Tag: buzzard

Scotland’s shame: 2010 poisoning figures published

Today the Scottish government has published its latest report on animal poisoning in Scotland. The figures relate to recorded incidents in 2010 and demonstrate a sharp rise in the number of wildlife poisonings, including the widespread illegal poisoning of raptors. The report shows that 69% of all ‘abuse’ cases involved the poisoning of birds of prey, covering a wide area including Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Lothian, Strathclyde and Tayside. The illegal pesticide Carbofuran was detected in half of these incidents. The raptors that tested positive for poisons included 40 buzzards, 4 golden eagles, 1 sea eagle, 1 kestrel, 5 barn owls, 2 tawny owls, 2 peregrines, 21 red kites and 11 sparrowhawks.

Unsurprisingly, some are trying to play down the appalling statistics. The Scottish Land and Estates Chairman, Luke Borwick, is reported to have said that the organisation is working hard to reduce such incidents “…and there is evidence these joint efforts are beginning to pay off“. He was referring to what he called a “significant decrease” (in illegal raptor poisonings) in the first half of 2011. The Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson also made the same comment. Unfortunately, we are not able to make the assessment for ourselves because the published government figures for 2011 only cover the period January to March 2011. However, the figures for this three-month period tell a very different story to the one that Luke and Stewart are pushing: they include 3 buzzards, 1 golden eagle, 1 red kite and 2 peregrines all illegally poisoned in the first three months of 2011 (see here for earlier report). Hmmm.

There are other reactions from various bodies, including the RSPB, the Police and the Scottish Environment Minister – these can be read on the BBC website here and the Scottish government website here.

To read the depressing SASA government report with all the gory details, click here.

SGA call for buzzard, badger and raven culls (again)

The following article was published in the 10 August 2011 edition of Country Life:

The Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association (SGA) is renewing calls for licences to control buzzards. In a survey of some 950 gamekeepers across Britain, 76% said buzzards had a detrimental effect on game birds and 63% said they had a negative effect on wildlife. Sparrowhawks and goshawks were considered a similar nuisance, but marsh harriers, merlins, barn owls and ospreys were viewed more benignly, and the majority of keepers said kestrels and red kites had little or no adverse effect. More than 70% said badgers are a serious problem and the figure for pine martens was even higher on those estates that have them. Charles Nodder, political advisor of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation, commented: “The idea that keepered land is a raptor desert is nonsense. But keepers understand the countryside and there is a clear indication that certain species are prevalent and having a deleterious effect on wildlife”.

The SGA came close to getting buzzard-control licensing in 2009, but incidents of raptor poisoning – including that of a golden eagle – weakened the case. SGA chairman Alex Hogg says: “We’ve lost the plot when it comes to the control of buzzards, badgers and ravens. Their populations need to be properly assessed each year and, if necessary, action should be taken to redress the balance. There’s no doubt buzzards have changed their predatory habits in the past 30 years. ‘Rogue’ buzzards have learned to predate chicks – and not just game birds: I saw one take three lapwing chicks. We don’t want to shoot every buzzard in Britain, we just want to control the rogue ones, but birds of prey are ‘sexy’ birds and nobody wants to take the first step to control them”.

The encouraging aspect of the survey was the spread and volume of wildlife; 83% of shoots reported the presence of lapwings, 75% had skylarks and 79% cuckoos. The geographic area covered – 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres) – is significant, too: five times that of the area of designated nature reserves, more than 13 times that of the RSPB reserves and nearly 60% of national parks.

The ‘survey’ referred to in the article was the ‘survey’ we discussed here on 21 July 2011. Since then, the report has been made public. You can read it, along with an interesting and entertaining discussion about its credibility, here.

Welcome to the inglorious twelfth!

