peregrine – Page 4 – Raptor Persecution UK

Fraud charge dropped? The weird case of WPC Suzanne Hall, wife & mother of convicted peregrine launderers.

A fraud charge appears to have been dropped against serving police officer Suzanne Hall, the wife and mother of convicted peregrine launderers Timothy and Lewis Hall.

A quick recap.

WPC Hall, 46, initially faced multiple charges in 2022 in relation to the illegal laundering of Scottish peregrines that were stolen from nest sites across the south of Scotland and then sold on for profit to falconers in the Middle East.

The charges were the result of a joint Police Scotland /SSPCA raid at Hall’s property at Lamberton Holdings, Berwickshire, in May 2021 and a subsequent lengthy investigation codenamed Operation Tantallon.

Hall’s husband, Timothy Hall, and son Lewis both pleaded guilty (and received staggeringly inadequate sentences) but WPC Suzanne Hall’s not guilty pleas were accepted by the court in 2023. It was reported that the Crown Office deserted a fraud charge against WPC Hall but reserved the right to re-raise the case at a future date (see here).

*Young peregrines at a nest site in Scotland. Photo (taken under licence) by Ruth Tingay*

News then emerged in the Border Telegraph in July 2024 that WPC Hall was facing a fraud charge relating to almost £10,000 worth of council tax (here). It wasn’t clear whether this was the fraud charge that the Crown Office had previously deserted or another one. Hall denied the allegation and a trial date was set at Jedburgh Sheriff Court for 19 November 2024.

Then in October 2024, after I’d referred in a blog to this forthcoming trial, I started to receive emails from WPC Hall’s convicted husband Timothy Hall, who claimed there were no pending charges against his wife and he accused me of slander, threatening to sue me if I didn’t remove the blog post.

I didn’t bother trying to explain that what I’d written was accurate and fair reporting (based on the information available in the public domain at the time) and nor did I remove the blog post, for the same reason. This seemed to infuriate him and he did his best to write what he probably thought were hard-hitting threats but just sounded like somebody who’d watched too many episodes of Jeremy Kyle:

“My solicitor will be in touch” and “No doubt we will be seeing each other in court, I will be taking this all the way“.

I was curious though, so I contacted the Crown Office for an update on the status of the case against WPC Hall.

COPFS replied by giving me the contact details of Jedburgh Sheriff Court accompanied by a one liner: “They may be able to assist you further with your enquiry“.

So I called Jedburgh Sheriff Court. I was told that the information I sought was covered by the Data Protection Act and I was passed on to the Scottish Courts’ media team.

The response I received was this:

“I have searched our court rolls with the information you have provided and I am unable to locate a case with those details“.

Hmm.

My last attempt at trying to verify the status of the case against WPC Hall was today, when I viewed the online court roll for Jedburgh Sheriff Court which provides details of all the criminal cases being heard over the next five days (given that WPC Hall’s trial was scheduled to begin this coming Tuesday).

There is no listing for a case against WPC Hall.

It seems then, that the fraud charge against WPC Hall has either been moved or has been dropped. It’s impossible to determine the outcome, and impossible to know, if the case has been dropped, the reason behind that decision.

UPDATE 23 November 2024: Suzanne Hall, wife & mother of convicted peregrine launderers ‘no longer a serving police officer’ (here).

Satellite-tagged golden eagle ‘disappears’ in suspicious circumstances on grouse moor in the notorious Angus Glens

Press release from RSPB:

EAGLE VANISHES IN BIRD OF PREY CRIME HOTSPOT

The young Golden Eagle, fitted with a satellite-tag, was being monitored by researchers in Scotland until it suddenly disappeared in the Angus Glens – an area dominated by grouse moors and with a history of raptor persecution.
Scotland’s national bird, Golden Eagles are still heavily – and criminally – persecuted.

The sudden disappearance of a satellite-tagged Golden Eagle has sparked concerns of criminal activity in the Angus Glens.

The young bird, which hatched in Tayside in 2022, was fitted with a satellite tag while in its nest. This work was supported by Forestry and Land Scotland for research purposes.

The tag was transmitting as expected until May 2024 when it suddenly went offline. Its last known location was an area of moorland in the Angus Glens – an area with a long history of illegal bird of prey persecution.

The data from the bird’s tag was swiftly provided to the police for independent scrutiny. Police Scotland, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and RSPB Scotland then conducted a search of the area but found no trace of the bird or its tag.

