Tag: golden eagle

2011 poisoning stats ‘out’ in every sense of the word

The Scottish Government has today published the 2011 poisoning map (otherwise known as Scotland’s map of shame).

The newspapers are heralding the figures as a success story, as the numbers show an apparent drop in poisoning incidents (“only [only??!] 16 raptors were killed as a result of being illegally poisoned in Scotland – 12 fewer than in 2010 and the lowest death toll since the first maps were published six years ago“, says The Scotsman). The victims included seven buzzards, four red kites, two peregrines, two sparrowhawks and a golden eagle.

On a superficial level this does look like convincing progress, but let’s scratch the surface and see what’s underneath…

The official Scottish government poisoning map only shows the places where poisoned birds were discovered. Given the remote areas involved and the fact that most of these poisoned birds were found by chance (by passing hillwalkers etc.), the official figures can in no way represent the actual number of raptors that were poisoned (but undetected) during 2011.

The figures behind the map also do not show the areas where poisoned baits (but no dead birds) were discovered during 2011. Nor do they show the other incidents of raptor persecution that were discovered during 2011, including shooting, trapping and nest destruction incidents. According to an article in today’s Guardian, it is claimed that last year’s illegal shooting, trapping and nest destruction incidents “have remained constant with previous years“. We’ll have to wait a good few months for the RSPB Birdcrime Report to see the actual figures. (Incidentally, how come the 2011 poisoning figures, as compiled by SASA, have not yet been released to the public? They’re obviously available as they were used to construct the poisoning map. So far they’ve only published data up to September 2011. Isn’t it in the public interest to release them? Why all the secrecy?).

It seems plausible that some shooting estates are doing their best to distance themselves from any sign of illegal raptor persecution, especially in light of the new law on vicarious liability. A likely example of this behaviour was an incident in the Borders in September 2011. A dog walker discovered a bag full of dead raptors by the side of the busy A68  road (see here for earlier blog on this). The police were alerted and the birds were sent to SASA for toxicology tests. The results showed that the two sparrowhawks and two buzzards had been poisoned with the banned pesticide Carbofuran. Because the dead birds had been dumped away from any shooting estate or farm, without being seen, it was virtually impossible for the police to prosecute anyone (SASA reports that the police have now closed the case due to a lack of positive leads – see here). What is the probablity that other estates up and down the country are poisoning raptors on their land and then removing the evidence as far from their location as possible?  It was pure chance that this bag of poisoned raptors was discovered. How many more are left rotting and undiscovered across the country?

But let’s suppose, just for a minute, that the latest map IS an accurate representation of all raptor poisoning incidents that took place in 2011. Should we then accept that shooting estates are cleaning up their act and they’ve all suddenly decided, after over 100 years of persecution, that raptors are actually ok and shouldn’t be killed? The only way to measure that will be to look at LONG-TERM TRENDS of poisoning incidents as well as LONG-TERM TRENDS of raptor populations. We’ve blogged about this before (see here) but it’s worth repeating some of it to show the bigger picture. The graph (adapted from the RSPB’s excellent report: The Illegal Killing of Birds of Prey in Scotland in 2010, see here) shows the long-term trend of poisoning incidents in Scotland from 1989-2010. Look carefully at the graph and you’ll see peaks and troughs in the numbers recorded. Yes, there certainly have been previous drops in the number of poisoning incidents, but then look what happened in the following years – another increase, and then another drop, then another increase etc. Before the game-shooting lobby starts its self-congratulatory back-slapping, we need to see a continuous decline in the number of recorded incidents, AND we need to see raptor populations recovering in those areas where persecution has been endemic. This will take time, but could arguably be judged in about five years’ time.

Of course we all hope that the 2011 figures are the start of a new era in raptor conservation in Scotland. As Environment Minister Stewart Stevenson has said in today’s media: “I hope this proves to be the beginning of a continuing reduction in such cases, leading to the end of this outdated, dangerous and cruel practice“. It is notable that his statement contains more than a hint of caution. That man’s no fool.

