy, providing direct and indirect employment.
This is a devolved matter. The Government appreciates that many people hold strong views on the issue of driven grouse shooting. The Government considers that well-managed shooting activities can bring benefits to the rural economy and can be beneficial for wildlife and habitat conservation. We will continue work to ensure a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between shooting and conservation. The Government has no plans to ban grouse shooting.
It is of course vital that wildlife and habitats are protected and the law is respected by those involved in the grouse shooting industry. Wild birds of prey, for example, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. There is evidence from Ewing et al (2023) and others to suggest a link between crimes against birds of prey and grouse shooting. The Government supports the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) – which helps prevent and detect crimes against wildlife by obtaining and disseminating intelligence and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations – and the Hen Harrier Task Force – which is led by the NWCU and aims to detect, deter, and disrupt offenders, in particular those persecuting rare hen harriers – by using technology and improving partnership working. Where wild birds of prey or any non-target species of wildlife are killed illegally the full force of the law should apply to proven perpetrators of the crime. All forms of predator management to protect grouse must be undertaken within the law, including compliance with animal welfare legislation.
Grouse shooting takes place in upland areas, which are important for a range of things including, food, fibre, water regulation, carbon storage, biodiversity and recreational opportunities. UK uplands have 75 per cent of the world’s remaining heather moorland and about 13 per cent of the world’s blanket bog.
Upland catchments provide 70 per cent of the UK’s drinking water. The Government is committed to delivering positive environmental and economic benefits and creating a more sustainable future for the English uplands, including preserving and restoring peatlands.
Healthy, active peat provides good habitat for grouse as well as numerous environmental benefits. Through the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, the Government is continuing to invest millions of pounds in peatland restoration, to aid climate change mitigation and nature recovery. The Government’s new and improved Countryside Stewardship offer will be available this summer. This scheme will encourage land managers to enter into agreements to enhance and protect the natural environment, including upland peatland habitats.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
ENDS
It looks similar to previous Government responses on this issue but of course this one is from a Labour Government, not a vested-interest Conservative Government, which makes it all the more inadequate.
I note the frequent use of the words ‘can’ and ‘should’ within the statement, without acknowledging that the reason this issue keeps being put in front of politicians is precisely because intensively managed driven grouse moors are NOT beneficial for wildlife and habitat conservation, that the laws around killing protected species are NOT respected, and when birds of prey are killed illegally on grouse moors the full force of the law is NOT applied.
The statement also perpetuates the long-held shooting industry myth that “UK uplands have 75 per cent of the world’s remaining heather moorland“. No, they do not and this inaccurate claim has long been debunked by leading academics (e.g. see here) and has even been acknowledged by the GWCT (see here). The petitioners, Wild Justice, have written to complain to the Petitions Committee about DEFRA’s reliance on factual inaccuracy.
I’ve seen it suggested on social media that this response from Government should ‘shut up Wild Justice once and for all”. Well, to quote Ian Hislop:
“When a Government in this country loses an election, the opposition doesn’t just say, ‘Oh, that’s absolutely right, I’ve got nothing to say for the next five years’. We are entitled to go on making the argument“.
If anything, this piss-poor response to the petition from DEFRA and the Westminster Government only strengthens our resolve to continue making the argument and they can expect to see an increase in our campaigning efforts over the coming months, to reach 100,000 signatures and force a debate at Westminster Hall.
If you haven’t signed the petition already, please do so here.
My colleague Mark Avery has written a blog about DEFRA’s response, here.
Lincolnshire Police posted the following on social media yesterday:
Sadly the beautiful buzzard in the picture has died as a result of being shot.
The bird was found alive on Saturday 4 January at Grainthorpe and taken to the emergency vets where it was treated and later collected by Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue. The buzzard didn’t survive it’s injuries. Crime ref 24*10683 refers.
If is an offence to kill or injure any wild bird. They are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is also an offence to interfere with nests, or remove any chicks or eggs.
DC Aaron Flint from our Rural Crime Action Team said: “I’d like to hear from anyone who has information about the shooting of birds in our county. Please don’t think it’s not worth reporting, it very much is and helps us to build a picture of this sort of crime.”
If you have any information that will help with this investigation or similar offences, please get in touch by emailing aaron.flint@lincs.police.uk.
