Tag: buzzard

Two important questions to ask about the buzzard licence applicant

buzzard 3It would appear there’s more to Buzzardgate #2 than first meets the eye.

Apart from the scandalous decision by Natural England (acting on behalf of DEFRA) to issue a licence to a gamekeeper to destroy the nests and eggs of a native species (buzzard) to protect a non-native species bred for sport shooting (pheasant) (see here for previous blog entry on this), further information has come to light.

At this stage we are unwilling to publish the information or reveal how the information can be found. We are seeking legal advice and will come back to the subject if we’re able once the legalities have been clarified.

In the meantime, we would like to ask two important questions, one of Natural England (who worked with this gamekeeper over a period of years and subsequently issued his licence), and one of the National Gamekeepers Organisation (who submitted the licence application on behalf of one of their members). We would encourage blog readers to also ask these questions as we believe they are of public interest:

1. To Janette Ward (janette.ward@naturalengland.org.uk), Director of Regulation at Natural England, who endorsed the issue of this licence:

Question: Did this gamekeeper have an un-spent work-related conviction at the time of his application?

2. To Lindsay Waddell (info@nationalgamekeepers.org.uk), Chairman of the National Gamekeepers Organisation:

Question: Bearing in mind the NGO’s published Disciplinary Procedure (see here), did this gamekeeper have an un-spent work-related conviction at the time of his application and has he ever been suspended or expelled as a member of the National Gamekeepers Organisation?

New petition: SNH, do not licence buzzard culling in Scotland

buzzard 3Following on from the frankly outrageous situation south of the border, where it has been revealed that the UK government’s conservation agency (Natural England) has secretly issued licences, without supporting scientific evidence, to destroy native buzzards’ nests & eggs to protect superabundant foreign gamebirds reared for sport-shooting (see here), a new petition has started in Scotland to let the Scottish government’s conservation agency (Scottish Natural Heritage) know that such a move won’t be tolerated in this country.

Gamekeepers and landowners in Scotland have been lobbying the Scottish government for these licences for at least ten years. For example here is a news report from 2003. We have blogged extensively about the continuous efforts of these organisations who are seemingly hell-bent on continuing the Victorian tradition of killing predators; so far their efforts have been thwarted but for how much longer?

In January this year we blogged about a new scientific paper that discussed how buzzards are only a minor source of pheasant mortality – road traffic, for example, is far more important (see here). We also highlighted in that blog how SGA Chairman Alex Hogg admitted losing 500 pheasant poults to hypothermia last year – perhaps an infestation of buzzards blocked out the sun and caused the low temperatures that killed those young birds.

In March this year we blogged about how Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse had recently told the SGA that licences to cull raptors would not be issued for the forseeable future due to the on-going incidents of criminal raptor persecution (see here). Since then, there have been a number of persecution incidents – some publicised by the police, some not. There’s one particularly relevant incident that happened before Easter, where, according to local sources, a buzzard was caught in what has been described as an illegal gin trap. It didn’t survive. Why haven’t Police Scotland publicised this incident? In whose interests is it to keep this crime a secret?

It’s a pretty sad state of affairs that this issue is still at the top of the agenda, in this, the so-called Year of Natural Scotland.

Please sign the petition here

You might also want to email Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse to let him know your views on the issue of buzzard licensing in Scotland and ask him whether he’s aware of the buzzard that was caught in an illegal trap in Scotland more than eight weeks ago:  ministerforenvironment@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Natural England issues licence to destroy buzzard eggs & nests to protect pheasants

buzzard 3An article in The Guardian has revealed that the UK’s nature conservation agency, Natural England, has licensed the secret destruction of buzzard eggs and nests to protect a pheasant shoot.

This destruction, which took place in the last few weeks, was only revealed after a Freedom of Information request was made by the RSPB. According to the article, the National Gamekeepers Organisation was ‘closely involved in winning the licences and had threatened Natural England with judicial review if they were not granted’.