It is a crime to kill a bird of prey, and anyone caught doing so faces a fine or even jail. Furthermore, legislation introduced in March 2024 means that, if illegal activity takes place on a grouse moor, that grouse moor could lose its license to operate.

Will Hayward, RSPB Scotland Senior Investigations Officer, said: “The sudden cessation of transmissions from this tag strongly suggests human interference, and reflects a pattern of tagged birds ‘disappearing’ almost exclusively on or near grouse moors that has become all too evident in recent years. Had this bird died of natural causes or if the tag had become detached, we would be able to locate and retrieve it. Given the well-proven reliability of this technology, when no body or tag is found, this is highly suspicious. We believe this bird has been killed and the tag destroyed.”

Unfortunately, this young bird is the latest of many to disappear without explanation on or near a grouse moor.

Angus was one of the raptor crime hotspots identified in a Government-commissioned report on the fates of satellite tracked golden eagles in Scotland, published in 2017. Sadly there has been no let-up in confirmed incidents and suspicious disappearances since then. Most recently, an Osprey was found shot in the Glen Doll area on 12 August – the opening day of the grouse shooting season. [Ed: And a Peregrine was found shot in the Angus Glens on 3 September 2024, here]. And earlier this year sat-tagged Hen Harrier ‘Shalimar’ disappeared in circumstances similar to this Golden Eagle.

If you notice a dead or injured bird of prey in suspicious circumstances, call Police Scotland on 101 and fill in the RSPB’s online reporting form here.

If you have information about anyone killing birds of prey which you wish to report anonymously, call the RSPB’s confidential Raptor Crime Hotline on 0300 999 0101.

ENDS

Scottish court orders convicted Peregrine launderer Lewis Hall to pay back thousands under Proceeds of Crime Act

In February this year, part-time gamekeeper Timothy Hall, 48, and his son Lewis Hall, 23, were sentenced after they’d pleaded guilty to the illegal laundering of wild peregrines that had been stolen from nest sites across southern Scotland and were sold on to falconers in the Middle East (see here).

Despite their offences passing the threshold for a custodial sentence, Timothy Hall was only ordered to complete 220 hours of unpaid work and Lewis Hall was only ordered to complete 150 hours. These sentences were considered to be staggeringly inadequate given the extent of the Halls’ offending (see here).

Lewis Hall leaving court in February, before being prosecuted under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Photo screen-grabbed from BBC Reporting Scotland footage.

However, the Crown Office reported at the time that Lewis Hall would also be subject to action under the Proceeds of Crime Act, where profits from criminal activity can be confiscated.

At a court hearing in June, it was revealed that prosecutors were seeking to recover £164,028.80 from Hall (here) and the Sheriff allowed Hall additional time to provide evidence from a forensic accountant to challenge this amount.

Following a hearing at Selkirk Sheriff Court today (10 Oct 2024), Lewis Hall accepted that he benefitted from “general criminal conduct” by £110,000.

The court ordered he repay £27,182 (based on an amount the court deemed was available) and he is likely to have to pay this within six months.

That leaves £82,981 unrecovered. However, the Crown has the power to apply to the court to extend the order to seize money and any assets Hall acquires in the future to pay back the full amount he made from his crimes. I hope the Crown pursues this.

Police Officer Suzanne Hall, who was cleared of involvement in the peregrine laundering crimes, is reportedly facing a separate charge of alleged fraud relating to almost £10,000, to which she has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is due to begin on 19th November 2024 (see here).

Please note – as Suzanne Hall’s case is still active, no blog comments about it will be posted on this blog until proceedings finish. However, as Lewis Hall’s case has now concluded, comments about his case are now accepted. [UPDATE 12 October 2024: I’ve received an unconfirmed report that the case against WPC Suzanne Hall has been dropped. I’m seeking confirmation of this and will report in due course. Comments about her case remain switched off until confirmation is received from the prosecuting authorities].

This is a significant and relatively rare result for a wildlife crime case in the UK. It doesn’t excuse the pathetically inadequate sentences handed down in February to Timothy and Lewis Hall for the serial offending they committed over a long period of time, but it does provide gratification that they haven’t escaped justice entirely. It should also act as a meaningful deterrent to others. I also hope it provides some satisfaction to the investigatory team behind Operation Tantallon who put in several years of painstaking work to get these criminals in to court.

