Category: News

Red kite shot dead in West Yorkshire – police appeal 4 months later

Red Kite shot N Yorks Oct 2013Police are appealing for information four months after the discovery of a dead red kite in West Yorkshire.

The one year old bird was found by a footpath on the River Wharfe between Wetherby and Harewood last October. It had been shot.

The news about this bird’s death emerged via the BBC Look North (Yorkshire) Facebook page a couple of days ago (as highlighted on the Birders Against Wildlife Crime Facebook page).

We’ve looked elsewhere for a press release but can’t find anything, either from October or now, including on the West Yorks Police website and police local community news sites.

What’s the point of waiting for four months before appealing for information? Why, after all the reassurances that ‘wildlife crime is a police priority’, are we still seeing these poor responses?

West Yorks Police have previously been applauded for their reaction to suspected raptor persecution in their area, and deservedly so (see here).

 

10,000 people petition for licensing of grouse moors in England

An e-petition calling for the licensing of grouse moors and gamekeepers in the English uplands has reached a significant 10,000 signatures, thus triggering a requirement for the Westminster government to provide an official response.

The petition (see here) was launched almost a year ago by conservation ornithologist John Armitage and it will expire next week on 27th Feb. It was created in response to the continuing illegal persecution of raptors on English grouse moors, particularly the now virtual absence of breeding hen harriers, and reflects a growing frustration that the authorities are simply not doing enough (anything?) to combat the problem.

Although the target was 100,000 signatures (in order to qualify for a potential [but not guaranteed] parliamentary debate), 10,000 signatures means an automatic guarantee of a formal governmental response. This is good news as it keeps the issue ‘alive’ and even if 100,000 signatures had been secured, it might have built up false expectations, especially considering the government’s response to the 300,000+ signature petition calling for a halt to last year’s badger cull – the govt simply ignored all those voices (probably at their peril come the next general election).

In theory this particular petition doesn’t apply to Scotland, although we know that many folk in Scotland did sign it. We have our own lobbying efforts in place, with more and more organisations calling on the Holyrood government to implement a licensing system for driven grouse moors and the gamekeepers that work on them (e.g. see here and here). Our aim is the same as the petitioners in England, and given that many of our raptor species fly back and forth across the political boundary, licensing in England is just as important as it is in Scotland.

Well done, John Armitage, and the thousands of people who were prepared to stand up with him and say ‘enough’.

Hen Harrier photo by Gordon Langsbury

Lordy lordy, new Chairman elected at Scottish Land & Estates

Lord David Johnstone has been announced as the next Chairman of landowners’ group, Scottish Land & Estates. He will succeed the current Chairman, Luke Borwick, in May.

Lord Johnstone owns and manages Annandale Estates (includes commercial game-shooting interests) in Dumfriesshire and is currently a Board Member of SLE.

SLE press release on his appointment here.

We’ve heard from Lord Johnstone a few times in the past, specifically about raptor persecution (in 2008 here, in 2011 here, and in 2012 here).

Senior SGA man calling for complete eradication of sea eagles?

Remember last week when we blogged about the calls from a former Crofting Commissioner, Donnie Ross, for the ‘complete eradication’ of sea eagles (see here)?

Well have a look at the response of George Macdonald, the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association’s Development, Education & Training Officer – this is what he posted on his Facebook page (and we got a screen shot before he deleted it):

George MacDonald SGA sea eagles Feb 10 2014

To us, and to others, it seems, this looks like the senior SGA man is endorsing the former Crofting Commissioner’s view that sea eagles (and pine martens) should be ‘absolutely destroyed’.

Mr Macdonald has denied the claims – see here. He says he ‘was meaning that people need to look at the issue’. If that’s what he meant, why not say, “People need to look at the issue” rather than say, “Mr Ross of Leault is absolutely correct with his observations”?

The SGA is a member of the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime, and they are also represented on the PAW Scotland Raptor Group – a consortium of organisations supposedly working towards the eradication of raptor persecution in Scotland (see here).

Is it any wonder that this group has been so utterly ineffective?

Isn’t it time that the SGA was booted off this group?

Birders Against Wildlife Crime

BAWCA new independent volunteer-led campaign group has been formed by five prominent birders and wildlife campaigners in an effort to encourage more birders to become actively involved in reporting wildlife crime.

This seems such an obvious initiative, given, as they say:

  • Every day, thousands of birders go into the field looking for birds;
  • Birders are skilled and alert observers;
  • Birders actively seek out areas that the general public often don’t visit;
  • Birders use powerful optics and many carry either a DSLR camera or a smartphone with a built-in camera.

