Category: Persecution Incidents in England

Peregrine shot in Devon as this year’s tally continues to rise

Perg shot seaton Devon May 2014A critically-injured peregrine was found at Seaton Beach in Devon on Bank Holiday Monday. The bird, soaked and unable to fly, was found by members of the public.

It was taken to a vets but had to be euthanized. Its injuries were consistent with a gunshot wound.

The police quickly issued an appeal for information (see here) and local birder Steve Waite has written about the incident on his blog (see here).

So here we are, another month, another reported raptor persecution crime to add to the year’s growing death toll:

Jan 2014: Shot buzzard, Norfolk.

Jan 2014: Dead bird (species unknown) & poisoned bait, South Lanarkshire.

Feb 2014: Shot buzzard, North Yorkshire.

Feb 2014: Shot buzzard, Norfolk.

Feb 2014: Shot sparrowhawk, Norfolk.

Feb 2014: Spring-trapped buzzard, West Yorkshire.

Feb 2014: Poisoned peregrine, South Lanarkshire.

Mar 2014: Shot peregrine, Dorset.

Mar-April 2014: Poisoned red kites (x 16) & buzzards (x 6), Ross-shire.

April 2014: Man arrested for alleged attempted raptor trapping, Aberdeenshire.

April 2014: Shot buzzard, North Yorkshire.

April 2014: Shot red kite, Northamptonshire.

April 2014: White-tailed eagle ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances, Aberdeenshire.

April 2014: Peregrine ‘illegally killed’, Stirlingshire.

May 2014: Shot peregrine, Devon.

Meanwhile, over in Northern Ireland a wildlife crime summit has learned that 90 raptors have been found poisoned there since 2006 – see here.

Buzzard shot dead in North Yorkshire

North Yorks Police logoNo surprise to learn that another buzzard has been shot dead in North Yorkshire, a county with one of the worst records for raptor persecution in the UK (e.g. see here).

The latest victim was found near Soar Spring Wood, between Wathgill Road and Reeth Road, Leyburn, on Easter Sunday. It was killed after being blasted with a shotgun.

North Yorks Police are appealing for info – see here.

The RSPB is suggesting that a clandestine campaign against buzzards is being carried out in the county and they’re calling for custodial sentences for anyone convicted of this offence (see here).

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

 

 

Fatally-injured spring-trapped buzzard, West Yorks: police appeal for info

Buzzard spring trapped Winscar Reservoir 2While all the media focus has been on the mass poisoning of 16 raptors in Highland Scotland, it’s business as usual in other parts of the UK.

West Yorkshire police are appealing for information after the discovery of a spring-trapped buzzard near Winscar Reservoir back in February.

Walkers found the buzzard in distress and unable to fly. When they approached it they discovered its leg was caught in a large spring trap. They removed the trap and took the bird to a vet but its injuries were so severe it had to be euthanised.

The buzzard was less than a year old and had hatched at Dove Stone, an RSPB/United Utilities Partnership site. It had been ringed as a chick by the Peak District Raptor Monitoring Group.

More details of the crime and police contact details here.

 

Two more raptors shot dead in Norfolk

Norfolk is becoming quite the raptor persecution hotspot….

Norfolk Constabulary are investigating two separate persecution incidents following the discovery of a dead sparrowhawk and a dying buzzard in February.

The sparrowhawk was found with gunshot injuries on 16th February  by walkers on the Brisley Road in Whissonsett, near Fakenham.

One week later walkers heard shooting in Narford Wood near Swaffham and found the dying buzzard which had been shot.

Any information, please call Norfolk Constabulary on 101.

News article from EDP24 here.

Facebook braggers get caught out

dead sparSome people are just very, very stupid.

A couple of days ago someone called Steve R Godfrey posted a picture of a dead sparrowhawk on a private Facebook forum called Forester’s Hunting Community. This group is for those interested in air rifles and shooting. He included the following statement with his photograph:

“This was stalking my friends racing pigeons. He asked for my services“.

In response, many, many group members wrote of their utter disgust and outrage at the inference that Godfrey had killed this bird. The group’s moderators banned Godfrey from the group and reported him to the police.

An update on the group’s Facebook page yesterday stated that Derbyshire police were actively investigating the incident following the high number of complaints that had been received from the shooting community.

Steve R Godfrey’s Facebook account appears to have vanished.

Kudos to the members of the Forester’s Hunting Community for reporting him and to Derbyshire Constabulary for following up.

neknominateAnother investigation has been launched after a video of a man slitting a deer’s throat and drinking its blood was posted on Facebook last month. The ‘stunt’ was allegedly part of the ‘neknominate’ craze where someone drinks alcohol, performs a stunt and then nominates someone else to take part. The video was posted by someone called Shaun Wilson from Newcastle. An article in the Newcastle Chronicle (see here) suggests that the person in the video is a gamekeeper and that he has been suspended from his position on a Northumberland estate.

The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation has confirmed that the gamekeeper is one of their members and they have apparently launched a disciplinary investigation. A committee hearing next month will decide whether the man’s actions are ‘relevant to gamekeeping and whether he has damaged the reputation or profession of gamekeeping’. Don’t hold your breath – this is the same organisation that thinks a conviction for possession of a banned poison is not enough to warrant expulsion from the organisation because ‘it’s not a wildlife crime’ (see here).

Shot peregrine found dead near pheasant pen in Yetminster

From Lauren Jean on Twitter (@lau1180) –

This peregrine was found shot dead near a pheasant pen close to Millennium Woods near Yetminster, Dorset. The discovery has been reported to the police and the RSPB.

perg shot Yetminster March 2014

Case against Lloyd Webber’s gamekeeper moves to trial

The case against a gamekeeper employed on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s estate in Hampshire has moved to trial.

Mark Stevens, 42, is accused of a series of trapping offences alleged to have taken place on the Sydmonton Court Estate, Hampshire, in August and September last year. He has denied the charges.

His trial will take place in July 2014.

See here for previous blog.

Case against Stody Estate gamekeeper Allen Lambert: part 4

The case against Allen Lambert, a gamekeeper on the award-winning Stody Estate, continued in February and is now set to go to trial.

Lambert, 64, of Old Lodge House, Stody, Melton Constable in Norfolk has already pleaded guilty to storing the pesticides Mevinphos and Aldicarb, but has denied a series of further charges concerning the alleged killing and possession of 14 buzzards, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 tawny owl.

His trial will take place in May.

For previous blogs on this case see here, here and here.

Gamekeeper accused of pole-trapping on Lloyd Webber’s estate

It has been reported that a gamekeeper is appearing in court tomorrow to face various charges of alleged wildlife crime on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s country estate.

There is no suggestion Andrew Lloyd Webber was involved.

Mark Stevens, 42, is accused of five alleged offences. Three relate to allegations that a tawny owl was caught in a spring trap set on a pole on the Sydmonton Court Estate, Hampshire in August 2013. Two relate to allegations that spring traps were not properly set on the Sydmonton Court Estate in September 2013.

Tomorrow’s hearing will be the first in this case.

Further updates later…