Given that the buzzard (and other raptors) are native species with supposed full legal protection, the RSPB is considering its legal options.

The location of the pheasant shoot has not (yet) been revealed, as Natural England stated the case was “emotive and sensitive” and cited “public safety”. Interestingly, this is the same argument the Scottish Government recently tried to use to hide the identities of seal-shooting salmon farms in Scotland. That decision was over-ruled last month by the Scottish Freedom of Information watchdog and the Scottish Government was forced to name the locations (see here).

Article in The Guardian here.

If you want to let DEFRA Minister Richard Benyon know how you feel about this disgusting precedent, email him at: richard.benyon.mp@parliament.uk

The RSPB’s Conservation Director, Martin Harper, has posted all the FoI documents on his blog here.

UPDATE 13.00hrs: Natural England has released what it calls a ‘mythbuster’ about this controversial licence here. The header is ‘Full details of buzzard nest control licence’, only it isn’t the ‘full details’ – the majority of the data have been redacted, which means we can’t assess the scientific evidence used by NE to approve this licence. Where’s the transparency?

If you want to email Natural England and tell them what you think about their decision to licence buzzard control, contact them at: wildlife@naturalengland.org.uk

UPDATE 16.00hrs: An interesting update from the RSPB’s Martin Harper on DEFRA’s deceit here

UPDATE 18.30hrs: An excellent analysis of Natural England’s decision, written by blogger Alan Tilmouth here

UPDATE 22.00hrs: Further evidence, should you need it, that the UK’s government agency for nature conservation is sitting comfortably in the hands of the game-shooting industry – this is absolutely shocking – read it here.

Environment Minister’s response to continuing raptor persecution

On October 10th 2012, one month into his job, Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse made the following statement in response to the huge public uproar about the death of the Deeside eagle (see here) –

“The unlawful killing of any raptors has no place in today’s Scotland and we will continue to work hard to eradicate this criminal activity. We believe that the partnership approach with the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Scotland, is bringing the reduction in bird of prey poisoning that can be seen in the statistics in recent years. However we are not complacent and if there is evidence of a switch to other methods of persecution we will take action to bear down on those methods“.

He made a further statement on 28th November 2012 following the discovery on an Aberdeenshire estate of a hen harrier that had been shot dead (see here) –

“We will not tolerate the illegal persecution of protected species such as the hen harrier and, as I have said recently in relation to another shooting [presumably the shot golden eagle found critically injured on an estate in south west Scotland – see here] I am prepared to look at further measures to strengthen and assist enforcement if we continue to see this flouting of the law in respect of protected species“.

Since then a number of further persecution incidents have taken place, some of which have made it into the public domain, whereas others are still being treated as closely-guarded secrets by Police Scotland (why is that, several months after the crimes were discovered?). The ones that have been publicised include:

1. A dead buzzard at Glasserton Estate, Whithorn that was discovered in December 2012 but not reported in the media until 6 March (see here). The press release was vague but we assume this buzzard had been poisoned judging by the location of known poisoning incidents that were included in the PAW Scotland 2012 poisoning maps.

2. A dead buzzard that had been found by the side of a road in Stirlingshire in early February 2013 – later tests showed it had been shot (see here).

3. A dead buzzard that had been found near St Mary’s Loch in the Borders in early March – it had been shot (see here). Following this incident, we tweeted Paul Wheelhouse and asked him if he was ready to take the action he’d promised (see here). He replied: “I will say more when I have a full briefing but my first reaction is instinctive – I’m both disgusted and very much angered“. Seven weeks later we’re still waiting for his statement.

In early April it was reported that the shot golden eagle that had been found on a grouse moor in south west Scotland had finally succumbed to its injuries (see here). This news prompted us to encourage readers to write to Paul Wheelhouse, again, and ask him whether he was now ready to take the action he’d promised. We know that over 100 of you sent emails to him. In early May he responded. The following email is an example of one of the generic responses that were sent out by his aide:

Thank you for your letter to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Mr Paul Wheelhouse. I have been asked to respond.