Alternatively contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at Crimestoppers-uk.org.
ENDS
Press release from The National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS), 14 January 2025:
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF A WHITE-TAILED EAGLE IN COUNTY WESTMEATH
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) appeal to the public for information.
The NPWS has launched an investigation following the recent shooting dead of a White-tailed Eagle beside Lough Owel, near Mullingar, Co. Westmeath and is appealing to the public for information.
The two-year old female eagle was part of the NPWS White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme. She was released in 2022 on the Shannon Estuary. Investigating officers have established that the bird was shot, but, are awaiting further results of forensic analysis that may provide additional information.
The NPWS deplores the deliberate killing of rare and endangered species, and takes bird of prey persecutions extremely seriously.
NPWS is appealing for any information the public may have in relation to the incident.
As part of the reintroduction programme, White-tailed Eagle chicks are fitted with satellite tags to monitor their movement. Information from the satellite tag for the dead eagle indicates that she died sometime on Friday the 6th of December, the day before Storm Darragh, in the Ballynafid / Portnashangan area at Lough Owel.
Satellite information shows that she was present in the area over the previous couple of weeks having travelled widely across the country since her release in 2022. In early 2023, she left north Kerry, and spent time at various locations along the western seaboard. She also travelled to Donegal and spent a lot of time making trips over and back to north Antrim, Fermanagh, Cavan and other counties, including visiting Lough Ree in the north midlands. Lately she had come back to Westmeath where she moved between local lakes- Lough Owel, Lough Derravaragh and Lough Ennell.
Members of the public can contact the NPWS by emailing wildlifeenforcement@npws.gov.ie. All reports will be treated in the strictest of confidence.
ENDS
There is a further NWPS statement dated 15 January 2025:
MINISTER NOONAN APPEALS TO THE PUBLIC FOR INFORMATION FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF A WHITE-TAILED EAGLE AT LOUGH OWEL IN CO. WESTMEATH
“Like all who cherish our wildlife, I was devastated to hear of the recent shooting dead of a White-tailed Eagle beside Lough Owel, near Mullingar in Co. Westmeath. White Tailed Eagles are magnificent creatures; their presence are such good indicators of the health of our ecosystems and countryside and now part of our wider efforts to restore nature. It is an absolute deplorable act to kill such a rare and endangered species.
“This young female eagle was part of the very successful NPWS White Tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme in partnership with Norway. I was honoured to be present at the release of these stunning creatures to the wild in my role as Minister of State for Nature and Heritage.
“After being released into the Shannon Estuary in 2022 she had peacefully settled into the Irish landscape travelling from north Kerry, spending time in Western Seaboard before travelling to Armagh, Fermanagh, Cavan and other counties, including visiting Lough Ree in the north midlands. Lately she had returned to Westmeath where she moved between local lakes- Lough Owel, Lough Derravaragh and Lough Ennell. Satellite tags fitted by NPWS indicate that she died on 6th December the day before Storm Darragh, in the Ballynafid/ Portnashangan area at Lough Owel.
“White Tailed Eagles are treasured by local communities and visitors to Ireland alike and any loss resonates throughout. I appeal to the public to come forward with any information that they may have in relation to this incident. I am assured that NPWS are undertaking a thorough investigation led by the Wildlife Crime Directorate with the support of An Garda Siochána and will, where possible, bring the perpetrators of this unacceptable crime to justice. Members of the public can contact the NPWS by emailing wildlifeenforcement@npws.gov.ie. All reports will be treated in the strictest of confidence“.
ENDS
The Scottish Government has confirmed an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, H5N1) near Kirriemuir, in Angus.
The infected premises were declared at 20.15hrs last night (10 Jan 2025) at Over Ascreavie House, Kingoldrum, Kirriemuir, DD8 5HA.
A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone around the infected premises is now in force, meaning various measures are now in place to restrict the spread of this highly contagious disease.
Here’s the official declaration and details of the restrictions in place:
This is the second outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu in this area in recent years – last time the infected premises was a pheasant and duck-rearing game farm (see here).
This time the infected premises does not appear to be a commercial poultry or gamebird breeding facility – it’s an ordinary farmhouse with a very small hen house and locals tell me there is absolutely no gamebird breeding, rearing, releasing or shooting at these premises.