Today is the inglorious 12th, the start of the four-month grouse shooting season in the uplands of northern England and Scotland. Today, and for many days to come, ridiculously rich people will dress up in clownish outfits and head for the moors in the hope of shooting dead some birds. Many will pay an estimated average of £15,000 for the experience. I wonder how many of them will enjoy the sight of a hunting hen harrier or a golden eagle quartering across the moor? Very few, infact probably none of them because scientific evidence shows that hen harriers and golden eagles have been exterminated on most grouse moors in the UK, with just a few notable exceptions. Has anyone been convicted? One person was once convicted for killing a hen harrier, and that’s it. Nobody has ever been convicted for killing a golden eagle (someone was once taken to court a few years back but the case was dropped). Even though several dead eagles and the UK’s biggest stash of the poison they died from were all found on a sporting estate last year, still nobody has ever been convicted.

Four years ago today, this golden eagle (pictured) was found dead in Peebleshire. She was one half of the last breeding pair of golden eagles in the Borders. She had been poisoned by the banned pesticide Carbofuran and was found dead under her nest tree. Her death caused outrage and triggered the thematic inspection into the prevention, investigation and prosecution of wildlife crime in Scotland (read the resulting 2008 ‘Natural Justice’ report here). This report highlighted the problems that stand in the way of effective wildlife crime law enforcement in Scotland. Four years later, many of the same problems still exist. Nobody has been charged with the illegal killing of that female golden eagle in Peebleshire and according to a report by the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme, the case is now closed.

Since the year she was killed (2007), how many other protected raptors have suffered the same fate? The following have all been confirmed poisoned in Scotland over the last four years – the vast majority of them were found dead on grouse moors:

8 golden eagles, 3 sea eagles, 63 buzzards, 25 red kites and 8 peregrines.

These numbers do not account for birds that were trapped, shot, or had their heads smashed in with a shinty stick while their broken legs were pinned in an illegal spring trap. Nor do they account for the ‘missing’ birds – including over 2,000 hen harriers.

Today, the grouse-shooting industry will have filled the media with stories about how ‘great’ grouse moors are for conservation, how ‘great’ grouse shooting is for the economy, how ‘great’ grouse-shooting is for biodiversity. Fortunately, the general public are becoming wise to the propaganda.

Badger cull model proposed for pine martens, otters, oh and buzzards

Thanks to the contributor who sent in the August edition of ‘Modern Gamekeeping’, a monthly rag that claims to be ‘Britain’s only independent gamekeeping industry publication’, although it boasts ‘to be in partnership with The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), so the notion of being an independent publication is somewhat perplexing.

The first article in this month’s rag is entitled: “Rise of the Mesopredator”. The sub-heading reads: “Editor Peter Carr welcomes the expected badger cull which, if it proves successful, may be a useful model to adopt for future predator licensing applications”.

It’s a longish article and because I’ve got to type it out I’m going to ignore the first half  which basically is a scare-mongering exercise on the badger ‘problem’, and I’ll just regurgitate the second half:

“Perhaps government will learn from this experience [a “too large” badger population] and look at other burgeoning predator populations in our countryside that are an increasing threat to our game birds, fisheries and other wildlife interests. If the proposed area-specific badger culling programme is successful, this model could be used in relation to the control of other mesopredators threatening countryside interests.

The problem predator situation in our Isles has been made much worse by misguided conservationists who have released and translocated certain mesopredators once thought to be threatened. Translocated pine martins [sic], for instance, have since spread across much of the country, destroying many of Scotland’s remaining capercaillie populations. One report conducted at Abernethy recorded that predators had destroyed 65 per cent of known capercaillie nests on the estate, and that a whopping great 57 per cent of these were known to be predated by pine martens.

Is it right to promote a predatory species that has found its natural balance to the detriment of an already struggling species such as the caper? I think not. Surely in areas of serious concern common sense has to be realised, and limited licensing of control put in place to prevent further loss of this iconic species.

The rapidly increasing otter population presents a similar story. In many areas, otters have turned to raiding commercial fisheries after decimating wild fish stocks.

