Category: News

More parliamentary questions asked about raptor persecution in Scotland

Claire Baker MSP 2Last week we blogged about MSP Liam McArthur’s parliamentary questions about raptor persecution in Scotland, posed after our articles on the alleged police response to the poisoned peregrine found at Leadhills (see here).

It seems he’s not the only MSP paying attention to this blog.

Claire Baker MSP (Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs & the Environment, and MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife) has also been asking some pointed parliamentary questions:

Question S4W-20654: Claire Baker, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/04/2014.

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it plans to take in response to the illegal killing of birds of prey in addition to its consultation on the powers of the Scottish SPCA.

Current Status: Expected Answer date 07/05/2014

Question S4W-20655: Claire Baker, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/04/2014.

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Minister for Environment and Climate Change’s comment in his letter to the chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates dated 26 February 2014 [which we revealed in an FOI here] that “despite all our efforts, there remains an element of sporting managers and owners who continue to flout the law and defy public opinion”, whether it will conduct a review of the licensing and other arrangements for regulating game bird shooting in other countries, with a view to implementing stronger management and regulation.

Current Status: Expected Answer date 07/05/2014

Question S4W-20656: Claire Baker, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 08/04/2014.

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the (a) Cabinet Secretary for Justice and (b) Minister for Environment and Climate Change has had with the Chief Constable regarding resources and training for wildlife crime officers.

Current Status: Expected Answer date 07/05/2014

Not only has she been asking parliamentary questions, she’s also been writing to the Environment Minister specifically about raptor persecution (see here), and last week she used her opening address at the SEPA and SRUC conference on land use and sustainable development to highlight the Ross-shire Massacre and state that “there can be no more excuses from landowners and the Government” (see here).

The Environment Minister is coming under increasing attack for what many see as an abject failure to deal with raptor persecution, particularly that associated with game-shooting estates. We suggested on Twitter this weekend that the Scottish Government is too obsessed with the Independence Referendum to care/notice the on-going rise in raptor crime. Paul Wheelhouse has hit back this morning with a series of tweets, including:

“It [raptor persecution] stains our reputation and I promise you this is not being ignored by me or Scottish Government”

and

“We’re being robust and if new measures don’t improve, will go further”

and

“Hope to have a parliamentary debate in near future”.

UPDATE 16th MAY 2014: Answers to Claire Baker’s parliamentary questions here.

Reactions to the ‘missing’ East Scotland sea eagle

Sea-eagle chick 1 nestOn Thursday we blogged about the ‘disappearance’ of a young white-tailed eagle from a grouse moor in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire (see here).

This wasn’t just any old sea eagle, if there is such a thing. This was the first fledged white-tailed eagle in East Scotland in over 200 years – a pioneering bird from the East Scotland Sea Eagle Reintroduction Project; an initiative which had begun back in 2007. This young bird didn’t know it, but it was a symbol of conservation success – the result of thousands and thousands of hours of work by a dedicated team determined to restore this species back to its former range.

We refer to the bird in the past tense because in all likelihood, it is dead. It ‘disappeared’ in a notorious raptor persecution black hole where several other eagles have similarly ‘disappeared’ over the last few years, never to be seen again.

This area includes the North Glenbuchat Estate, from where this ‘missing’ sea eagle’s final sat tag signal was reportedly transmitted in mid-April. A poisoned golden eagle was found there in 2011, along with a poisoned buzzard, a poisoned bait, and a dead short-eared owl that had been shot and stuffed under a rock. (No prosecutions, of course).

Here are some of the responses to this latest incident…

Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), said: “As a member of the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime, Scottish Land & Estates is offering every assistance to the investigation into the missing sea eagle in the north-east of Scotland and wholly supports the appeals for information that have been made by the Scottish Government and Police Scotland. It is of paramount importance that the facts are established as soon as possible and it would not be appropriate to comment on any specifics of the ongoing police investigation.”

[Note: we blogged yesterday about how the North Glenbuchat Estate became a member of SLE in 2013. Fascinating, eh?]

A spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “The case of the missing sea eagle in the North East is currently under live investigation. There is very little known about the bird or the case at present so we await the outcome of the Police Scotland investigation.”

Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse tweeted: “Clearly, I am not going to speculate on police investigations, but all on justice side keen to drive out such disgusting acts”.

