Peter Smith of Clifton Close, Barnsley, South Yorkshire was observed shooting a Sparrowhawk with an air rifle at Hope Street Allotments, Mapplewell in February 2023.
The witness confronted Smith, who claimed he had missed the bird, but the Sparrowhawk was found dead with an air gun pellet and it’s neck had been broken. The RSPCA conducted an investigation resulting in Smith’s prosecution.
Smith denied the offence but was found guilty after a trial at Barnsley Magistrates Court in December 2023. He reappeared for sentencing on 24 January and was fined £480. He was also ordered to pay £1,500 court costs and a £192 victim surcharge, so in total he owes £2,172.
Due to his circumstances the court is allowing him to pay £5 per week (which will take nine years to pay in full). Smith’s defence solicitor told the court:
“He rented his allotment for six years and used the site to keep, breed and train his pigeons, which he has had a history of doing so for more than 30 years. As a result of the allegation, he has lost his tenancy and had to get rid of his birds. He’s put a lot of time and effort into his hobby and visited them twice-daily but he has now been ostracised from that circle. He still maintains his innocence.”
I’m not sure why his defence agent thought it was relevant to tell the court that Smith had kept pigeons for more than 30 years. So what? The Sparrowhawk had been a protected species in the UK for 62 years by the time Smith shot this one so it’s not as though he’d had to get to grips with new legislation about its protected status.
The court was also told (although I don’t know by whom) that, ‘Barnsley’s [Sparrowhawk] population has reduced by 25 per cent in a decade due to persecution‘. Really? That sounds highly unlikely – what’s the source of that claim? I’d like to see the data.
It’s good that the court is provided details of the conservation status of a raptor species when it’s been the victim of illegal persecution but exaggerating figures or making wildly unsubstantiated claims really doesn’t help.
This case was covered by the Barnsley Chroniclehere.
Press release from South Yorkshire Police (25 January 2024)
APPEAL FOLLOWING PEREGRINE FALCON FOUND SHOT IN DONCASTER
We are appealing for information alongside the RSPB for information after a juvenile Peregrine Falcon was found with life-threatening injuries in Doncaster.
The shot peregrine. Photo via South Yorkshire Police
On 11 December 2023, an injured Peregrine Falcon was found on a school playing field at Littlemoor Infant Academy in Askern – a school which backs onto open countryside.
The bird, which had suffered shotgun injuries, was taken to a rehabilitation centre, where it received expert veterinary care at the Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.
X-rays revealed that the bird had two shotgun pellets embedded in its leg and a dislocated coracoid bone, which prevented the bird from flying. The location of the pellets and the nature of the injuries sustained suggest that the bird was probably flying when it was shot.
We are urging anyone with information to come forward and speak to us.
Peregrine Falcons are the fastest animal on the planet, capable of speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. Pairs will nest on coastal cliff-edges, in quarries and in urban areas on buildings and industrial sites.
Although fully protected and recovering across the UK, illegal persecution is impacting Peregrine numbers. In the UK, the RSPB has recorded 173 incidents of Peregrine persecution over the last 20 years, with a minimum of 195 Peregrines either dying or sustaining injuries as a result of these criminal activities.
In the last five years alone, 29 Peregrines have been illegally persecuted in England with almost a quarter of these incidents taking place in Yorkshire. Data shows that nationally a significant proportion of raptor persecution incidents are linked to land managed for gamebird shooting.
Having suffered injuries which prevented sustained flight, the Peregrine was taken to Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in North Malton, where it received expert care with the support of Battle Flatts Veterinary Clinic. After a month of rehabilitative care the Peregrine was released back into the wild on 13 January 2023.
Jean Thorpe, Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre: “When a bird has suffered in this way it’s difficult to know if they’ll survive. The stress alone can be too much for them, and rehabilitation can be really challenging.
“We were lucky with this one. It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to encounter one of these incredible birds but I just wish it was under different circumstances.
“This isn’t the first shot Peregrine I’ve had to care for, and I doubt it will be the last. These crimes are happening right under our noses, it’s unforgivable.”
