Nottinghamshire Police have issued an appeal for information after the discovery of ‘several dead birds of prey that were seen in suspicious and unnatural circumstances‘ near to the village of Bunny, in the Rushcliffe borough of south Nottinghamshire on Tuesday 10th December 2024.
They said: “We are appealing for the public’s help if you have seen any suspicious animal carcasses while out walking please report them to police and do not allow dogs or other animals to touch them as they may be poisoned.
If you have any information which might assist enquiries it can be reported online or via 101 quoting occurrence number 24000745675“.
They haven’t provided any further detail such as the species involved although their social media post was illustrated with an image of a buzzard.
Buzzard photo by Ruth Tingay
This is an excellent response from Nottinghamshire Police, not only to gather information during the early phase of an investigation but especially to warn the public of the risk of potential poisons being used that could be a danger to people and their pets.
Hopefully Nottinghamshire Police will provide an update once post mortems and toxicology tests have been undertaken.
Over the last 17 years or so, satellite-tracking technology has revolutionised our understanding of not only hen harrier ecology, but also the persistent, illegal killing of these birds on driven grouse moors across the UK.
Two organisations have been at the forefront of hen harrier satellite tracking – Natural England and the RSPB (with significant help from raptor study groups and others).
Satellite-tagged hen harrier. Photo by RSPB
For several years now, Natural England has been intermittently publishing the fates of the hen harriers it’s team has tagged (see here), but only with vague explanations about its definition of the category, ‘Missing, Fate Unknown’ (e.g. see here).
Of course, since then, a significant academic paper published in 2019 demonstrated what we all already knew – that patterns of satellite-tagged hen harrier disappearances suggested widespread illegal killing on British grouse moors (see here).
A further paper, published in 2023 and this time analysing the fates of hen harriers tagged by the RSPB, reached the same conclusion (see here).
Since 2018, I have been publishing details about the confirmed/suspected deaths of satellite-tagged (and a few untagged) hen harriers using data from both Natural England and the RSPB (this list currently stands at 130 illegally killed/’missing’ hen harriers although there are still more to add; those data are currently being withheld from the public – see here).
Now, for the first time, the RSPB has launched an interactive map hub showing the fates of hen harriers its team has satellite-tagged since 2014 (currently up to October 2024).
The RSPB’s interactive database includes the fates of 178 of the 226 hen harriers satellite-tagged so far. Some dead hen harriers are not included as they are subject to ongoing police investigations. The hen harriers that are still alive and are currently being tracked are also not included, for what should be obvious reasons.
Screen grab of the RSPB’s new interactive HH map hub
The interactive map hub allows users to filter the ‘fates’ of the RSPB’s tagged hen harriers into five different categories:
Confirmed Illegal persecution
Stop no malfunction (where the bird has disappeared in suspicious circumstances)
Natural
Unknown
Tag failure/expired
Detailed explanations of each of these categories are provided on the hub.
Users are also able to zoom in to the map to show the general area where a harrier died and you can manipulate the map to show terrain etc.
This facility is a useful and welcome addition to the public record on the fates of individual satellite-tracked hen harriers in the UK. I’m not sure it provides us with any wider, big-picture information that we don’t already know but that’s probably not the intention behind this interactive hub anyway. What it does do is provide the public with a level of detail to help them understand the scale of satellite-tagging efforts on the UK’s hen harriers and thus the veracity of the extent of the ongoing illegal killing of this species on many driven grouse moors.
Press release from PSNI (Police Service for Northern Ireland), 13 December 2024
POLICE CONFIRM BIRD POISONING IN ARMAGH
Police have confirmed that an adult bird of prey was found dead in the Forkhill area of Armagh in June of this year was poisoned.
It was reported on the 12th June that a Peregrine Falcon was found dead in the Forkhill area. The bird was retrieved by our search and rescue team and underwent testing to ascertain the exact circumstances, with enquiries ongoing the last number of months.
Constable Millen said: “We can now confirm the Peregrine Falcon found was poisoned with Carbofuran which is very concerning. This is not only a dangerous substance but it has been banned since 2001.
“We would remind the public if there is a suspicion of a crime, such as poisoning on any bird of prey in their local area, to leave the bird(s) and/or bait in situ and to call the police as soon as possible for officers to action.
“We have been working closely with our partners in Northern Ireland Environment Agency and National Wildlife Crime Unit and Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group regarding the matter and will continue to do so, in the hope to find those responsible.
“Police would appeal to anyone who has information on any suspected bird poisoning to please make contact via our non-emergency number 101, or online at http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
ENDS
As far as I’m aware, nobody has ever been prosecuted for the illegal poisoning of any wildlife in Northern Ireland, which might explain why poisoning offences, especially against birds of prey, continue.
The Police waiting for six months before issuing an appeal for information about a poisoning crime won’t help, either.