The Minister was saddened to hear that the golden eagle in the care of the SSPCA had to be put to sleep on veterinary advice, due to underlying health conditions as it had been hoped initially that the eagle would make a full recovery. This case involves an ongoing Police and SSPCA investigation, so further comment on that incident is inappropriate.

The Minister welcomed a reduction in confirmed poisoning figures for raptors in March 2013, however he did recognise that other forms of persecution do exist and he has already committed to looking at the development of further measures to end raptor persecution if other methods of persecution prove to be on the increase. Vicarious Liability provisions which came into force in 2012 are still to be tested in court and it is critical to assess the impact of the legislation by this means.

The difficulties in prosecuting wildlife crimes are well documented. Recognising the specialist nature of the investigations required, and legislation covering such criminality, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service created specialist wildlife and environmental fiscals in 2011. Police reform has also implemented changes with regard to the structure and coordination of wildlife crime officers with a net increase in officers with relevant responsibilities. These changes combined will continue to shape improvements in wildlife crime detection, investigations and prosecutions.

Tackling wildlife crime is a priority for the Minister and he stands by previous comments that he is not prepared to allow these crimes to continue unabated, and without consequence. Partnership working via the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Scotland, which is chaired by the Minister, is key to progress and this path will also continue to be used to deliver a reduction in wildlife crime.

Yours faithfully,

Karen Hunter

Wildlife Crime Policy Officer

It seems to us that Paul Wheelhouse is good on rhetoric but not so good on action. Very disappointing but not at all surprising. It’ll be interesting to see how he responds when he hears about the other examples of ‘continued flouting of the law’, that have happened right under his nose. He might want to have a chat with Police Scotland and ask them what they’re keeping from public view, and why……

Dead buzzard found with beak bound closed with twine

buzzard beak boundDerbyshire Constabulary are appealing for information about a dead buzzard that was found with twine forced through a hole in its beak to bind it shut.

The bird was found by a member of the public on April 11th on land near Turnditch. Police wildlife crime officers are working with the RSPB to investigate the circumstances of this bird’s death.

Wildlife Crime Officer PC Emerson Buckingham said: “This bird was most probably alive when it was attacked and may have starved to death as it would have been unable to eat or drink with its beak bound“.

Interestingly, Turnditch is just down the road from Idriedgehay and Kirk Ireton where a total of six buzzards were found poisoned in 2010 (see here).

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Buckingham on (Tel: 101) or the RSPB (Tel: 0845 466 3636).

Well done to Derbyshire Constabulary for the publicity on this disgraceful crime. Press release here.

Thanks to @HowardJones88 for passing on the link to us.

Shot buzzard in North Yorks – 4th in 4 months

Buzzard shot Farndale 2013A press release in the Northern Echo reports that a buzzard has been found shot just north of Kirbymoorside in Farndale, North Yorkshire. Gunshot was found in the bird’s wing and bone fragments were sticking out of the injury. It is believed to have been in that state for ten days before it was picked up. Unfortunately its injuries were so severe it had to be euthanised.

The press release doesn’t provide any details about when this buzzard was discovered, other than sometime in the last four months, although we know from another source that it was 14 April.

Interestingly, PC Stewart Ashton of North Yorks Police is quoted as saying: “This is the fourth buzzard to have been shot in Ryedale over the past four months“.

So where was the publicity for the other three shot buzzards? We don’t recall seeing any media about those incidents. A quick look on the North Yorks Police website shows their last reported shot buzzard dated 4 November 2011 (see here).

It’s not the first time we’ve wondered about delayed or vague press releases from this police force, for example, see here, here and here.

At least the press release about this latest shot buzzard is timely. The RSPB has also put up a £1,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. Article in the Northern Echo here.