The Crown Office has released the following statement about Lewis Hall’s case:

Man convicted of illegally selling peregrine falcon chicks agrees to repay £27,000

A man convicted of possessing and selling wild peregrine falcon chicks for large sums of money has agreed to pay back more than £27,000 in a Proceeds of Crime confiscation action.

Lewis Hall, 24, was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work over 15 months and banned from possessing or having under his control any bird of prey for five years after being sentenced in February at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

He had earlier pled guilty at Selkirk Sheriff Court to acquiring for commercial purposes, keeping for sale, and selling the chicks between 2020 and 2021.

Hall, of Berwick-Upon-Tweed, has now agreed to repay £27,182 under Proceeds of Crime legislation following a hearing at Selkirk Sheriff Court. The figure is based on an amount which the court deems as being available.

Court records show that Hall accepted he benefited from “general criminal conduct” by £110,000.

The Crown has the power to apply to the court to extend the order to seize money and any assets Hall acquires in the future to pay back the full amount he made from his crimes.

Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Procurator Fiscal for specialist casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “The sale of peregrine falcons has become an extremely lucrative business.

“Lewis Hall took advantage of that for his own financial gain and to the detriment of the wild peregrine falcon population in the South of Scotland.

“However, even after a conviction was secured in this matter, the Crown commenced Proceeds of Crime action to ensure the funds Hall obtained illegally were pursued.

“Prosecution of those involved in financial crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentencing.

“The funds recovered from Lewis Hall will be added to those already gathered from Proceeds of Crime, to be re-invested in the community by Scottish Ministers through the CashBack for Communities programme.”

The court heard how in April 2021 a member of the Lothian and Borders Raptor Study Group alerted police to suspicious failures of peregrine falcon nests in the Berwickshire area which had previously been productive.

Officers later investigated two nesting sites and discovered they had been disturbed and a number of eggs were missing from both locations.

A police search of Lewis Hall’s father’s home in Berwick-Upon-Tweed subsequently found a total of seven peregrine falcon chicks as well as a number of other birds of prey.

Further enquiries concluded that none of the chicks were captive-born and had been taken from the wild.

Under legislation, selling captive-bred peregrine falcons is legal but possessing or selling wild birds is unlawful.

ENDS

Peregrine found shot in notorious grouse moor area in Angus Glens

Appeal for information from Police Scotland (10th October 2024)

APPEAL FOLLOWING DEATH OF PEREGRINE FALCON IN ANGUS

Wildlife officers are appealing for information following the death of a peregrine falcon in the Angus area.

On Tuesday, 3 September, 2024, the injured bird was found in distress by a member of the public in the Glen Esk area near to Tarfside. The SSPCA was called, and the bird taken to the wildlife resource centre in Fishcross for treatment. Due to the severity of the injuries, the bird had to be euthanised on Wednesday, 11 September, 2024.

Following further investigations, it was established that it had been shot and police were contacted.

Constable Craig Savage, Wildlife Crime Officer, said: “Peregrine falcons are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and it is illegal to kill any protected species.

“Since this matter was reported to police, we have been carrying out enquiries and working with our partner agencies to establish the full circumstances.

“We would appeal to anyone with any information that may assist our investigation to please contact us. Your information could be vital in in establishing what has happened. If you were in the Glen Esk area around Tuesday, 3 September and saw anything suspicious or have any information about shooting activity in the area, please come forward.

“Anyone with information is urged to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting reference CR/0368615/24.”

ENDS

RSPB has responded with this:

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations said “The news of this crime comes only a few weeks after an Osprey was shot in an adjacent glen [Ed: see here] but hearing about ongoing raptor persecution incidents in the Angus Glens will come as no surprise to anyone with an interest in the fortunes of Scotland’s birds of prey.

There has been a catalogue of cases of poisoning, shooting and illegal trap use in this area dating back decades. As with many previous cases, there will be very few people in the local area who have the motivation, access, requisite firearms and opportunity to shoot and fatally injure one of our most iconic bird of prey species.

We trust that if this latest crime is found to be linked to local grouse moor management, that NatureScot utilise the powers give to them by the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill to impose the most robust sanctions possible.”

ENDS

I’ll comment on this case shortly, in relation to Scotland’s new grouse moor licensing scheme.