Other members of society have been much more demonstrative in their condemnation:

The following appeared as an editorial in the Press & Journal:

“The news that a satellite-tagged white-tailed eagle has gone missing in Aberdeenshire will send a chill down the spine of anyone who cares about Scotland’s natural heritage. Four tagged golden eagles have gone missing in the same area in the last five years and another was found poisoned in 2011. The first white-tailed eagle to be raised on the east coast in almost 200 years vanished as police continued to investigate the deaths of 20 raptors in the Black Isle. Public revulsion at the killings in Ross-shire is evident in the donations to a reward fund, now standing at more than £26,000. It is surely now time for the authorities to look seriously at why society is failing to give these magnificent birds the protection they deserve.”

Calton Hill, an independent blogger from Edinburgh, was moved to write this.

The ever-impressive Andy Wightman wrote a fascinating blog on who owns North Glenbuchat Estate and the inherent complications of proceeding with any potential vicarious liability prosecution (see here, and also read the comments for some local insight).

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations, gave an interview to STV news in which he explained how young birds are drawn into these ‘black holes’ [of persecution] time and time again (watch the video here). Incidentally, at the end of this video, the reporter, Cheryl Paul, mentions the rise in the body count of the Ross-shire Massacre – this was our news source for yesterday’s blog when we reported that the death toll was now 22 (including 16 red kites and six buzzards).

In more general terms, earlier today Cameron McNeish wrote a compelling article which has appeared on the WalkHighlands website, discussing the ‘national embarrassment’ of raptor persecution in Scotland (see here).

And finally, according to our blog stats, over 100 of you have emailed Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse about this crime (thank you).

We’re waiting for his formal response.

Ross-shire Massacre: death toll rises to 22

The death toll in the mass poisoning at Conon Bridge, Ross-shire, has risen to 22, according to a Scottish journalist (more on that source in a later post this evening).

The current body count is 16 red kites and 6 buzzards.

So far, the police have only confirmed that 12 of the dead were poisoned. Tests apparently continue on the other ten.

The police have not yet revealed the identity of the poison(s) used, leading to some bizarre speculation such as a ‘mystery virus’, ‘contaminated meat’ and ‘accidental agricultural spillage’. We look forward to them putting an end to this speculation and revealing the name of the poison(s) that we believe will confirm that these deaths were a result of deliberate poisoning.

We also look forward to learning more about the status of the police investigation, five weeks after it began.

Previous blogs on the Ross-shire Massacre here.

RK7

Red kite dies after being shot in Northamptonshire

The RSPCA is appealing for information after a red kite was shot and critically-injured in Northamptonshire earlier this month.

The wounded bird suffered gunshot injuries from the incident in Wellingborough around 4th April. It was taken to a wildlife centre but its injuries were so severe the bird had to be euthanised.

Further details in the Northampton Chronicle & Echo here.

RK Wellingborough

 

 

East Scotland sea eagle chick ‘disappears’ on grouse moor

Sea-eagle chick 1 nestLast year we celebrated the news of the first sea eagle chick to fledge in East Scotland for over 200 years (see here).

This year we’re discussing his ‘disappearance’ (in all likelihood his death) in a well-known grouse moor area in the Cairngorms National Park.

This bird was a significant one. He marked an important milestone in the East Scotland Sea Eagle Reintroduction Project, being the first to fledge from a nest there in over 200 years. He was also our symbol of hope, following the news earlier in the year that the nest tree of another pioneering pair had been illegally felled with a chainsaw, bringing their historic breeding attempt to an abrupt halt (see here).

When we blogged about the successful fledging of this young eagle last year, we ended the post with this:

“Here’s hoping this year’s pioneering young male manages to stay alive (keep away from grouse moors) for long enough to raise his own family – the next big milestone for the East Coast Project will be Scottish-born sea eagles rearing their own young. Good luck kid”.

He didn’t make it. He didn’t even make it to his first birthday.

He had been fitted with a satellite tag before he fledged, allowing researchers to monitor his movements. In mid-April, the signal from his transmitter stopped. The last signal had come from the North Glenbuchat Estate in Strathdon.

North Glenbuchat Estate has been at the centre of a series of wildlife crime investigations over a number of years. These have included the prosecution and conviction of the then head gamekeeper (in 2006) for poisoning offences; the discovery of a poisoned golden eagle in 2011 (killed by Carbofuran – no prosecution); the discovery of a poisoned buzzard in 2011 (killed by Carbofuran – no prosecution); the discovery of a poisoned bait in 2011 (no prosecution), and the discovery of a dead short-eared owl in 2011, that had been shot and stuffed under a rock (no prosecution). (See here for details of these discoveries).

Not only that, but a number of young satellite-tagged eagles have all mysteriously ‘disappeared’ in this area over the last few years, including one in September 2011, one in February 2012, one in May 2013 and now this latest one in April 2014. Including the poisoned golden eagle found in 2011, at least five young eagles are presumed dead. We only know about these young birds because they were all fitted with satellite transmitters. How many other young eagles have ‘vanished’ in suspicious circumstances in similar black holes across the central and eastern uplands, the heartland of driven grouse moors?