Following the illegal poisoning of two white-tailed eagles in May 2023, found dead together on Northern Ireland’s only driven grouse moor at Glenwherry in the Antrim Hills (here), the Northern Ireland Raptor Study Group launched a petition calling for a ban on the possession of dangerous pesticides (here).
This petition is still live and has attracted almost 46,000 signatures. If you’d like to support it, please click here (you don’t have to be a resident/citizen of NI to sign – it’s open to anyone).
To learn more about recent raptor persecution incidents in Northern Ireland, this excellent report is well worth a read. It covers incidents reported in 2021 and 2022 (published May 2024).
South Yorkshire Police have issued the following press release (dated 9 December 2024):
WITNESS APPEAL AFTER BIRD SHOT IN PEAK DISTRICT
We are appealing for information after a protected bird was reportedly shot in Bradfield, near Sheffield.
On 25 August, a dead raven was found in a field near Agden Side Road, Bradfield, in the Peak District.
The incident was reported to the RSPB who collected the bird. An x-ray of the bird showed that it had been shot.
It is believed the bird was shot between 24 August and 25 August.
Since the incident, officers have been following several lines of enquiry and we are now appealing for anybody who may have any information about the incident to contact us.
You can report information to us online via live chat or by calling 101, quoting incident number 662 of 9 September 2024.
The Agden Side Road lies just beyond the boundary of two grouse moors (Strines and Broomhead) in the Peak District National Park.
This part of the Peak District National Park, dominated by land managed for driven grouse shooting, has a long and sordid history of raptor persecution incidents (e.g. see here, here, here, here, here etc).
Prosecutions are rare, largely due to the difficulty of identifying a named individual to link to a crime that has taken place in a relatively remote landscape with few witnesses.
This is certainly not helped by South Yorkshire Police, who rarely cover themselves in glory with timely investigations, although to be fair unless the shooting of this raven was witnessed and recorded, the police have little to go on.
Yes, the usual suspects will be in the frame but for a prosecution the police need evidence – they can’t just prosecute on the basis of recurrent past criminal behaviour in the area. Although waiting three and a half months to issue an appeal for witnesses, as they’ve done in this case, won’t help.
This scenario happens over and over again in areas managed for driven grouse shooting, even inside our National Parks, and has been happening for decades. Raptors are routinely shot, trapped and poisoned and the criminals get away with their crimes time after time after time.
This is one (of several) reasons why Wild Justice is currently running a petition calling for a ban on driven grouse shooting. The petition currently stands at 30,000 signatures but it needs 100,000 to trigger a parliamentary debate. If you’d like to sign it, please click HERE.
UPDATE 9 June 2025: Another Raven found shot dead next to grouse moor in notorious persecution hotspot in Peak District National Park (here)
Last month conservation campaign group Wild Justice published a detailed report on the impact of the mis-use and abuse of second generation rodenticides (SGARs) on red kites and buzzards in England and the failure of the Government’s Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme, which had been set up in 2016 to reduce the amount of rodenticides in wildlife (see here for press release and a copy of the Wild Justice report, ‘Collateral Damage‘).
Brodifacoum bait station illegally set on the edge of a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Photo by Ruth Tingay
Brodifacoum. Photo by Ruth Tingay
On the back of the publication of Wild Justice’s report, Scottish Greens MSP Ariane Burgess lodged the following parliamentary question on 19th November 2024:
Question reference S6W-31459
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the latest report, Collateral Damage, by the UK campaign group, Wild Justice, which states that the Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme in England “is a failed scheme”, and other reports that have indicated increased exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides in common buzzards in Scotland, whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the rodenticide scheme in Scotland.
The question was answered by Agricultural Minister Jim Fairlie on 3rd December 2024:
The Scottish Government continues to contribute to UK-wide monitoring of rodenticide use and exposure in wildlife. There is evidence that many users of rodenticides are complying with the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use’s (CRRU) Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme (RSS), and that in Scotland rodenticide use in agriculture has substantially declined since the introduction of the scheme. But, despite this, recent environmental data for Scotland indicate that it has not yet achieved the aim of significantly reducing wildlife exposure.
Both the UK Government Oversight Group, which includes Scottish Government representation, and CRRU have acknowledged that rodenticide residues in UK wildlife have not declined as hoped. The RSS is being updated firstly to ban the use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) bromadiolone and difenacoum for open area use from the end of this year. This means no SGARs will be available for open area use; this is also intended to reduce accidental or deliberate misuse of other products in open areas. Secondly, training requirements for the farming sector are also being brought in line with other sectors from end 2025 to ensure a consistent level of professional training across all sectors and reduce the risk of poor practice.