Inspector Peter Heginbotham, from South Yorkshire Police Wildlife and Rural Crime Team, said: “To know that a protected Peregrine Falcon has been intentionally shot with a shotgun and found in Doncaster is extremely concerning, but unfortunately not unique. Sadly, Peregrine Falcons are still being shot, trapped and poisoned in northern England.
“We will thoroughly investigate this crime and would encourage anyone who can assist us with our investigation to please come forward and help us tackle and prevent these crimes from happening.”
If you have any information, please contact us online, via live chat or by calling 101 quoting incident number 576 of 13 December 2023.
Alternatively, to get in touch anonymously, call the RSPB’s dedicated Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
There’s an article about the rehabilitation and a video showing the release of this peregrine on BBC news website (here).
The story is apparently going to feature on BBC Look North this evening. Perhaps South Yorkshire Police will explain why it took six weeks to publish an appeal for information.
Well done and thanks, yet again, to the remarkable Jean Thorpe and her colleagues at Battle Flatts Vets.
Derbyshire man caught on camera raiding peregrine falcon nest given custodial prison sentence.
At Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court on 15 January 2023, Christopher Wheeldonof Darley Dale, Matlock pleaded guilty to intentionally disturbing Peregrine Falcons and taking Peregrine Falcon eggs and was sentenced to 8 weeks in prison for these offences. His total sentence, including additional charges unrelated to this case is 18 weeks.
Covert footage taken by the RSPB’s Investigations Team helped secure this conviction.
The Peregrine eggs are believed to have been hatched and then laundered into the illegal falconry trade.
Christopher Wheeldon caught on RSPB camera stealing the peregrine eggs
In April 2023, officers from RSPB Investigations installed a surveillance camera to monitor a Peregrine Falcon nest in a limestone quarry near Bolsover, Derbyshire. The falcons were incubating a clutch of eggs when on 23 April 2023 video footage showed a rope being dropped from above, causing the parent bird to abandon the nest. The Peregrines can be heard sounding distress calls as a man abseils down to the nest and steals three eggs from the cliff-ledge nest, before climbing back to the cliff top. Derbyshire Police were alerted, and enquiries soon identified Christopher Wheeldon as the individual involved. Search warrants were executed at two addresses, resulting in the discovery of items of clothing seen in the video at Wheeldon’s address.
Sadly, no eggs or Peregrines were recovered. It is considered likely that the eggs were destined to be laundered by being artificially incubated, and when hatched, the chicks passed off as ‘legal’ captive-reared birds. Unfortunately, once in the system, and following the removal of the Government registration scheme, it is now virtually impossible to trace these wild birds. It is likely these wild Peregrines were stolen to order and are now in the overseas falconry trade, where wild British Peregrine Falcons are regarded as being of genetically superior stock and command high prices.
On Monday 15 January Wheeldon, who pleaded guilty to disturbing these protected birds and taking their eggs, received an eight-week prison sentence for these crimes and a further 10 weeks for unrelated shop-lifting charges.
District Judge Stephen Flint said on sentencing: “Even the birds are not beyond you’re thieving grasp. You may conceive these as just eggs but they are protected. This was a deplorable thing to do.”
Although Peregrine Falcons are specially protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, these magnificent birds of prey have sadly been subjected to a diverse range of persecution over the years. Over the years the RSPB Investigations team has documented many incidents of shot and poisoned Peregrines on land managed for driven grouse shooting in the UK, including Derbyshire.
In other parts of the county, Peregrines face a different sort of persecution, with nests in quarries being targeted for their highly prized chicks and eggs, to be intended for the illegal falconry industry. Previously, in May 2020, RSPB managed to film another Peregrine nest robbery in Derbyshire but unfortunately this did not lead to a conviction in court.
This latest case highlights the ongoing demand for wild Peregrine eggs from the UK to furnish the overseas market. With the laundering of wild Peregrine Falcons fetching tens of thousands of pounds, this crime will continue to be worth the risk to some.
Without the reinstatement of full registration controls for captive bred birds this illegal activity will continue to threaten wild Peregrine populations across the UK. The RSPB Investigations Team will continue to monitor nests in Derbyshire and the wider area, and as this case shows, hope to secure more convictions in the future.
The RSPB would like to thank Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team for their thorough investigation and diligent work which has resulted in this successful outcome, the South Peak Raptor Study Group for their continued efforts in monitoring these birds and Tarmac for their assistance throughout.