John Dodd sells Glenogil Estate

Sunday Times 7th April 2013 Glenogil saleJohn Dodd, the multi-millionaire owner of the controversial Glenogil Estate, has ‘quietly sold up’, according to an article in the Sunday Times.

The new owner is reported to be Baron Ferdinand von Baumbach, someone we know little about. Although we’re not sorry to see Dodd leave, it’s not so much who owns the estate that interests us, but rather whether (a) they intend to maintain it as a driven grouse moor and if so, (b) who will be advising on grouse moor ‘management’.

It’s been widely reported that Dodd took management advice from ‘grouse wizard’ Mark Osborne (e.g. see here) and indeed Glenogil is promoted on Osborne’s William Powell Sporting website as ‘one of the finest shooting estates in Scotland’ (see here), as well as on the William Powell Country website (here). It’s not just Osborne who rates this estate: last year The Field magazine included Glenogil in an article called ‘Britain’s 50 Great Shoots’ (see here) and in 2008 The Telegraph described it as a thriving grouse moor (see here).

However, for those of us with more of an interest in the area’s wildlife rather than with the artificially-high number of grouse that can be killed, you have to look elsewhere for information. A good place to start is the RSPB’s annual persecution reports. Below is a list of confirmed incidents recorded at Glenogil and ‘Nr Noranside’  from 2006-2010, sourced from these reports and also from Scottish Government data. Not one of these reported incidents has resulted in a criminal prosecution and Dodd has repeatedly and strenuously stated his staff are innocent. Dodd had his farming subsidy cut by £107,650 in 2008 when the Scottish Executive suspected that poisoned baits found on and near to the estate in 2006 were being used to target birds of prey (see here).

2006 March: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2006 April: poisoned buzzard (Alphachloralose)

2006 April: poisoned tawny owl (Alphachloralose)

2006 May: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2006 June: poisoned woodpigeon bait (Carbofuran)

2008 May: poisoned white-tailed eagle (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb) [‘Nr Noranside’]

2008 May: poisoned buzzard (Bendiocarb) [‘Nr Noranside’]

2008 May: poisoned mountain hare bait (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb) [‘Nr Noranside’]

2008 May: 32 x poisoned meat baits on fenceposts (Carbofuran, Isophenfos, Bendiocarb) [‘Nr Noranside’]

2008 Oct:  poisoned meat bait (Carbofuran) [‘Nr Noranside’]

2009 March: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2009 March: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2009 August: poisoned white-tailed eagle (Carbofuran)

2010 May: poisoned red kite (Carbofuran) [‘Nr Noranside’]

2010 September: poisoned buzzard (Chloralose)

2010 October: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2010 October: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran)

2010 October: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran)

John Dodd was the co-founder of Artemis Investment Management Ltd., a company that has sponsored the GWCT’s Scottish Game Fair (see here).

The Sunday Times article can be read in two parts:

Part 1 Glenogil sale Sunday Times 7 April 2013

Part 2 Glenogil sale Sunday Times 7 April 2013

Going to the Scottish Birdfair? Read this first

PrintThere’s an article today in the Sunday Herald about the RSPB’s controversial choice of venue for next month’s Scottish Birdfair. For the second year running, the RSPB has chosen to hold this event at Hopetoun House, the stately home of Lord Hopetoun whose family also owns the Leadhills (Hopetoun) Estate in South Lanarkshire, a grouse moor that has been at the centre of raptor persecution allegations for years. Sunday Herald article here.

Regular blog readers will know we’ve commented on this issue at length: see here, here, here, here, here and especially here.

In today’s article, veteran Scottish Raptor Study Group member Ronnie Graham urges potential Birdfair attendees to “make an informed decision” about going.