See an excellent article about the latest figures in today’s Guardian here

Article in The Scotsman here

Mountain hare protection begins today

Thanks to the recent Wildilfe and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 [also known as the WANE Act], there is now a closed season which prevents the killing of hares during certain periods in the year. The closed season for mountain hares begins today (March 1) until 31 July. This means that it is now an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take a mountain hare in the closed season. The closed season for brown hares is Feb 1 – Sept 30.

It’s important that this new legislation is effectively enforced. Hares are an essential part of the golden eagle’s diet, especially in the summer months, and there have long been concerns that the widespread killing of mountain hares on grouse moors (estimated at 25,000 per year) is having a detrimental impact on golden eagle breeding productivity in certain parts of the country (see the SNH Conservation Framework for Golden Eagles here).

During the closed season, ALL killing of mountain hares is now unlawful, unless a specific SNH licence has been granted to permit killing within this period. Licences can only be granted for specific purposes which include preventing spread of disease and preventing serious damage. However, SNH guidance states that a licence will only be granted in exceptional circumstances (see here).

This is important for the general public to understand. If anyone sees any evidence of mountain hares being killed between now and 31 July, it will most likely be unlawful (although not ‘certainly’ unlawful) and should therefore be reported straight away so that the authorities can check with SNH whether a licence has been issued.

There are also restrictions on the methods used to kill mountain hares – and these restrictions apply throughout the year (even during the open season when killing mountain hares is permitted). In general terms, it is an offence to trap mountain hares in snares (although again, there are exceptions and a special licence is available in some circumstances). Whether the snare has been set to target the mountain hare specifically, or for some other animal (e.g. a fox) is irrelevant. It could be considered ‘reckless’ under the legislation if a snare has been set in an area known to be frequented by mountain hares. The ‘approved’ method of killing mountain hares is to shoot them (but only during the open season, NOT during the closed season, and even then there are further restrictions on the type of shooting permitted).

Anyone out and about on the moors this spring and summer should keep an eye out for any sign of unlawful mountain hare killing. Take photographs, note your location and REPORT IT. We recommend informing the police and especially the SSPCA.

SSPCA TELEPHONE HOTLINE: 03000-999-999

Mountain hare information from the Hare Preservation Trust here

Mountain hare information from The Mammal Society here

Egg-thief Gonshaw gets unprecedented ASBO banning him from Scotland

Following earlier posts about four-times jailed egg thief Matthew Gonshaw (see here and here), his ASBO hearing was finally heard at Stratford Magistrates’ Court, London, on Friday (24 February).

In perhaps one of the most creative choices of punishment, in addition to his earlier six-month prison sentence, Gonshaw was given an ASBO (anti-social behaviour order) that bans him from coming to Scotland during the bird nesting season (1 Feb – 31 Aug) for the next ten years. Ten years is the maximum ASBO term, and if he breaks the conditions, he could receive a £20,000 fine and a five-year jail term. Gonshaw is further prevented from visiting all RSPB and Wildlife Trust land for the next ten years – presumably this means in England and Wales.

Strangely though, Ian Thomson of RSPB Scotland is quoted in The Herald as saying, “Gonshaw is, in fact, due to appear at Inverness Sheriff Court on March 8 facing charges relating to the theft of wild birds’ eggs in Scotland only last year“. It’s not clear how he can appear at Inverness in March if he’s now banned from travelling to Scotland until 1 Sept at the earliest. Ah well, not our problem.

Well done to everyone involved and especially the smart person who thought about trying for an ASBO and the magistrate who agreed to its use.

Article in The Herald here

Scottish willdife management: have your say

Here’s your chance to have your say on how Scotland’s wildlife is managed. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has commissioned an on-line survey to find out what people think.