North Glenbuchat Estate was bought by the Marquess of Milford Haven in 2008,  according to the Glenbuchat Heritage website, and he “began an ambitious programme of renovating Glenbuchat Lodge and its dependent properties and improving the grouse moor”.

In 2013, North Glenbuchat Estate became a member of Scottish Land & Estates:

North Glenbuchat joins SLE 2013

Today’s police raid of the estate (reported by the BBC here) is welcome news, although the chance of finding any evidence to link to a suspect is pretty slim, especially if the bird has been shot, as is suspected.

We’re almost at a loss what to say. What can we say that hasn’t already been said each and every time? What words are there to describe the fury, rage, sadness, sorrow and overwhelming frustration about what is going on, right under our noses, in our own countryside? The Untouchables strike again. It is out of control and the Government seems powerless to stop it.

Only they’re not powerless. They’re actually very powerful and they could stop this at the drop of a hat if they really wanted to. The Environment Minister has said over and over again that if persecution continues, he will ‘not hesitate’ to bring in further measures. It’s time to stop hesitating, Mr Wheelhouse – get a grip on this insidious criminality and do what you’re paid to do. No more excuses.

Please email the Environment Minister and demand further action. Email: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Police investigate ‘illegally killed’ peregrine near Stirling

Police Scotland have launched an investigation after the discovery of a dead peregrine which they say has been ‘illegally killed’.

The cause of death has not been reported.

The dead four year old bird was found by raptor study group fieldworkers at Cambusbarron Quarry, near Stirling, on 15th April 2014.

The local police wildlife crime officer said that Police Scotland takes raptor persecution “very seriously” and will be working with the Scottish Raptor Study Group, RSPB Scotland, and members of the local community to identify the criminal responsible.

As we all know, it’s extremely unlikely that the criminal will be identified, let alone brought to justice, but it’s good to see Police Scotland put out a timely press release, and although the cause of death hasn’t been revealed (perhaps for tactical purposes?), at least this time they haven’t gone all cryptic and said ‘it didn’t die of natural causes’.

The bigger picture, of course, is the on-going illegal persecution of birds of prey. Here’s yet another example, hot on the heels of the Ross-shire Massacre, and the poisoned peregrine at Leadhills, demonstrating that raptor persecution is still happening with alarming regularity, 70 years after it became a criminal offence.

Full details in the Courier here.

Peregrine photo by Martin Eager.

Behind the scenes with the poisons forensics team at SASA

There’s an interesting article published today by the BBC, looking at the behind-the-scenes work of the poisons forensics team in Scotland.

The government’s Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) team is the one that detects poisons in the carcasses of raptors (and other species) and identifies the type of poison which has killed the bird.

This is a highly-specialised field and the SASA team’s work is well-respected by both sides of the poisoning issue  – conservationists and the game-shooting industry alike. Their work forms the basis for the government’s annual ‘poisoning maps of shame’, which depict confirmed poisoning incidents (but still inexplicably exclude the locations of confirmed poisoned baits).

The BBC article can be read here.

The last sentence is interesting: “But visitors can, at least, be assured that the team of scientists here are doing all they can to help the police secure convictions in cases of raptor persecution“. Unfortunately, despite the expert toxicology results provided by SASA, very few convictions are secured against those who poison our birds. Even when SASA has managed to identify the poison, and the same poison is found in the possession of a suspect, the resulting prosecution is usually (with a handful of exceptions) for the lesser offence of ‘possession’ [of a banned poison], as opposed to the offence of actually poisoning a protected species.

The BBC article is illustrated with an image of a dead golden eagle on the post-mortem table. To date, there has not been a single conviction for the illegal poisoning (nor shooting or trapping) of an eagle in Scotland. Our current figures show 31 eagles, 7 years, 0 prosecutions (see here).

SASA ge

Malta: Massacre on Migration

Malta Massacre on MigrationWe don’t often cover raptor persecution issues beyond the UK and Ireland, but the situation in Malta is worthy of an exception.

All this week, Chris Packham and his self-funded team are publishing video blogs about the appalling illegal shooting of birds (including raptors) that are trying to pass through Malta on their northward spring migration.

The videos will be upsetting, undoubtedly, but the situation must be addressed and Chris provides suggestions of how each of us can help.

You will notice some similarities between the situation there and the situation here.

Please visit his website (here) for further information.

Raptors being killed by a mystery virus, not by illegal persecution

A top virologist has declared that we’ve all got it wrong – raptors are not being systematically slaughtered across Scotland and northern England – they are falling victim to a mystery virus.

