Tag: carbofuran

PAW gets into bed with an estate with a track record of wildlife crime

Oh dear. It looks like those fools who run PAW have made a serious error of judgement (again). The news section on the PAW website contains information about a recent deer training course for Police Wildlife Crime Officers and a Procurator Fiscal, helping them to understand the process from slaughter to table. All well and good….that is until you read where the training course was held…

Balmanno Farm.

For the eagle-eyed amongst you, you will recognise the name ‘Balmanno’ from the Named Estates section of this blog, and also from the blog entry on 5th March 2010. These entries refer to a conviction for wildlife crime of a gamekeeper on the Balmanno Estate.  A poisoned buzzard (killed by Carbofuran), gin traps and an egg collection were found on this estate in 2001-2002, and a gamekeeper was convicted of wildlife crimes at Perth Sheriff Court on 12th November 2003. A quick google search identifies Balmanno Farm as being part of the Balmanno Estate in Perthshire.

Click here for the PAW press release: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/paw-scotland/news/TrainingEvenReport190310

Well done PAW! Your credibility is plummeting to new depths.

spate of recent poisonings kills eagles, kites, buzzards & peregrine

One of the dead white-tailed sea eagles undergoing post mortem

A disgraceful spate of recent poisonings in Ireland has resulted in the death of 2 white-tailed sea eagles, 1 golden eagle, 3 red kites, 3 buzzards and a peregrine.

The sea eagles were poisoned by the illegal pesticide carbofuran. The golden eagle, kites, buzzards and peregrine were killed by alphachloralose, a pesticide still manufactured and legally available in Ireland.

Police investigations are underway.

For the full sorry story: http://www.goldeneagle.ie/news_viewnews.php?x=6&z=132&news_id=11&article=267

Gamekeeper sentenced for wildlife crimes on Redmyre Estate, Abernyte, Perthshire

Further to the blog entry of 3 March 2010……

Gamekeeper Graham Barclay Kerr (53) of Mary Findlay Drive, Dundee, who had earlier pleaded guilty to shooting a buzzard and being in possession of illegal and deadly poisons on the Redmyre Estate, Abernyte, Perthshire on 9 September 2009, has now been sentenced.

His punishment? A pathetic £400 fine for shooting the buzzard with a .243 rifle, and an even more pathetic ‘admonishment’ (which means a telling off) for being in possession of Carbofuran and Alphacloralose. Sentencing him at Perth Sheriff Court on 24 March 2010, Sheriff Robert McCreadie told Kerr, “You may not have appreciated how serious the courts take the illegal destruction of wildlife. I think you will be aware of that now”.

Really? A £400 fine for deliberately shooting a protected species is not what I would call a deterrent for other gamekeepers or their employers. And an admonishment for the possession of illegal and highly toxic poisons is nothing but lamentable. When oh when will the public see the full force of the law being handed down to convicted wildlife criminals? The Scottish judiciary has been given the powers to impose large fines or custodial sentences for convicted wildlife criminals, because that is the punishment that society deems fitting for these crimes. The Scottish government claims to be ‘stamping out’ wildlife crime. Perhaps the government and the judiciary need to get together and make sure they are reading from the same book, let alone the same page, because so far their actions speak louder than their words. This case speaks volumes.

Full story: http://www.perthshireadvertiser.co.uk/perthshire-news/local-news-perthshire/perthshire/2010/03/26/buzzard-killed-my-former-perthshire-gamekeeper-73103-26110898/

Inside case details from Tayside Police: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Wildlife-Habitats/paw-scotland/Resources/Newsletters/Issue2/Inthecourts/GrahamKerr2010

Poisoner on Isle of Lewis given pathetic £50 fine

The poisoned golden eagle found on Lewis in July 2005, killed by Carbofuran

An Isle of Lewis crofter was convicted of possessing Carbofuran at his home on 25 November 2005. At Stornoway Sheriff Court on 26 July 2006, John Mackenzie pleaded guilty to possession of a proscribed pesticide under Section 15(A) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. He was fined just £50.

A staggeringly pathetic fine, hot on the heels of the discovery of a dead golden eagle found on Lewis in July 2005 that had been poisoned with Carbofuran.

Two gamekeepers guilty of poisoning offences on Oxnam Estate, Jedburgh

Two Scottish Borders gamekeepers were convicted of possessing proscribed pesticides at Oxnam Estate, Jedburgh, on 22 June 2005.