The new group, Birders Against Wildlife Crime (BAWC) plan to launch a website within a few weeks and will provide material on how to recognise a wildlife crime, how to record it so that the chances of a prosecution are increased, and how to report the crime. They’re also planning events, training courses and other initiatives in the fight-back against the wildlife criminals.

For some initial information about BAWC see here, and you can also follow them on Twitter (@birdersagainst) and Facebook.

Gamekeeper convicted for setting illegal pole trap

Ryan Waite setting the pole trap.JPG-400x0Press release from RSPB:

A gamekeeper has been convicted of using an illegal trap on a shooting estate on two occasions.

At Harrogate Magistrate’s Court today (13 February) Ryan Waite, employed as a gamekeeper on the Swinton Estate in North Yorkshire was sentenced on two charges of illegally setting a spring trap between May and June 2013.

Waite had pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing on December 10, 2013.

However, he had denied that the trap was intended for birds of prey, as alleged by the prosecution, claiming rather that it was for catching squirrels.

The court today ruled that his conduct had been reckless.

He was fined £250 with an additional £105 costs and victim surcharge. 

Following an initial report from the League Against Cruel Sports, on the 2nd June, RSPB Investigations visited Ox Close plantation on the Swinton Estate, North Yorkshire, and discovered a spring trap that had been placed on top of a two-metre high tree stump. These are commonly known as pole traps and have been banned since 1904.

Birds of prey are usually the target of such devices as they use the elevated position as a vantage point and the traps are strategically placed where they will hunt.

RSPB Investigations disabled the trap and then set up covert surveillance of the site to monitor who was responsible and two days later, on 4th June, Waite was filmed re-setting the trap on top of the stump.

As a result of this footage, North Yorkshire Police executed a search warrant, assisted by the RSPB. Although the spring trap had been removed from the pole trap site, it was later found and seized at Waite’s property.  Waite was also caught on camera removing the trap.

Howard Jones, RSPB Investigations Officer, said: “It is a disappointing reality that the use of pole traps still occurs in 2013 and that some gamekeepers are continuing to adopt these Victorian techniques. The device was deemed outdated and barbaric in 1904, yet a century on we are still finding these illegal traps being set in the countryside.  Sentencing needs to get tougher to ensure people are deterred from operating such devices in the future.

“We welcome today’s result as it shows that such barbaric practices will not be tolerated in today’s society.”   

There’s a good blog about this case written by the RSPB Investigations Team here.

There’s also an opportunity to view the covert footage showing Waite re-setting the pole trap here

Congratulations to the RSPB Investigations team for another job well done, and to the fieldworkers from the League Against Cruel Sports for identifying the illegal trap and alerting the authorities.

Bowland Betty (1)Swinton Estate has been described as “very well known and highly respected” by the author of The World’s Best Shoots (see here).

Swinton Estate is also ‘very well known’ for being the grouse moor location where hen harrier Bowland Betty’s shot corpse was found in 2012 (see here). Purely coincidental, obviously.

What interests us now is whether convicted gamekeeper Ryan Waite will keep his job, and whether he was/is a member of the National Gamekeepers Organisation. Let’s ask the NGO whether this criminal is from their ranks and if he is, whether they will continue to accept his membership. Emails to: info@nationalgamekeepers.org.uk

UPDATE 14/2: The NGO has issued a statement to say convicted gamekeeper Ryan Waite has never been one of their members (see here).

We’re still interested in whether this convicted gamekeeper will keep his job at the “highly respected” Swinton Estate. Emails to: swinton@stantonmortimer.co.uk

Buzzard shot and left to die

BZ shot Dereham Jan 2014Norfolk Constabulary and the RSPB have issued a joint appeal for information following the discovery of a shot buzzard in the Dereham area.

A veterinary x-ray revealed a peppering of shotgun pellets throughout its body resulting in the bones of both wings being smashed.

A member of the public found the wounded bird by the roadside on 2nd January 2014 and took it to the Larwood and Kennedy Veterinary Practice in Dereham. Vets believed the bird had been shot several days before it was picked up and due to the extent of its injuries the buzzard was euthanised.

Vet George Gould, who examined the bird, said: “These sorts of injuries in particular do not tend to be immediately fatal but instead result in days of suffering”.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Police on 101, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or the RSPB Investigations Team on 01767 680551.

Full story on EDP 24 website here.

Some comments on that Channel 4 News report

Channel-FourFor those who missed it, the Channel 4 News report on the illegal persecution of raptors on Scottish grouse moors can be watched here for a few days.

First of all, we need to be celebrating that raptor persecution has been featured on a national mainstream TV news channel. What a long way this subject has come. The awareness-raising power of a news report like this should not be underestimated. Since the programme aired four hours ago, we’ve already been contacted by three journalists whose interest has been piqued. Well done Channel 4 News.