Whilst it’s true that legal authorisation is being rescinded for the use of the SGARs Bromadiolone and Difenacoum in open areas (see press release on this from June 2023, here), it is very clear from the Wild Justice report that the total increase of SGAR exposure in red kites and buzzards in England is being driven by a dramatic increase in the use/mis-use of Brodifacoum, not by Bromadiolone or Difenacoum.
Fig 3 from Wild Justice’s Collateral Damage report (p8) showing the percentage of buzzards and red kites analysed by the WIIS that contained different concentrations of Brodifacoum, Bromadiolone and Difenacoum.
Brodifacoum is the dominant SGAR being found in birds of prey and is more toxic than Bromadiolone and Difenacoum. It used to be restricted to internal use only, until the Government decided to relax that regulation and permit its use ‘in and around buildings’ – a regulation that is obviously being breached routinely given the high levels of exposure in birds of prey (e.g. here).
From January 2025, Bromadiolone and Difenacoum will also be permitted for use ‘in and around buildings’, but there are no proposed tighter rules on the use of Brodifacoum.
Minister Fairlie suggests that a restriction against any use in open areas of any SGAR is intended to reduce accidental or deliberate mis-use of other products in open areas and that new training requirements for all users (not just professional pest controllers) will ‘reduce the risk of poor practice’.
I suppose he’s thinking that this standardisation will remove any supposed ‘confusion’ between the use of different products. However, given that Brodifacoum is already supposedly restricted to use only ‘in and around buildings’, yet has been used with increasing frequency by gamekeepers for targeting birds of prey, Wild Justice argues that the new legal restrictions are unlikely to improve things significantly.
The Wild Justice report suggests that a better option is to return Brodifacoum to its pre-April 2016 approval status, so that it can be used in strict ‘internal areas’ within buildings, and to limit its use to professional pest control companies.
For those who might have missed it, Wild Justice’s Collateral Damage report can be read/downloaded here:
Further to the blog on 30 September 2024 (here) and 17 October 2024 (here), a trial date has been set for a Lincolnshire man in relation to the discovery of a poisoned red kite and two buzzards between 2017 and 2022.
Buzzard photo by Ruth Tingay
John Bryant, 40, of West Ashby, Horncastle, appeared at Boston Magistrates Court on 20 November 2024 where he pleaded not guilty to two charges of using a trap to kill or take a wild bird, six charges of possessing an article capable of being used to commit a summary offence, and two charges of contravening health & safety regulations.
Mr Bryant was released on unconditional bail and a trial date was set for 6 March 2025.
NB: As this case is live comments are turned off until criminal proceedings have concluded.
UPDATE 12 March 2025: Lincolnshire gamekeeper guilty of multiple offences in relation to deaths of red kite and buzzards (here)
Another Silent Spring? A UK Government scheme to prevent the widespread poisoning of wildlife by rodenticides is failing.
Increasingly high levels of rodenticides (Rat poisons) have been found in Buzzards and Red Kites, and the Government is ignoring the evidence.
A report by Wild Justice highlights that the exposure of birds of prey to rodenticides in England has increased since a government scheme was introduced in 2015 to try and combat the problem.
Data from Red Kites and Buzzards, from both before and after the Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme (RSS) was introduced, show that anticoagulant rodenticides are now found in the livers of most dead birds that are tested, often at high levels.
Between 2020 and 2022, almost three quarters of tested Buzzards had been poisoned by rodenticides that are supposed to be restricted for use in and around buildings, including highly toxic Brodifacoum. This shows rodenticides aren’t being used correctly and that the use of these products requires stricter regulation, monitoring and enforcement.
Rodenticides are now being found in the livers of most dead Buzzards and Red Kites tested, according to a new report by conservation campaign group Wild Justice.
Using data obtained through Freedom of Information Requests, Wild Justice’s ‘Collateral Damage’ report presents the results of Government laboratory tests for 366 Buzzards and 173 Red Kites that had been submitted to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) in England during the period 2005 to 2022. The report shows that in recent years nearly all these raptors had tested positive for Rat poison, often in high amounts.
A poisoned red kite. Photo by Dr Marc Ruddock
Rat poisons are toxins (Second Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides, or SGARs) and are used extensively in game-keepering, farming and for pest control. It has been known for many years that these poisons don’t just kill targeted Rats. Poisoned Rats store the toxin in their liver and typically die several days after exposure. However, any animal eating the dying or dead Rat will also receive a dose of the toxin, resulting in the death of many species up the food chain, especially scavenging species such as Buzzards and Red Kites.
In 2012 the UK Health and Safety Executive carried out an environmental risk assessment on the use of SGARs and concluded that, due to the risk of secondary poisoning to wildlife, the poisons should not be used outdoors. However, the UK Government rejected this risk assessment and permitted the continued outdoor use of SGARs outdoors, even relaxing the regime to allow the external use of more toxic poisons such as Brodifacoum. Previously Brodifacoum was only allowed for use indoors.