Thomas Grose, RSPB Investigations Officer: “Peregrine Falcons represent the epitome of being wild and free and it is this very characteristic that makes them such a target for criminals involved in the illegal falconry trade, earning money from the laundering and trading of these birds overseas. The theft of Peregrine eggs and chicks has been a persistent threat to these birds in Derbyshire. This case is a great example of organisations working together to bring those responsible to justice. Without dedicated volunteers and the efforts of Derbyshire Police this would have been just another failed nest. I hope this sends the message that we are watching and will continue our efforts to protect these amazing birds of prey.”
Chris Wilkinson, Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team: “The nesting sites of these beautiful birds of prey are protected in law for a reason. Peregrines are an endangered species and groups, including the RSPB, have been working hard to ensure they are free from persecution and able thrive in Derbyshire. The efforts made by the RSPB, Derbyshire Police, NWCU and the Animal and Plant Health Agency to secure the conviction and subsequent sentence handed down by the courts, goes to show that we will go above and beyond to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.”
If you have information about anyone killing birds of prey which you wish to report anonymously, call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.
ENDS
This is an interesting case in that the culprit received a custodial sentence for the persecution of birds of prey. As regular blog readers will know, custodial sentences are rare in this area of wildlife crime – there have been a handful, the most notorious in 2014 when a gamekeeper who was caught on camera by the RSPB trapping and killing goshawks on an Aberdeenshire shooting estate in 2012, received a four month custodial sentence (here).
There have been plenty of other convictions for raptor persecution since then, mostly gamekeepers, with many of the cases reaching/passing the custodial threshold but sentences have been consistently and disappointingly weak, typically consisting of paltry fines, community orders and/or suspended sentences.
So what made Wheeldon’s offences so different as to warrant an immediate custodial sentence?
Well, I’d argue that the fact Wheeldon didn’t have an expensive barrister to represent him, unlike many gamekeepers who appear before the courts charged with raptor persecution, was probably a crucial factor. The majority of those given a custodial sentence for raptor persecution offences have been individuals stealing eggs/chicks for the falconry trade or for private egg collections, and who haven’t had top barristers standing up for them in court.
I’d also guess that Wheeldon’s criminal history influenced the magistrate’s decision. Wheeldon, 34, previously of Lime Grove, Matlock but now of Wheatley Gardens, Two Dales, is described on the Derbyshire Livewebsite as a ‘drug-addicted tree surgeon’, and he has a bit of a record.
He reportedly lost his driving licence for ‘driving with excess drugs’ in 2021 (here) and was charged with attempted robbery of a takeaway in Matlock in January 2023 (here – I don’t know the outcome of that case). In addition, during sentencing yesterday, it emerged that Wheeldon was also convicted of five counts of shop lifting, four of which took place during the first week of January this year.
He actually received a longer sentence for the shoplifting offences (10 weeks) than he did for disturbing the peregrine nest (8 weeks) and stealing the peregrine eggs (another 8 weeks, to run concurrently). So whilst a custodial sentence is to be welcomed, it still doesn’t act as a deterrent for others who may be considering committing an offence; and an offence that is supposedly a national police wildlife crime priority, especially when this offence can theoretically attract a custodial sentence of up to six months in England.
A report on wildlife crime in the UK, published in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) recommended improved sentencing guidelines to provide consistency on tackling wildlife crime.
Following the report’s publication, Green peer Natalie Bennett asked the UK government what plans it had to produce sentencing guidelines for raptor persecution (and other wildlife offences). DEFRA Minister Lord Benyon said the report’s recommendations “will be considered by the relevant agencies“.
No plans, then.
Nevertheless, Wheeldon’s prosecution and conviction is a good result – and especially as it was led by Derbyshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team, who previously have been less than impressive on some raptor persecution investigations (e.g. here, here, here). So well done to Derbyshire Police, to the RSPB’s Investigations Team and also to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Essex Police is appealing for information after the discovery of a shot buzzard found injured in a field near to Layer Wood /Layer Marney on 29th December 2023.