There were excellent interviews with Ian Thomson, Head of Investigations at RSPB Scotland, who referred to “an absolute catalogue of illegal killing” over the last few years in the Angus Glens (e.g. see here), and Logan Steele of the Scottish Raptor Study Group, someone who has decades of first-hand experience recording the deaths of illegally-killed raptors in this area and beyond.

But perhaps the best interview was that with Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association Chairman, Alex Hogg. We couldn’t have wished for a better performance. Telling lies on national telly is never a good strategy. Especially when you deny that gamekeepers are involved with the poisoning, shooting and trapping of raptors, knowing full well that there is a public record of gamekeepers who have been convicted for doing just that, as well as committing other wildlife crimes. Here is a quick list of 14 convicted gamekeepers just covering the last two years (full details of each case can be found elsewhere on this blog) –

Jan 2012: Gamekeeper David Whitefield convicted of poisoning 4 buzzards.

Jan 2012: Gamekeeper Cyril McLachlan convicted of possessing a banned poison.

April 2012: Gamekeeper Robert Christie convicted of illegal use of a trap.

June 2012: Gamekeeper Jonathan Smith Graham convicted of illegal use of a trap.

Sept 2012: Gamekeeper Tom McKellar convicted of possessing a banned poison.

Nov 2012: Gamekeeper Bill Scobie convicted of possessing and using a banned poison.

Jan 2013: Gamekeeper Robert Hebblewhite convicted of poisoning buzzards.

Feb 2013: Gamekeeper Shaun Allanson convicted of illegal use of a trap.

Feb 2013: Gamekeeper (un-named) cautioned for illegal use of a trap.

May 2013: Gamekeeper Brian Petrie convicted for trapping offences.

June 2013: Gamekeeper Peter Bell convicted for poisoning a buzzard.

July 2013: Gamekeeper Colin Burne convicted for trapping then battering to death 2 buzzards.

Sept 2013: Gamekeeper Andrew Knights convicted for storing banned poisons.

Dec 2013: Gamekeeper Wayne Priday convicted for setting an illegal trap.

There are a further six cases either currently under way or due to start, all involving gamekeepers and all accused of alleged persecution including the poisoning, shooting, trapping and battering to death of birds of prey.

After lying about the involvement of gamekeepers in raptor persecution crimes, Hogg then went on to say that gamekeepers want a system in place whereby “if the populations [of raptors] are too high all over the United Kingdom” then a decision needs to be taken as to whether the species needs to be culled on grouse moors. But, “We don’t want to cull them; we’d rather the government done it”.

If anyone can explain to us (a) what is a “too high” population? and (b) why a species’ national population size should have any bearing on a proposed cull of that species on a particular grouse moor, please do enlighten us.

The final interview was a very short one with the Environment Minister, who was asked why he won’t “just fully regulate the [game-shooting] industry like other countries”?

His answer: “We want to avoid putting in place something that might be seen as a draconian response, or too restrictive a response. We’re not saying we wouldn’t do this, eventually…”

In other words, giving current measures ‘time’ to take effect (without actually defining the time scale) is just an excuse to do nothing and appease the mighty landowners.

Gamekeepers aren’t persecuting raptors, says SGA’s Chairman

Channel-FourHere’s a preview to tonight’s story on Channel 4 News….watch the video of SGA Chairman Alex Hogg responding to the reporter’s question about whether gamekeepers are poisoning, shooting and trapping birds of prey:

“No they aren’t. We would dispute that“.

He can dispute it all he likes – the growing list of convicted gamekeepers tells a different story, and there are currently six on-going court cases to boot, including allegations of illegal trapping, poisoning, shooting and battering.

C4 News article and accompanying 3 video clips available here, including a preview of an interview with RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations, Ian Thomson.

Watch Channel 4 News this evening at 7pm for full story.

UPDATE 23.55hrs: Read our comments on the full report here

Raptor persecution to feature on Channel 4 News tonight

Channel-FourAs HRH Prince Charles & HRH Prince William prepare to host an international summit on tackling wildlife crime, Channel 4 News will take a closer look at crimes against wildlife in the UK, with a particular focus on the illegal persecution of golden eagles on Scottish moors managed for driven grouse shooting.

We’re expecting film footage from the Angus Glens, a notorious raptor persecution hotspot (e.g. see here) and interviews with several key players.

Channel 4 News, tonight at 7-8pm.

UPDATE 17.30hrs: Watch the preview video clips here!

UPDATE 23.55hrs: Our comments on the programme here