The restrictions in place in the Protection Zone and Surveillance Zone do not allow the release of any gamebirds, but given it’s almost the end of the shooting season for pheasant and RLPs (1st Feb) nobody should be releasing anymore at this time of year anyway, so no problems there.
However, the restrictions do not prevent gamebird shooting from taking place within the two zoned areas. I’m told that the area is infested with vast numbers of pheasants and red-legged partridges that have been released on shooting estates around Kirriemuir, and which roam around roads and the countryside unchecked.
If shooting now takes place inside a so-called protected zone, there’s a high likelihood that already-infected pheasants and partridges will be flying around the area even more as they’re chased towards the waiting guns, spreading a highly contagious disease to other wildlife. Then there’s the distribution and consumption of potentially-infected gamebird carcasses outside of the zoned areas…
What could possibly go wrong?
In December 2024, long-delayed recommendations by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) for restrictions to be placed on the use of lead ammunition in the UK were finally published.
A press release issued by the HSE at the time of publication stated that under the new proposals the use of lead shot for live quarry shooting and target shooting would be prohibited.
Dr Richard Daniels, HSE’s Director of Chemicals Regulation Division was quoted:
“Following a comprehensive analysis of the evidence, we propose new restrictions to protect wildlife, particularly wildfowl and birds of prey, from lead poisoning. They would prevent an estimated 7,000 tonnes of lead entering the environment each year.
“The final agency opinion follows significant responses to two public consultations. We worked through nearly 11,000 responses – dwarfing the recent exercise in the EU.
“This detailed work, carried out under our UK REACH obligations, sets out the necessary balance we have struck to protect the environment and minimise disruption to those who shoot.
“Currently, the risks of lead shot to the wider environment are not adequately controlled. While there are already legally binding measures in place to protect Britain’s wildlife in designated wetlands from the use of lead shot, our analysis has demonstrated the need for further restrictions.
“People will still be able to continue to shoot, but we are proposing that for some outdoor uses in the future, alternatives to lead ammunition would need to be used.”
For those who want to read the detailed proposals, here’s the document:
This issue has dragged on for far too long in the UK (e.g. see here) but now the recommendations have been published, the Governments in England, Wales and Scotland have a limited time period to respond.
A consortium of wildlife and environmental organisations has now written an open letter to the Secretary of State at DEFRA and his colleagues in the devolved Governments, urging them to use this opportunity to finally bring an end to the use of toxic lead ammunition, removing this pollutant from our environment and protecting the health of wildlife and human populations alike. Here’s the letter:
The same campaigners have also set up an e-action that provides an opportunity for you to contact Minister Steve Reed MP at DEFRA, urging him to implement a swift and full ban on the use of lead ammunition. If you’d like to participate (it only takes a couple of minutes), please click here.
For blog readers in Scotland I’d encourage you to email Minister Gillian Martin MSP, the Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy (contact details here).
For blog readers in Wales, I’d encourage you to email Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs (and also Deputy First Minister), whose contact details are here.
Don’t be under any illusion that the shooting industry will be rolling over and taking this lying down. They won’t. They’ll be lobbying hard to introduce further delays and to minimise the impacts of the proposed restrictions. It’s what they’ve been doing for years (e.g. here), whilst simultaneously claiming to be undertaking a five-year so-called ‘voluntary transition’ to using non-lead ammunition but failing miserably (see here), and failing to comply with current regulations on using lead ammunition in sensitive environments in England (here) and Scotland (here).
It’s important that Ministers hear from a wider section of society than those with vested interests in maintaining the status quo. Please do make use of the e-action and/or email Ministers in Scotland and Wales. For blog readers with a special interest in birds of prey, this article and the linked scientific paper from researchers at the University of Cambridge should provide all the motivation you need.
To make sure the DEFRA Secretary of State meets the legal requirements for responding to the HSE recommendations within three months of receiving them, lawyers representing conservation campaign group Wild Justice have written to him with the intention of holding him to that deadline. You can read the letter here.
UPDATE 18 March 2025: UK Governments miss deadline for responding to recommendations for restrictions on use of toxic lead ammunition (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 