Tag: buzzard

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.

‘Are buzzards now vermin?’ asks Country Life magazine

The campaign against raptors is relentless. It seems barely a week goes by without someone having a go, whether it be a high profile politician, a high profile journalist, or a high profile [and self-appointed ‘countryman’, whatever that is] – see here for a few examples.

This week, following the astonishing claims of an MSP that the golden eagle reminds people of Nazis and is therefore an unsuitable choice for a national bird (see here), we come back to the more typical claim that buzzards are vermin and need to be ‘controlled’; a view (mantra?) repeated with tedious frequency by those with a vested interest in game-shooting and always, always based on prejudice rather than scientific evidence.

If you can be arsed to read it, it’s here. The first half of the debate is by a gamekeeper in southern England and the second half is by the RSPB’s Conservation Director.

See if you can spot the unintentional irony in the gamekeeper’s article – you’ll find it nestled in between all the inaccuracies.

Case against Stody Estate gamekeeper Allen Lambert: part 3

A case management hearing was heard today at Kings Lynn Magistrates Court regarding the remaining charges against Stody Estate gamekeeper, Allen Lambert.

In December 2013, Lambert was charged with seven alleged offences including the killing of 14 buzzards, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 tawny owl (see here).

Lambert, 64, of Old Lodge House, Stody, Melton Constable, Norfolk pled guilty to storing the pesticides Mevinphos and Aldicarb but denied killing and possessing the dead birds.

His case was adjourned today and is expected to continue in February 2014.

Buzzard poisonings in Northern Ireland: 1 confirmed, 3 suspected

BZNIPolice in Northern Ireland are appealing for information about the suspected poisonings of 3 buzzards in two separate incidents.

In the first incident (April 2013!) a dead buzzard was found on land at Drumdreenagh Road in the Hilltown area of Warrenpoint, County Down. We happen to know that this bird was found with a dead red kite which has since been confirmed as being poisoned with Carbofuran.

The second incident (October 2013) was also in the Hilltown area – this time two buzzards were found dead on land in the Lisnamulligan Road.

Anyone with information can contact the police in Warrenpoint on 0845-600-8000. Article in Newry Times here.

It’s more than a little concerning that the police appeal for information has only just appeared and that the cause of death has not yet been confirmed – poisoning is still only suspected at this stage. We’ve blogged before about the excessively long delays in getting toxicology results from the lab in Northern Ireland (e.g. see here) and it seems reasonable to assume from the information provided in the latest press release that this is an on-going problem. Such slow response times can only hinder the police investigations, and also the work of the conservationists trying to assess whether the buzzards were deliberately targeted or were the unintended victims of secondary poisoning.

Another dead buzzard that was found in Castledawson, Co. Londonderry in March 2013 has been confirmed as being poisoned with Carbofuran. The police put out an appeal for information about this incident in October 2013 (article here).

Another dead buzzard in Scotland: another pathetic police response

Police Scotland has issued an embarrassingly vague press release following the discovery of a dead buzzard in suspicious circumstances.

According to the BBC report (here), which is presumably based upon the police’s press release, the dead bird was found “near the village of Tomatin in the Highlands” by a member of the public on 9th December 2013.

“Police said an examination of the buzzard suggested it had not died of natural causes“.

In other words then, it had been illegally killed. The cause of death has not been mentioned, and nor has the specific location.

Given that Tomatin is in the heart of grouse moor country, and that this area is a well known raptor persecution hotspot on a par with the Angus Glens, we can’t help but question why this press release has been designed to be so deliberately cryptic. Who are the police trying to protect?

It’s not the first time, either. In June 2013 they issued a similarly cryptic press release following the discovery of a dead red kite in Aberdeenshire. They said: “After recovery of the carcass, a post mortem was carried out. This revealed that the bird’s death was not by natural causes“. It was later reported that the kite had been shot (see here).

In September 2010, they issued a vague appeal for information following the discovery of an osprey in the Highlands that died from what they described as “deliberately inflicted injuries“. It was later reported that the osprey had been shot (see here).

Is it any wonder that we’ve lost complete confidence in Police Scotland to investigate this type of wildlife crime? What other offence would trigger such an uninformative police statement? Have you ever seen a police response like it? It’s like a new game show, ‘Guess the Crime’, hosted by Police Scotland: Something illegal happened in the Central Belt four weeks ago. We’re not telling you what it was or where it happened; you’ll have to guess. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police‘.