Police officer cleared in peregrine laundering case faces separate fraud charge

Thanks to the blog reader who alerted me to the following notice in Border Telegraph, dated 31 July 2024:

FRAUD CHARGE

A police officer will face trial at Jedburgh Sheriff Court accused of a fraud involving almost £10,000.

Forty-six year-old Suzanne Hall is charged with pretending she had just moved into her home at Lamberton Holdings in Berwickshire with her family in December 2020 after previously staying in a house in Chirnside.

But the charge alleges the Lamberton house had been her sole or main residence since August 2015 and she was due Scottish Borders Council £9,613 in back-dated council tax.

Hall pleaded not guilty to the charge and a trial date was fixed for November 19th 2024.

This looks to be the same WPC Suzanne Hall from Lamberton Holdings who was previously charged, along with her husband Timothy and son Lewis, with offences linked to the alleged laundering of wild peregrines that were later sold for profit to falconers in the Middle East. Her husband and son pleaded guilty but Suzanne Hall’s not guilty plea to five charges was accepted by the Crown in December 2023, although it was reported at the time that, “a fraud charge was deserted with the Crown reserving the right to re-raise the case at a future date” (see here).

Juvenile peregrines. Photo by Ruth Tingay

It’s not clear whether the latest fraud charge alleged against Suzanne Hall relates to the previously deserted charge or whether this is a different one.

NB: As this case is live, comments are turned off until proceedings have concluded.

Convicted peregrine launderer Lewis Hall, 23, is due to appear at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on 4th September 2024 in relation to action being taken by the Crown to recover £164,028.80 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (see here).

UPDATE 12 October 2024: I’ve received an unconfirmed report that the case against WPC Suzanne Hall has been dropped. I’m seeking confirmation of this and will report in due course.

UPDATE 17 November 2024: Fraud charge dropped? The weird case of WPC Suzanne Hall, wife & mother of convicted peregrine launderers (here)

South Scotland golden eagles & peregrines feature on BBC’s Countryfile and Landward programmes

Two mainstream BBC TV programmes, Landward and Countryfile, last week included features on raptor conservation projects in south Scotland – both worth watching on BBC iPlayer if you missed them.

Landward featured the brilliant George Smith, a volunteer from the Scottish Raptor Study Group, who has been monitoring peregrines across south Scotland for almost 40 years. He’s filmed visiting peregrine nest sites to ring chicks (under licence) and to collect DNA samples (also under licence).

It was a direct result of George’s dedicated and meticulous research that led to the recent conviction of part-time gamekeeper Timothy Hall and his son, Lewis Hall, for the illegal laundering of wild peregrines that were stolen from nests in south Scotland and then sold on to falconers in the Middle East, allegedly for enormous profit according to the Crown.

Worryingly, some more peregrine nests that George is monitoring this year have failed in suspicious circumstances and Police Scotland are currently investigating.

This episode of Landward is available on BBC iPlayer here (peregrine segment starts at 7 min 48 sec) and is available for the next 11 months.

Countryfile had two features of interest to readers of this blog. First was an overview of the conservation restoration work going on at the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, the former Langholm grouse moor that was bought out from Buccleuch Estates by the Langholm community in 2022. Tarras Valley NR Estate Manager Jenny Barlow provides a commentary on the significance of the reserve and describes some of the projects underway.

Then Dr Cat Barlow from the South Scotland Golden Eagle Project took a presenter out into the hills in search of one of the satellite-tagged golden eagles that had previously been translocated to south Scotland to boost the formerly tiny remnant population. Cat discusses the project’s successes as well as the ongoing threat of illegal persecution, highlighted by what Police believe was the illegal shooting and killing of golden eagle ‘Merrick‘ last October, very close to the boundary of the Raeshaw Estate in south Scotland. Unfortunately Cat didn’t discuss the suspicious disappearances of a number of the translocated sub-adult eagles from the Western Isles that are rumoured to have ‘vanished’ when they dispersed north from southern Scotland. The piece also includes some of the important educational work the project is undertaking with local school children in south Scotland in an attempt to improve the future protection of eagles in this region.

This episode of Countryfile is available on BBC iPlayer here (Tarras Valley segment starts at 39 min 10 sec and South Scotland Golden Eagle Project segment starts at 46 min 30 sec). This episode is only available for another 26 days.