SNH says the questionnaire is primarily aimed at individuals and organisations with a direct interest or involvement in wildlife management activities, such as gamekeepers, stalkers, farmers and recreational shooters. An SNH spokesman is reported to have told the BBC: “It is important that we provide a service that best meets the needs of our customers“. We would argue that SNH  ‘customers’ include every member of the public whose taxes go towards SNH running costs and who have an interest in how Scotland’s wildlife is managed. If SNH restricts the survey to the game-shooting lobby then the results will be all-too predictable – “There are too many raptors and we want licences to kill them”.

So, if you want to tell SNH how badly you think they’re performing in their statutory duty to protect some of Scotland’s iconic raptors on Scottish grouse moors (see recent publications on the conservation status of golden eagles and hen harriers, for example), but to congratulate them on their support of other species such as the white-tailed eagle reintroduction, then this is your chance. You might also want to comment about the annual slaughter (sorry, ‘management’) of an estimated 25,000 mountain hares on Scottish shooting estates for no good conservation reason (see here for background info), or the continued wholesale slaughter of so-called ‘vermin’ (basically any predator) on shooting estates, all in the name of gamebird shooting.

The questionnaire will be available from 5-19 March 2012 and we will provide a link to it when the survey goes live.

BBC News story here

Egg-collector Matthew Gonshaw’s ASBO hearing delayed

Four-times jailed egg thief Matthew Gonshaw was due to find out last Friday (17 February) whether he was to be the subject of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) following his latest conviction for egg-collecting (see here for background). If granted, the ASBO could see him facing a £20,000 fine and five years in prison for further offences.

The case was adjourned and is now due to be heard this Friday (24 February).

Sat-tagged golden eagle ‘disappears’

Regular blog followers will remember the golden eagle that was found poisoned on Glenbuchat Estate last March (see here). What wasn’t reported at the time was that this young eagle was one of a pair of twins from 2010 being satellite-tracked by the RSPB (unfortunately, the movement maps of these two birds were not made public). The poisoned eagle found on Glenbuchat Estate never reached her first birthday. Now it seems her twin has ‘disappeared’.

Her last signal was received in the evening of November 22nd 2011 in the Monadhliaths (well-known as a  raptor black-spot). Her next signal was scheduled for noon the next day. It never arrived and no further signals have been received. Up until that time, the signals had all been received without any hint of a technical problem. The location of her last signal has been checked but there wasn’t any sign of her.

Suspicious, or yet another technical malfunction? Draw your own conclusions.

Thank you to the contributor who sent this information.

Eight red kites found poisoned in Ireland since November

We have been asked by the Golden Eagle Trust (Ireland) to publish the following press release:

“The Irish Red Kite Reintroduction Project is part of an all-Ireland effort to restore red kites. These attractive birds were extinct in Ireland for about 200 years. The Golden Eagle Trust, National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Welsh Kite Trust have collected (from Wales) and released 120 red kites in Co. Wicklow between 2007 and 2011 and 39 red kites in Co. Dublin in 2011. The RSPB released 80 red kites in Co. Down between 2008 and 2010. There are now 10-15 pairs of red kites breeding in Co. Wicklow and 5-6 pairs breeding in Co. Down.

Following the successful release of red kites during the summer in Dublin and Wicklow, it is with disappointment that we report further recent kite deaths in Fingal. Since the release in July, this year, a total of eight (8) kites have now been recovered dead in Fingal since November.

The deaths include the satellite tagged kite known as ‘@’ which has flown as far as Co. Mayo on its travels and within a few weeks of returning to Fingal was found dead near Lusk.

Ms Phil Moore, from the Fingal LEADER Partnership expressed sadness saying ‘We just can’t believe ‘our baby’ is dead. We have all been following the satellite tagged kite since her release and have pictures all over the office of her journey; it is upsetting to know she is now dead’. 

There were 39 red kites, collected for Fingal under licence fromWales with project partners, the Welsh Kite Trust. The Fingal Red Kite release programme is part of the final and fifth year of an ambitious project to re-establish red kites in Ireland. The deaths represent just over 20% of the red kites released in the Fingal area.