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 14 May 2006, Gamekeeper A (name removed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) pleaded guilty to possession of Cymag and Carbofuran, for he which he was respectively fined £100 and admonished.

Gamekeeper B (name removed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974) pleaded guilty to possession of Carbofuran and was fined £100.

These were all offences under Section 15(A) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. A fitting punishment and a strong deterrent? The scales of justice seem a wee bit unbalanced.

Gamekeeper convicted of crimes on Innes House Estate, Moray

Police raided Innes House Estate near Elgin, Moray in November 2006 after dying buzzards and crows were seen in a nearby field. Later laboratory testing confirmed the birds carried traces of Carbofuran.

At Elgin Sheriff Court on 30 April 2007, head gamekeeper Michael Royan was found guilty of possessing proscribed pesticides (Carbofuran, Cymag & Alphachloralose) and he was also convicted of a firearms offence. He was fined £1,000.

According to the 2010 Innes House Estate website, Michael Royan is still employed as Head Gamekeeper.

gamekeeper not guilty of poisoning on Clova Estate, Aberdeenshire

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2007, a 34 year old gamekeeper of Lumsden, Huntley, was accused of killing a peregrine at Clova Estate, Huntley, Aberdeenshire in October/November 2006. He was also accused of having a bottle of poison at his home address and at Tomatin Estate (Invernesshire), and further accused of having an illegal pesticide (Carbofuran) in his possession at his home address and elsewhere.

After long court delays, in early 2009 he was found not guilty of a charge under Section 15(A) of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981.

osprey, golden eagle & buzzards illegally killed in 1993

According to the Hansard Report April 2004 (Hansard is the edited verbatim report of proceedings in UK parliament), the following illegal raptor persecution incidents were recorded in 1993:

Lothian Estate (nr Jedburgh, Scottish Borders) – 1 x osprey shot.

Aberarder Estate (Strathnairn, Inverness-shire) – 1 x golden eagle killed by Carbofuran.

Gledfield Estate (nr Ardgay, Sutherland) – 1 x buzzard killed by Chloralose.

South Balkeith Farm (Tain, Ross-shire) – multiple buzzards killed by Carbofuran.

Glenberg Estate (Speyside) – 1 x buzzard killed by Chloralose.

Ralia Estate (by Newtonmore, Inverness-shire) – 1 x buzzard killed by Chloralose.

Woodall Estate (Airdrie, North Lanarkshire) – 1 x buzzard killed by Chloralose.

Carruth Estate (Strathclyde) – 1 x buzzard killed by Chloralose.

Farleyer Estate (Aberfeldy, Perthshire) – 1 x buzzard killed by Carbofuran.

Loansfold & Blindswell Farms (Perthshire) – 1 x buzzard killed by Chloralose.

This report was published in the days when the government publicised the names of the Estates where illegal raptor persecution incidents had been recorded. Shame they don’t do that anymore – you have to wonder why? The Hansard report documenting these and other persecution incidents, can be read here: http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1994/apr/28/bird-killing

police probe red kite poisoning in Cairngorm National Park

Police are investigating the suspected poisoning of one of the UK’s rarest birds of prey. The red kite, which had been radio tagged by RSPB Scotland, was found near Tomintoul, Moray in May 2007. A post mortem examination found it had died from ingesting the highly toxic and illegal substance Carbofuran. Grampian Police said it strongly suspected that the red kite had eaten bait laced with the chemical and intended to kill birds of prey.

The dead bird, which had originally come from the Black Isle, was found in dense woodland in the Cairngorm National Park in May. It is believed its corpse had been lying dead at the site since April.

Carbofuran had previously been licensed for use as a root crop insecticide in the vegetable growing industry but its use and even it’s possession is now a crime in the UK

Full story. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6755775.stm

poisoned red kite

poisoned buzzard and red kite found, cromdale, strathspey.

Two birds of prey found dead on a shooting estate were killed by poison, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

The RSPB says tests on a rare red kite and a buzzard revealed that they were killed illegally by the pesticide carbofuran.

The red kite had been tagged as a chick and was being tracked.

It was found in remote woodland near Cromdale in Strathspey by RSPB staff. They say no charges will be brought.

Carbofuran is a powerful insecticide which was once used to protect crops and is dangerous to any living creature. It is now totally illegal to use or store carbofuran in the UK .