Professor McPasteur, a distant relative of Louis Pasteur, has been studying the new virus in his top secret laboratory in Ross-shire. He said:

“This is a real breakthrough in the world of virus discovery. We’ve uncovered what we believe to be the cause of extensive raptor deaths that have previously been blamed on the activities of gamekeepers. We don’t yet know a lot about this virus but we do know it is transmitted on the breath of grouse moor gamekeepers and is highly contagious. Some gamekeepers have developed a high level of immunity and appear not to be infected; however we have yet to develop an effective vaccine and at the moment the only known control is to isolate the host carriers from the rest of the community“.

He goes on: “This virus is very clever. It can mimic the presence of several banned poisons, but particularly Carbofuran, leading crime investigators to mistakenly attribute a bird’s death to illegal poisoning. It can also fell nest trees, set illegal traps and cause shotguns to self-trigger. It really is remarkable“.

The results of Prof McPasteur’s experiments are expected to be published in the Ross-shire Science Journal in the coming days.

Ross-shire Massacre: local farmers ‘have nothing to hide’

A farmer whose properties have been raided by police as part of the investigation into the Ross-shire Massacre has given an exclusive interview to the BBC (see here).

Ewan Macdonald, on whose land several of the poisoned birds were found, is claiming that he and the local farming community have nothing to hide. The report states that the police have not found anything to link Mr Macdonald to the crimes.

RK5

Mr Macdonald runs his farms in partnership with his brother, Shaun. In 2007, Shaun Macdonald was runner-up in the NFU Scotland Farming & Conservation Award, for ‘superb conservation efforts’, sponsored by the RSPB (see here).

Mr Macdonald is calling for an action group comprising landowners, police and RSPB, ‘to investigate the killings’. He suggests that there could be an innocent explanation for the deaths, such as a virus, or somebody feeding meat to the birds of prey which they do not realise has been contaminated.

Hmm. Interestingly, a number of prominent people from within the game-shooting industry have been making almost identical claims on social media in recent days.

Although the police have not yet publicly named the poison involved, it’s not that difficult to make an educated guess as to its identity, given the speed with which these birds died. An article in the Guardian last week (here) reported that a combination of poisons had been used, and also referred to “baits”. That pretty much rules out a ‘virus’ and unintentional feeding of accidentally contaminated meat then, eh?

Meanwhile, in another region of La-La Land, there are more denials about the extent of raptor persecution in Scotland. A row has broken out following Duncan Orr-Ewing’s (RSPB Scotland) comments in Holyrood magazine about persecution levels being comparable to those of the Victorian era (see earlier blog on this here).

McAdam 1In a BBC News article (here), Doug McAdam, CEO of the landowners’ organisation Scottish Land & Estates seems to have taken on the role of the headmaster: “For Mr Orr Ewing to suggest that wildlife crime is returning to Victorian levels is both irresponsible and untrue. He ought to know better“.

Then in a quite astonishing piece of spin, he goes on to say: “Official statistics in recent years have seen, overall, a downward trend in raptor persecution – even at some points demonstrating record low levels of poisoning incidents“.

Conveniently, by using the words ‘official statistics’ and ‘overall’, he has neatly side-stepped the fact that poisoning incidents doubled in 2013, and had the ‘official statistics’ included the discovery of poisoned baits, then the 36 pre-prepared Carbofuran baits found hidden on Leadhills Estate last year would have pushed the ‘official’ figure somewhat higher.

There’s also some waffle from Adam Smith of the GWCT (Scotland), who claims that “for a variety of reasons hen harriers may not be distributed right across the habitats which are suitable for them [i.e. grouse moors], but their national recovery is clear“.

What Mr Smith conveniently ‘forgot’ to mention was that the government’s own commissioned report on hen harrier conservation (published in 2011) demonstrated unequivocally that illegal persecution was the main reason this species isn’t present on large swathes of suitable habitat (i.e. grouse moors), and oh, the results from the latest national survey (conducted in 2010) show a 20% population decline (in Scotland) from the previous survey in 2004 (see here).

And finally, there’s a quote from Des Thompson of SNH. Surely as a member of the Scottish Government’s statutory conservation agency he’d be wanting to make sure that everyone knows that the damning, copious evidence was indisputable, right? Ah…..(we can’t be bothered to type it out – read the BBC article  if you’re interested in his opinion).

For any of you who’ve had a gut-full of the on-going persecution of our raptors, the game-shooting industry’s on-going denial of any involvement, and the authorities’ on-going and almost complete failure to address the situation, you might be interested in this post on Mark Avery’s blog. Hope to see many of you on or around 12th August 2014.