Prosecutors seeking to recover £164,000 from Scottish peregrine launderer Lewis Hall

In February this year, part-time gamekeeper Timothy Hall, 48, and his son Lewis Hall, 23, were sentenced after they’d pleaded guilty to the illegal laundering of wild peregrines that had been stolen from sites across southern Scotland and were sold on to falconers in the Middle East (see here).

Not guilty pleas were accepted by the court in December 2023 from wife and mother Suzanne Hall, a serving officer with Police Scotland, but she had a reserved fraud charge against her and was at the time reportedly suspended from Police Scotland on full pay (see here). I don’t know whether that situation has changed.

Despite their offences passing the threshold for a custodial sentence, Timothy Hall was ordered to complete 220 hours of unpaid work and Lewis Hall was ordered to complete 150 hours. These sentences were considered to be staggeringly inadequate given the extent of the Halls’ offending (see here).

However, the Crown Office reported that Lewis Hall would also be subject to action under the Proceeds of Crime Act, where profits from criminal activity can be confiscated.

Last week a hearing took place at Jedburgh Sheriff Court where it was revealed the Crown is seeking to recover £164,028.80 from Lewis Hall.

Hall’s defence lawyer, Liam Alexander, requested a further hearing to allow his client to pass on documentation to a forensic accountant to support Hall’s defence.

Sheriff Peter Anderson allowed the continuation but said as there had already been several of these, he set a proof hearing date of 4th September 2024, where all the available evidence will be heard and the sheriff will decide the outcome.

UPDATE 10 October 2024: Scottish court orders convicted peregrine launderer Lewis Hall to pay back thousands under Proceeds of Crime Act (here)

Disturbance at peregrine nest – Derbyshire Constabulary issues appeal for information

Derbyshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team has today issued the following appeal for information:

‘We are currently looking into reports of a recent Peregrine Falcon nest disturbance at Belper Mill and would like to advertise that a live investigation is currently being completed with partner agencies to establish the circumstances of how this happened. We would also like to hear from anyone who may have information. Please quote occurrence number 24*283748 when doing so‘.

Photo provided by Derbyshire Constabulary’s Rural Crime Team

This isn’t the first time that peregrines at Belper Mill have been at the receiving end of criminal activity. In March 2015 the adult breeding male was found shot (here) and another breeding male was found shot in March 2020 (here).

A local resident has informed me that peregrines have been breeding at Belper Mill East since at least 2011 and it’s estimated that almost 40 fledglings have been produced at this site. The peregrines’ breeding attempt has failed this year.

Comments on social media suggest this latest incident is believed to relate to the alleged disturbance of the breeding pair by contractors carrying out groundwork nearby.

Man hands himself in over laser disturbance at peregrine site in Norfolk

Further to last week’s news that Norfolk Police were appealing for information after a laser was shone directly into a peregrine’s nest box at Cromer disturbing the breeding female (here), the BBC News website is today reporting that a man has handed himself in.

Green laser being shone directly into Peregrine nest. Photo by Cromer Peregrine Project

According to the article, a man in his 40s from the Cromer area, who has not been identified by police, turned himself in at Cromer Police Station on Saturday. He apologised and said he’d made a genuine mistake.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police said the incident was dealt with by way of a community resolution and it was agreed the laser would be destroyed.

The man also agreed to make a donation to the Cromer Peregrine Project and would engage in a formal discussion with a police officer about the safe use of lasers.

Full article here.

Laser disturbs breeding peregrine – Norfolk Police appeal for information

Officers from Norfolk Police’s rural crime team are appealing for information after a laser was shone directly into a peregrine’s nest box disturbing the breeding female.

The incident was caught on cctv by the Cromer Peregrine Project although no date has been provided.

[Photos by Cromer Peregrine Project, via Norfolk Police]

Writing on X yesterday, Norfolk Police said this:

We are currently investigating a report of the @CromerPeregrine Peregrines having a laser shone straight into the box disturbing the female making her leave the nest for an extended period of time leaving the chick. This is a criminal offence to disturb any nesting bird.

We are appealing for any information in regards to this matter. These birds are on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Countryside Act and anyone found disturbing these birds could be subject to significant consequences. #CromerPeregrines #BirdsofPrey #OPRandall

If anyone has any information please contact Norfolk Constabulary on Tel 101.

UPDATE 4th June 2024: Man hands himself in over laser disturbance at Peregrine site in Norfolk (here)

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