Celebrity angler John Wilson MBE recently caused a major stir in the press when he once more called for immediate action against marauding otters and cormorants that have caused a catastrophic loss of fish in many parts of the country. Specimen carp fisheries that generate a significant amount of money and other wild coarse fisheries have crashed in recent years due to predation by both otters and cormorants. Serious concerns from salmon fisheries have also been expressed, especially in vulnerable spawning redds.

John Wilson has compiled a dossier over many months recording how his local waters and associated businesses have been affected by both otters and cormorants. He has called for other anglers around the country to help him compile further evidence and said: “why is it within the law for a farmer to shoot someone’s dog that is worrying his sheep, yet fish farmers, fishery owners and angling clubs etc are not freely allowed to cull predators such as cormorants and otters decimating their stocks of fish, it all beggars belief”.

The ‘Go Fishing’ star also recently appeared on prime time BBC news slamming predating otters that have been reintroduced all over the country by conservationists. “The otter is a wanton killer; it grabs a carp, eats a pound or two of flesh around the throat region and then leaves it. One in 20 people in Britain go fishing, paying 35 million pounds to the Government to look after our fisheries. I don’t think it is special pleading at all”, said the Norfolk-based TV angling legend. He certainly does have a point that should be seriously considered.

Let us hope that Government continues to see sense, and puts the regulation of wildlife concerns that affect our countryside’s economy and biodiversity into the hands of those that are in the know. Whether it’s badgers, otters, pine martens or buzzards, none of us want to eradicate these species, but it really is a question of balance that should be shared by all stake holders, and interested parties. Control practices should be implemented by professionals, and a high percentage of these, if ever licenses are put in place, will be by gamekeepers, river keepers and water ghillies. Let’s hope it is not too far in the future”.

No surprises there then – the usual anti-predator rhetoric that just happens to have thrown buzzards into the mix in what looks like a ‘jumping on the band wagon’ after-thought. Unfortunately this great rag is not available to read on-line, although you can subscribe (see here). It’s published by Blaze Publishing Ltd, with James Marchington listed as ‘Editorial Director’. The author of this particular article, Peter Carr, may be the same Peter Carr listed as ‘ex-gamekeeper, professional stalker, big game hunter and editor of Sporting Rifle magazine’ on the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation’s website.

SNH agrees to collaborate with GWCT – should we be concerned?

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the government’s statutory advisory body on nature conservation, has recently pledged its intent to work closely with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT – formerly known as The Game Conservancy). Here is their published joint statement of intent – unfortunately a rather turgidly written set of objectives – that includes reference to predators such as buzzards and ravens.

It’s an interesting alliance and one which will no doubt be a cause of concern for some.

The GWCT  defines itself as an “independent charity”. Some commentators suggest that the GWCT is not independent of the shooting industry; a claim based on the interests of its good directors and officers (see here).

The GWCT accepts sponsorship from Artemis Investment Management Ltd (see here). All perfectly lawful of course but open to scrutiny nevertheless.

The GWCT’s Scottish Committee Chairman was questioned over the mysterious disappearance of a dead white-tailed eagle, reported to have been discovered on his estate but then it apparently vanished in to thin air when the police arrived the following day (see here). He denied any involvement.

The GWCT is reported to be involved with controversial ‘research’ commissioned by Songbird Survival. This ‘research’ is aimed at killing corvids and it has been suggested that in future it could extend to killing raptors (see here).

The GWCT was at the forefront of criticism into the SNH-funded Hen Harrier Conservation Framework Report. Basically, the GWCT did not accept the peer-reviewed scientific findings that hen harriers are being systematically slaughtered on UK grouse moors. Instead they wanted to deflect attention on to golden eagle/hen harrier interactions (a bit difficult seeing as golden eagles are also absent breeders on most grouse moors) and on to predation of harriers by foxes (foxes are just as unwelcome on grouse moors as hen harriers so the impact must be minimal, and certainly not enough to cause two-thirds of the harrier population to ‘disappear’).

So, a joint partnership a cause for concern? You decide.

GWCT website here. SNH website here.