Public anger over the continued illegal killing of raptors on grouse moors is already at an all-time high following the death of golden eagle ‘Fearnan’ last month, found poisoned in the Angus glens. The police’s continued unwillingness to provide transparency over these investigations is sure to add to that sense of fury. These criminals are getting away time after time, and it’s not hard to see why.

If you want to express your frustration and dissatisfaction with the way Police Scotland are behaving during these wildlife crime ‘investigations’ (and we use that term loosely), please email Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse and ask him for an explanation: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

We know that hundreds of you emailed him just before Xmas following the death of golden eagle Fearnan. Don’t underestimate how powerful that volume of messages from the public can be.

Case against Stody Estate gamekeeper Allen Lambert: part 2

Last week we blogged about Norfolk gamekeeper Allen Lambert who had been charged with seven alleged wildlife crime offences including the killing of 14 buzzards, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 tawny owl (see here).

The case against 64-year old Lambert, a gamekeeper on the award-winning Stody Estate, was heard last Thursday (19th December 2013) at Kings Lynn magistrates court.

It has been reported that Lambert pled guilty to keeping banned pesticides (Mevinphos & Aldicarb) but denied killing raptors and keeping some of their bodies.

His case was adjourned until 22nd January 2014.

Interestingly, the news report calls Lambert a ‘former’ gamekeeper.

News report from EDP24 here.

Golden eagle found poisoned on Angus grouse moor

A two-year old golden eagle named ‘Fearnan’ has been found dead on a Scottish grouse moor. He had been poisoned with a banned pesticide. The poison hasn’t been named but we’ll take an educated guess at Carbofuran, the gamekeepers’ poison of choice.

Interestingly, there are three separate press releases about this latest disgraceful crime:

One from the government via PAW (here)

One from the police (here)

One from RSPB Scotland (here)

Usually, we’re lucky to see anything for at least 4-5 months after the crime so it’s somewhat surprising to see the scuffle for media attention on this one. Could this be a sign that Environment Minister Wheelhouse has put his foot down and demanded that timely press statements are released? We can’t think of any other reason why the police should suddenly change their tactics from seemingly apathetic to seemingly responsive.

Of course, regular blog readers will already know that Fearnan is not the only poisoned eagle to have been found dead in the Angus Glens. In fact, there’s been a fair bit of raptor persecution over the last nine years. Here’s a list of incidents we’ve compiled from various published reports:

2004 May, near Edzell: long-eared owl and two short-eared owls starved to death in crow cage trap.  No prosecution.

2004 May, Invermark Estate: peregrine nest destroyed. No prosecution.

2006 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2006 April, Easter Ogil: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.

2006 April, Easter Ogil: poisoned tawny owl (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.

2006 May, Glenogil Estate: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2006 June, Glenogil Estate: poisoned woodpigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2006 June, Glenogil Estate: Traces of Carbofuran found in estate vehicles & on equipment during police search. No prosecution. Estate owner had £107k withdrawn from his farm subsidy payments. This was being appealed, but it is not known how this was resolved.

2006 July, Millden Estate; poisoned sheepdog (Lindane). No prosecution.

2007 November, Glenogil Estate: Disappearance of radio-tagged white-tailed eagle ‘Bird N’ coincides with tip off to police that bird been shot. No further transmissions or sightings of the bird.

2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned white-tailed eagle ‘White G’ (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned buzzard (Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned mountain hare bait (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 May, Glenogil Estate: 32 x poisoned meat baits on fenceposts (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb). No prosecution.

2008 October, ‘Glenogil Estate: poisoned meat bait on fencepost (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 March, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 April, Millden Estate: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose). No prosecution.

2009 July, Millden Estate: poisoned golden eagle ‘Alma’ (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2009 August, Glenogil Estate: poisoned white-tailed eagle “89” (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 May, ‘Nr Noranside’: poisoned red kite (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 September, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Chloralose). No prosecution.

2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2010 October, Glenogil Estate: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran). No prosecution.

2011 February, Airlie Estate: buzzard caught in illegal crow trap. (see below)

2011 March, Airlie Estate: 3 x buzzard caught in illegal crow trap. Prosecution (!) but dropped after statement from suspect given to SSPCA deemed inadmissible.