An x-ray shows the buzzard’s humerus bone had been shattered with a shotgun pellet, suggesting it was shot close to where it was found:
Photos from Essex Police
The buzzard is still alive and is being cared for by a local wildlife rescue centre.
Essex Police has launched an investigation – any witnesses or anyone with information please contact Essex Police on Tel 101 and quote incident number 42/2817/24.
This latest raptor persecution victim is the 8th in Essex in recent years, following the shooting of another buzzard in January 2023 (here), the shooting of a red kite in September 2022 (here), the shooting of another red kite in November 2021 (here), another red kite found dead in suspicious circumstances in November 2021 (here), the shooting of another three buzzards in 2020, one in Dec (here), one in September (here) and one in June (here), and the suspected shooting of a Hobby in August 2020 (here).
Press statement from Norfolk Constabulary (2 January 2024):
APPEAL AFTER BIRD OF PREY POISONED
Police are appealing for information after further tests revealed a Red Kite discovered dead in North Creake had died from suspected insecticide poisoning.
Officers from Norfolk Police’s Op Randall team have been investigating the death of the protected bird of prey, which was found dead by a member of the public in a field in North Creake in August 2023, and had suffered no obvious physical injuries.
Further tests were ordered to establish the cause of death and a post-mortem examination carried out through the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) at the end of November has subsequently detected a number of pesticides and insecticides, including very high levels of Bendiocarb which has been concluded as the likely cause of death.
Searches carried out out by police alongside National Wildlife Crime Unit officers and the RSPB investigation team to find the source of the substance have so far proved negative and now officers are keen to speak to anyone with information that may help their investigation or who has witnessed anything similar in the area.
Wildlife officer PC Chris Shelley said: “We’ve been waiting for the results of the toxicological analysis, and now know the levels of Bendiocarb contained within the samples taken from the bird have not come from the approved use of such a product.
“I have to conclude that this product has been used illegally in very close proximity to where the bird was recovered.
“Bendiocarb has been the active ingredient in a number of insecticide products in the past approved to deal with wasps and ants. In more recent years the number of products including this ingredient has reduced and its approved use has been to tackle such species inside buildings. Products containing this ingredient can only be purchased and used by professional pesticide users, and only then can they use the product inside a building to reduce the risk to non-target species.
“Red Kites are listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We have a zero tolerance approach to the persecution of birds of prey and I’d appeal to anybody who knows anything that may help get to the bottom of what happened here or indeed has any information about anything similar happening, please get in touch with us.”
Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch via the following channels, quoting reference 38/82207/23:
In October 2023, Kelvin Birtles of Saffron Road, Wigston appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to three offences – the possession of two dead badgers (in breach of the Protection of Badgers Act), the possession of two dead otters (in breach of the Wildlife & Countryside Act) and the possession of nine dead birds including three buzzards, four tawny owls, one barn owl and one swan, which were all found in his freezer during a joint police and trading standards raid in April 2023. Sentencing was deferred for background reports (see blog here).
Birtle re-appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court on 15th November 2023 where he told the court he didn’t know he needed a licence, that some of the items were for his taxidermy hobby, and that some had been roadkill that he’d removed from near a school because ‘he didn’t want kids to see them smashed up on the road’.
He received a 12 month community order requiring him to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £114 victim surcharge.
Two gamekeepers who work on William van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court this morning to face a number of charges of alleged wildlife crime.
Dominic Green, 35, of Cockley Cley Road, Hilborough, Thetford and William Richardson, 22, of Nethergate Street, Hopton, near Diss, had been charged with intentionally taking a Schedule 1 wild bird (a goshawk) at the Hilborough Estate, and the use of pigeons as decoys inside a crow cage trap to take/kill the goshawk. They had also been charged with failing to ensure the welfare of the pigeon decoys.
However, according to a report in the Eastern Daily Press this afternoon (here), all the wildlife crime charges were ‘withdrawn’ against both gamekeepers.
Green pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon (an extendable police-style baton) and his lawyer argued he’d had this in his possession since 2003 when it was lawful to possess it.
Headline from today’s Eastern Daily Press
District Judge David Wilson recognised that Green was “essentially” of good character and imposed a fine of £1,000, with £400 costs and a £400 victim surcharge.