The following information might help. This is a list of confirmed persecution incidents listed at Leadhills/Abington between 2003-2011. This information has been sourced from the RSPB’s own annual persecution reports, in addition to Scottish Government data. The list does not include other ‘unconfirmed’ or ‘probable’ incidents, such as the discovery of skeletal raptor bodies found buried in forestry or dead raptors found shoved inside rabbit holes. Data are only available up to 2011, so any incidents that might have occured in 2012 or the first quarter of 2013 are not included. There are 41 confirmed incidents on this list; of these, only a couple have been successfully prosecuted (see here for a good example of why prosecutions fail). The list is a good example of why conviction rates should not be used to indicate the extent of criminal activity.

2003 April: hen harrier shot

2003 April: hen harrier eggs destroyed

2004 May: buzzard shot

2004 May: short-eared owl shot

2004 June: buzzard poisoned (Carbofuran)

2004 June: 4 x poisoned rabbit baits (Carbofuran)

2004 June: crow poisoned (Carbofuran)

2004 July: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2004 July: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2005 February: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2005 April: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2005 June: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2005 June: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2006 February: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2006 March: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2006 March: poisoned pigeon bait (Carbofuran)

2006 April: dead buzzard (persecution method unknown)

2006 May: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2006 May: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2006 May: poisoned egg baits (Carbofuran)

2006 June: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2006 June: poisoned raven (Carbofuran)

2006 June: 6 x poisoned rabbit baits (Carbofuran)

2006 June: poisoned egg bait (Carbofuran)

2006 September: 5 x poisoned buzzards (Carbofuran)

2006 September: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2006 September: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2007 March: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2007 April: poisoned red kite (Carbofuran)

2007 May: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran)

2008 October: poisoned buzzard (Carbofuran) [listed as ‘Nr Leadhills’]

2008 October: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran) [listed as ‘Nr Leadhills’]

2008 November: 3 x poisoned ravens (Carbofuran) [listed as ‘Nr Leadhills’]

2009 March: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2009 March: poisoned raven (Carbofuran)

2009 April: poisoned rabbit bait (Carbofuran)

2009 April: poisoned magpie (Carbofuran)

2009 April: poisoned raven (Carbofuran)

2010 October: short-eared owl shot

2011 March: illegally-set clam trap

2011 December: buzzard shot

Two dead buzzards found in suspicious circumstances in North Wales

Police in North Wales are investigating the discovery of two dead buzzards found at a nature reserve at Oakenholt, on the Dee Estuary near Flint Marsh.

The birds were found by a member of the public on Friday (5th April) and police suspect foul play, saying “It is highly likely they have been shot or poisoned“. The birds have been taken for post mortems and toxicology tests.

Well done to Sgt Rob Taylor, Wildlife Crime Officer for North Wales Police, who is warning the public not to touch dead birds and to keep their dogs away from carcasses in case poison has been used. Great to see a press release appear so quickly after the discovery of the birds.

Full details available here

Another shot buzzard found dead: central Scotland this time

Another shot buzzard has been found dead, this time near Thornhill, Stirlingshire.

The bird was found on the road (A873) near Loch Ruskie on 2 February. A later examination revealed it had been shot.

Central Scotland Police have put out an appeal for information – see here, although this doesn’t seem to have been picked up by the press as the appeal is dated 14 Feb 2013.

We believe this is the same buzzard that was reported to us by a blog reader on 2nd Feb. The person who found the bird had noticed that its injuries looked to be consistent with being shot, and they took it home, put it in the freezer and wrote to us about it. We passed on the info to the relevant authorities and it’s pleasing to see it was followed up. Well done to all those involved and particularly to the person who found the bird and had the sense to collect it and report it.

So, in the space of 48 hours we’ve blogged about two police appeals for information about two illegally-killed buzzards. Neither of these birds will appear on the 2013 poisoning maps – giving a pretty clear example of how unrepresentative those maps are in terms of reflecting the extent of illegal raptor persecution incidents.

Welcome to the Year of Natural Scotland.

Again, Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, we ask you when you’re going to take the action you promised you’d take if persecution incidents continued? How about now?