2011 April, Millden Estate: shot buzzard. No prosecution.

2012 April, ‘Nr Noranside’: Remains of buzzard found beside pheasant pen. Suspicious death.

2011 June, Rottal & Tarabuckle Estate: dead kestrel inside crow cage trap. No prosecution.

2012 February, ‘Nr Edzell’: spring-trapped buzzard. No prosecution.

2012 February, ‘Nr Bridgend’: remains of buzzard found under a rock. Suspicious death.

2012 May, Millden Estate: satellite-tagged golden eagle caught in spring trap, then apparently uplifted overnight and dumped on Deeside. No prosecution.

2012 May, Glen Esk: disappearance of sat-tagged red kite. No further transmissions or sightings of bird.

2013 January, Invermark Estate: white-tailed eagle nest tree felled. No prosecution.

2013 November, Glen Lethnot: poisoned golden eagle. Prosecution? Highly unlikely!

We think you’ll agree, this is overwhelming evidence that some people in the Angus Glens are systematically persecuting birds of prey, they have been for many years, and those same people are avoiding criminal justice for their disgusting and illegal activities. We call them The Untouchables.

Why have they been able to avoid prosecution for so long?

Now would be a good time to ask the Environment Minister for an explanation. While you’re at it, please also mention your revulsion about the continued practice of illegal raptor persecution on driven grouse moors. The time for estate licensing is here; the game-shooting industry, quite clearly, cannot or will not self-regulate.  Emails to: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

RIP Fearnan.

posioned GE Lethnot 2013

Poisoned buzzard found dead in Stirlingshire

Here we go again…

A dead buzzard found in Stirlingshire in September had been illegally poisoned, according to Police Scotland. Three months on, they are now appealing for information.

The buzzard was found by a member of the public in the Sheriffmuir area, north of Bridge of Allan. The name of the poison used has not been revealed.

Adding this incident to the already swollen tally of illegally-killed birds found in 2013, it is abundantly clear that illegal poisoning is most definitely not decreasing, despite what the game-shooting industry would have you believe. We have calculated a 66% increase in poisoning crimes this year, and there are still a couple of weeks to go.

You might want to email the Environment Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, and ask him (a) why the police appeal for information is three months late, and (b) what else he proposes to do about this disgraceful situation seeing as  illegal raptor poisoning in Scotland is back on the increase and current government measures to stop it are clearly not working.

Emails to: ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

News article here

Norfolk gamekeeper faces series of raptor persecution charges

A Norfolk gamekeeper is facing seven charges of alleged wildlife crime.

Allen Lambert, 64, of Stody, near Melton Constable, has been charged with killing 16 wild birds (14 buzzards, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 tawny owl), possession of nine birds (buzzards), failure to comply with a firearms certificate, and four counts of possession and storage of banned poisons (Aldicarb and Mevinphos).

The alleged offences took place between January and April 2013.

Lambert is currently on bail and will appear before King’s Lynn Magistrates court on Thursday (19th Dec).

News articles here and here

North Yorks still worst place for raptor persecution in 2012

The RSPB has published its 2012 Birdcrime report documenting bird persecution throughout the UK.

North Yorkshire has once again come top of the league for the number of reported crimes against birds of prey (34), with Aberdeenshire a close second with 31 reported incidents. Both counties, of course, include large areas of land used for driven grouse shooting.

The 2012 report includes statistics that are all too familiar: confirmed shootings of short-eared owls, sparrowhawks, buzzards, barn owls, tawny owls, hen harriers, golden eagles, marsh harriers, and peregrines; confirmed nest destruction of peregrines, goshawks and barn owls; confirmed illegal spring-trapping of buzzards, golden eagle and peregrine; other types of illegal trapping (including crow cage traps) of sparrowhawks, tawny owls, buzzards and goshawks; and the confirmed illegal poisoning of ravens, red kites, buzzards, golden eagles, marsh harriers, peregrines, cats and dogs.

Remember, these are just the confirmed incidents. Plenty more ‘probable’ and ‘unconfirmed’ cases, and of course there are all the incidents that went undiscovered/unreported.

Does that sound to you like the game-shooting industry is cleaning up its act?

Well done to the RSPB for their meticulous work and especially for their willingness to share these data with the general public.

RSPB press release here

Download the RSPB’s 2012 Birdcrime report here

The photograph shows the shot hen harrier Bowland Betty, found on a North Yorkshire grouse moor in 2012. Nobody has been brought to justice for her death.