The Golden Eagle Trust is managing the project, which is funded by Fingal LEADER Partnership through the Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013 and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Fingal County Council, at Newbridge Demesne, and a private landowner hosted and facilitated the two separate release cages.

The project is widely supported throughout local communities, a suite of volunteers and landowners. There were over 100 people involved in cage building, collections, feeding and subsequent monitoring of the released kites.

Each kite is fitted with a radio tag which has allowed the project team to follow the kites’ movements since release. Whilst these tags allow us to track their daily movements they have also led us to find the dead birds.

Dr Marc Ruddock, Red Kite Project Manager, said ‘There is nothing more heart-breaking than having to pick up the carcass of bird and putting it in a bag for post-mortem after having followed its development from a small, downy chick collected in Wales and then watching it flying free in Fingal’.

Earlier this year, a post-mortem protocol was agreed between NPWS, Department of Agriculture and the State Laboratory. Each of the red kite carcasses has been sent for testing at Backweston Campus, to establish the cause of death. This process and the rigorous work undertaken is fundamental to the growing understanding of environmental issues and the threats posed to kites and other wildlife. 

It has now been confirmed that at least four of the kites contained the second-generation rodenticide, brodifacoum. This is an anti-coagulant rat poison usually recommended for indoor use only, which causes internal bleeding. It is widely recognised that rodenticides can kill non-target species.

Dietary analysis of the red kites, both in Wicklow and Dublin has shown that they are clearly hunting and scavenging rats, providing a natural control on rodent populations. The red kite is a specialist scavenger and is therefore likely to be at high risk of secondary poisoning if feeding on rats which are dead or dying from rodenticides.

We recognise the requirement for rat and mice control in terms of human health and food safety. But we urge amateur and professional users alike to ensure that rodent control programs are carefully planned and follow a defined treatment period to be effective.

The over-use of some chemicals could lead to resistance and accumulation in the environment. Those in the countryside should ensure best practice use of these chemicals to allow for more effective rodent control in the long-term and minimise the secondary poisoning risk to non-target wildlife. This includes other rodent-eating native raptors and owls such as kestrels, buzzards, barn owls, long-eared owls and red kites.

Best practice rodent eradication strategies record information such as the quantity and location of all baits and require baits to be regularly inspected and not left exposed to non-target animals and birds. Furthermore, dead rodents should be collected and disposed of safely and baits should be removed at the end of the treatment. Urban and rural rodenticide users are urged to be mindful of the potential environmental effects of the use of chemicals.

The farming and shooting communities in Fingal are very supportive of the project and are anxious to continue to control rats and mice effectively and minimise unintentional consequences for natural rat predators”. -END-

The substance used to kill the other four kites that have been discovered since November has yet to be confirmed – toxicology tests are on-going. It’s possible they were also unintentionally killed by secondary rat poison, but it’s equally possible that they have been deliberately (and illegally) killed by other poisons. For example, at the beginning of November 2011, it was reported that a red kite and a buzzard had been illegally poisoned in County Wicklow by alphachloralose (see here). In addition, a map produced by the Golden Eagle Trust in 2010 (see figure) shows the extent of illegal poisoning across Ireland (the map does not include instances of unintentional secondary rat poisoning). Species affected include red kites, golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, buzzards and peregrines, killed with alphachloralose or carbofuran.

Golden Eagle Trust website here

Prolific egg thief jailed for fourth time

One of the UK’s most prolific wild bird egg thieves has today been sent back to jail for what is reportedly his fourth jail term for similar offences.

This time, Matthew Gonshaw (49) from London, was caught with almost 700 wild bird eggs and egg-collecting paraphenalia at his house, including eggs from Scottish golden eagles and ospreys, as well as peregrines and red kites.

At Thames Magistrates Court, Gonshaw admitted ten offences under the Wildlife & Countryside Act, including two counts of taking golden eagle eggs from sites on the Isle of Lewis in April 2010. He was sentenced to six months in prison.