Poison hunt called off and incidents ‘missing’ from official SASA figures

In April, we reported on a series of suspected poisoning incidents at Fullerton Woods, Troon, Ayrshire. Poisoned rabbit baits were reported to have been found in February and March 2011 and were believed to be implicated in the deaths of a fox, two dogs and possibly two buzzards (story here).

In an article published in the Troon Times on 31 May 2011, wildlife police were reported to be “no longer hunting poachers after dead animal bodies were found in Troon Woods“. The on-line article does not provide any more information about this decision.

Interesting then that in the SASA animal poisoning report released earlier this week, the dead animals from Fullarton Woods were not included in the list of suspected poisoning incidents in Scotland between January and March 2011. Does this mean the dead animals were not submitted for poison analysis? Or does this mean that they were submitted somewhere other than SASA? Or has SASA deliberately excluded them from their interim report?

There’s another missing incident in the SASA report. Remember the allegedly poisoned buzzard discovered on Mountquhanie Estate, Fife, in January 2011? The news report at the time stated that the dead bird had been sent for post-mortem to establish the cause of death. Where is this bird in the SASA report? Was it sent to SASA for post-mortem, or somewhere else? If it was sent somewhere else then surely the SASA figures cannot be used by the government as the official reporting mechanism for poisoning incidents, because they are excluding a number of suspected incidents?

Latest SASA figures reveal widespread poisoning incidents in early 2011

The latest figures detailing illegal animal poisoning incidents in the first quarter of 2011 have just been released by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The figures cover the period January to March 2011, and show that criminal raptor poisoning incidents were detected in each of the three months. They include 3 buzzards, 1 golden eagle, 1 red kite and 2 peregrines.  Poisoning incidents were widespread, taking place across Scotland, including in the Borders, Strathclyde, Tayside, Grampian and the Highlands. The illegal poisons used included Carbofuran, Chloralose and Strychnine. So much for the game-shooting industry’s self-regulation. I guess 2011 will not be the year they ‘stamp out’ illegal raptor persecution.

Not for the first time, two of the five recorded incidents were apparently unpublicised in the media: 1 x buzzard poisoned with Carbofuran in the Borders in January 2011, and 1 x red kite poisoned with Chloralose in the Highland region in February 2011.

SASA poisoning figures for period Jan – Mar 2011 available here

Head gamekeeper jailed for cannabis factory on sporting estate but not charged for poisoned buzzard

In April 2010, we reported on the conviction of 26 year old gamekeeper Ben Walker, who was found guilty of 17 offences relating to the killing of protected species with poisonous baits on the Sufton Estate in Herefordshire in late 2009 (report here). During the police investigation into the alleged criminal activities on this sporting estate, it is reported that a poisoned buzzard was found in an outbuilding used by his boss, head gamekeeper Mark Rigby. As usual, it was not possible to ascertain who was responsible for the death of this bird – even though it might appear obvious. There are no reports of either keeper being charged for possession of the poisoned bird. However, a search of an adjacent outbuilding uncovered what has been described as ‘a large cannabis cultivation operation’. It seems it was not so difficult to establish the identity of the guilty party in this instance, because, according to the RSPB, at Worcester Crown Court on 24 November 2010 head gamekeeper Mark Rigby pleaded guilty to four counts of producing and possessing a Class B drug with intent to sell and he was imprisoned for two years.

The conviction of Rigby is reported in the latest issue of Legal Eagle, the RSPB’s investigations newsletter, here.

Suspected poisoning of buzzard found dead in Wester Ross

According to the Ross-shire Journal 20 May 2011, Northern Constabulary are investigating the possible poisoning of a buzzard found dead in May. Discovered by a dog-walker near Dundonnell, Wester Ross on 14 May 2011, the carcass was covered in dead insects. Dead insects on a carcass are often an indication of the presence of a poisonous substance. The buzzard has been sent for toxic analysis.

Thanks to the contributor who sent this in.

Nesting buzzard shot dead in Hertfordshire

Police in Hertfordshire have launched an investigation after a nesting buzzard died after being shot with a shotgun. Full story here