It hasn’t been reported why the wildlife crime charges were ‘withdrawn’.
This case relates to a police investigation that launched in April 2022 after the anti-bloodsports group, the Hunt Investigation Team, recorded covert footage of a masked man removing a goshawk from a trap that appeared to have been baited with a pigeon decoy which was said to have taken place on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk. The fate of the goshawk is not known, nor, it seems, the identity of the masked man who removed it from the trap and walked away with it.
Previous blogs on this case:
8th May 2022: Van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk at centre of police investigation into alleged raptor persecution (here)
10th May 2022: Illegally-set trap found on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk (here)
11th May 2022: Police confirm bird of prey was caught in illegally-set trap on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk (here)
12th May 2022: Covert footage published showing masked man with trapped goshawk on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate (here)
16th May 2022: Mail on Sunday blames ‘vigilantes’ for police investigation into alleged wildlife crime on van Cutsem’s estate (here)
12th August 2022: GWCT disregards police investigation into alleged wildlife crime on van Cutsem’s Norfolk estate (here)
13 October 2023: Two gamekeepers due in court after police investigation on van Cutsems’ Hilborough Estate in Norfolk (here)
Christopher Wheeldon, 34, of Lime Grove, Darley Dale, Matlock was due in court in Chesterfield today to face charges charges relating to the alleged theft of peregrine eggs and disturbance of a peregrine nest site in Bolsover in April 2023 (see here).
Peregrine photo by Ben Hall, RSPB Images
Wheeldon failed to attend court and a warrant is out for his arrest.
PLEASE NOTE: As this is a live court case comments won’t be accepted until criminal proceedings have concluded. Thanks for your understanding.
UPDATE 22nd November 2023: Case adjourned for Christopher Wheeldon accused of alleged peregrine egg theft in Derbyshire (here)
Two gamekeepers are due to appear at Norwich Magistrates Court next week charged with a number of alleged offences relating to a police investigation that centred on William van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk last year.
A police search of the estate took place in April 2022 after a group called the Hunt Investigation Team, describing itself as ‘anti bloodsports’, said it had recorded covert video footage of a masked man with a goshawk inside what was considered to be an illegally-set trap on the estate. The masked man removed the goshawk and walked away from the trap. The goshawk’s fate was unknown.
Details of the charges have not yet been publicised and as this will be the first hearing in this case, the two gamekeepers have not yet entered a plea. Hopefully details will become clearer after the first hearing.
PLEASE NOTE: As this is now a live prosecution blog comments will not be accepted until criminal proceedings have concluded. Thanks for your understanding.
Previous blogs on this case can be found here:
8th May 2022: Van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk at centre of police investigation into alleged raptor persecution (here)
10th May 2022: Illegally-set trap found on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk (here)
11th May 2022: Police confirm bird of prey was caught in illegally-set trap on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate in Norfolk (here)
12th May 2022: Covert footage published showing masked man with trapped goshawk on van Cutsem’s Hilborough Estate (here)
16th May 2022: Mail on Sunday blames ‘vigilantes’ for police investigation into alleged wildlife crime on van Cutsem’s estate (here)
12th August 2022: GWCT disregards police investigation into alleged wildlife crime on van Cutsem’s Norfolk estate (here)
A Leicestershire man has been convicted for the possession of protected wildlife that was discovered in his freezer during a joint police and trading standards raid in April 2023.
Kelvin Birtles of Saffron Road, Wigston, pleaded guilty to three offences – the possession of two dead badgers (in breach of the Protection of Badgers Act), the possession of two dead otters (in breach of the Wildlife & Countryside Act) and the possession of nine dead birds including three buzzards, four tawny owls, one barn owl and one swan.
Buzzard photo: Steve Robinson
The body parts of other animals were also found during the raid, including llamas, piglets, a pheasant and a horse, although as these are not protected species, their possession isn’t an offence.
Birtles had claimed all the animals were roadkill and that he hadn’t killed them himself. Even if that’s true, possession of protected species is still an offence.
District Judge Jonathan Straw ordered a probation report and deferred sentencing until 15th November.
UPDATE 30 December 2023: Leicestershire man receives 12 month community order for illegal possession of dead protected species, including 8 raptors (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 