Gonshaw will re-appear in court in February to find out if he will be subject to an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO), which would see him face a £20,000 fine and five years in jail if he commits more crimes.

Well done to the RSPB, Metropolitan Police and the CPS for a successful conviction.

BBC News article here

STV article here

Good photographs in Daily Mail article here

Millden Estate no longer for sale

An article in today’s Telegraph reports that Millden Estate, where golden eagle ‘Alma’ was found poisoned in 2009, is no longer up for sale. The estate, owned by investment banker Richard Hanson, was reportedly put on the market earlier this year (see here and here). According to the Telegraph, Hanson has now changed his mind after more than 5,000 brace of grouse (10,000 birds) were shot there this season.

Police raided Millden Estate in 2009 after two-year old golden eagle ‘Alma’ was found poisoned on the moor. Nobody has ever been charged with killing her (see here).

According to the Telegraph, Millden Estate and the neighbouring properties ‘vehemently deny being involved in illegal persecution’. It’s interesting then, that a grouse moor that operates (we’re told) without illegally killing raptors, can produce a surplus of over 10,000 grouse to shoot. Surely that suggests that raptors are not having a ‘significant impact’ on gamebirds and therefore licences to kill raptors on grouse moors are not neccesary?

Telegraph article here

Lessons in eagle ecology part 2

Hot off the press from the team who brought you Eagles Could Eat Children (see here), this month’s lesson is all about Why Eagles Don’t Nest on Grouse Moors.

Contrary to the endless scientific papers that show unequivocally that eagles (and lots of other raptor species) are absent from many upland grouse moor areas in the UK due to high levels of persecution, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association has today informed us of the real reason they’re absent:

“Many grouse moors do not have the isolated nesting habitat which is required by eagles so it should come as no surprise they don’t nest there“.

Strange then, that there are ‘many’ (see quote below) unoccupied eagle nesting territories in Scotland where eagles are known to have bred historically, and that these old nest sites just happen to be on land that is managed for red grouse shooting! Here’s a quote from the Golden Eagle Conservation Framework Report that was published by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2008 (available here) –

“The most serious failures to meet favourable conservation status tests were in Natural Heritage Zones in the central and eastern Highlands where less than half of all known territories were occupied. Based on the production of young golden eagles, the populations in these regions should be expanding markedly, but instead they continue to decline (there was a loss of 15 occupied territories between 1992 and 2003, and 86 vacant territories by 2003). This indicates, in the absence of any evidence for emigration, that survival of subadult and/or adult birds is low“.

It’s also strange that before the sentence about ‘many grouse moors do not have the isolated nesting habitat required by eagles’, the SGA tells us this: “A large portion of all eagles fledging takes place on grouse moors across Scotland“. Eh? How can that be, if the habitat ‘isn’t there’?

The SGA article continues with some name-calling (and this from the group who have recently complained to the Scottish Government about how they were being portrayed!) and then some partly-accurate but mostly inaccurate information about siblicide amongst eaglets, before getting in another dig at the Irish Golden Eagle Reintroduction Project (yawn). This all builds up to a grand finale where we’re told:

“If you were to read all the media reports you could be forgiven for thinking that raptors only breed safely on reserves. The truth is there are possibly 500’000 raptors in the UK and 350’000 of them will be breeding successfully on land used for game sport shooting of some kind. This fact is completely ignored by those attempting to take the moral high ground“.

Hmm, I’d be really interested to see the data that this “fact” is based upon. Especially in light of the recently published scientific paper (see here) that shows, again unequivocally, that peregrines nesting on grouse moors in northern England are 50% less successful than peregrines that breed on non-grouse moor habitat.

Interestingly, the SGA article makes no comment about the poisoned buzzard and poisoned bait that was found on Glenlochy Estate and was reported in the media two days ago (see here). The SGA wouldn’t be trying to deflect attention from yet another disgusting and illegal poisoning incident, would they?

SGA article here