The continued outdoor use of SGARs was on the condition that professional users complied with guidance known as the Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme (RSS) which was established in 2015. The aim of the RSS was to reduce SGAR exposure in wildlife resulting from improved Rat control working practices. The effectiveness of the RSS would be assessed by monitoring poison levels in wildlife, with a commitment to reduce SGAR exposure by 30% by 2020.
On the contrary, Wild Justice’s results demonstrate that rodenticide poisoning has actually increased during this period, not decreased.
Wild Justice compared data from birds tested before the introduction of the RSS in 2015, to those afterwards. Between 2005 and 2010 over 50% of dead Buzzards tested did not have any rodenticides in their livers. But in those tested between 2020 and 2022, over 90% of dead Buzzards had some level of rodenticide in their livers.
The data also show that in addition to the increasing number of Buzzards testing positive for rodenticide, there’s also been an increase in the number of birds containing very high levels of the poison. In Buzzards tested between 2005 and 2010, less than 2% contained over 0.3mg/kg (milligrams per kilogram) of SGAR poison in their livers, an amount considered to be very high. Yet in those tested between 2020 and 2022, nearly a quarter had over that amount.
An even starker picture was painted when looking at data for Red Kites. 15% of Red Kites tested between 2005 and 2010 contained these very high levels, whereas in those tested between 2020 and 2022, two thirds (66%) of birds had over 0.3mg/kg of SGAR rodenticide in their livers. In 2020-2022, none of the Red Kites tested were rodenticide free, and almost 90% had very high levels of poison.
Rodenticides are readily available, both for use by industry and for domestic purposes. There are different types of poisons available on the market, and many birds had been exposed to more than one type, with twelve of the Buzzards tested exposed to four different poisons. In Buzzards testing positive for rodenticide between 2020 and 2022, almost three quarters involved poisons that are supposed to be restricted for use in and around buildings, including highly toxic Brodifacoum.
Wild Justice believe this is partly the result of poisons being used illegally away from buildings. At the start of the survey period (2005 to 2012) these toxins were restricted to use within buildings only, and were generally marketed to professional pest controllers, rather than to gamekeepers and farmers. Now they appear to be in regular use by these groups, including illegally in open field situations away from buildings. This is the only explanation for such widespread levels of rodenticide found in Buzzards and Red Kites and shows that the use of these products requires stricter regulation, monitoring and enforcement.
Brodifacoum bait station illegally set on the edge of a grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Photo by Ruth Tingay
Brodifacoum. Photo by Ruth Tingay
Buzzards and Red Kites serve as indicators of a wider problem that will affect other predators and scavengers, including scarce and declining species. There are lots of species that eat rodents (not just Rats), meaning other birds like Kestrels and Barn Owls are also at risk. Wild Justice is calling for urgent regulatory changes to limit the availability and use of these products for the benefit of wildlife.
A spokesperson for Wild Justice said:
‘The Rodenticide Stewardship Scheme is a failed scheme, which the government should recognise. It is ridiculous that such dangerous, hazardous substances are escaping stricter regulation, especially when the evidence shows they are poisoning wildlife on a widespread scale, and even being used deliberately and illegally to do so. Our report reveals just the tip of the iceberg – such high levels of these poisons being found in birds of prey should be ringing alarm bells’.
ENDS
Wild Justice’s new report can be read/downloaded here:
The bird had consumed a banned pesticide which has a history of being used to kill birds of prey.
Red Kites are fully protected by law, and to kill or harm one could result in jail.
The illegal poisoning of birds of prey is a national issue and poses a potentially deadly danger to people, pets and wildlife.
A protected Red Kite endured an ‘agonising death’ after being killed by a banned pesticide, one quarter of a teaspoon of which is enough to kill a human.
RSPB Scotland received a call in April 2024 from a dog walker who had found a red kite dead on the ground near to a popular woodland walking trail, adjacent to hill farm land at Spinningdale, near Dornoch in East Sutherland.
RSPB Investigators notified Police Scotland, collected the bird and sent it for a post-mortem examination and toxicology analysis. The results were consistent with Carbofuran poisoning being the cause of the bird’s death, a pesticide banned for over 20 years.
Police Scotland and partner agencies conducted a search of the area but found no evidence that enabled them to identify a suspect.
It is a crime to kill or attempt to kill a bird of prey, and anyone caught doing so faces a fine or even jail.
The latest Birdcrime report, released last month found there were 159 poisoning incidents involving birds of prey between 2009-2024 in Scotland. In recent years, Carbofuran has become the pesticide most frequently associated with bird of prey persecution.
And of all UK counties, the Highland area had the second highest number of confirmed incidents of raptor persecution during the same 15-year period.
Ian Thomson, RSPB Investigations Manager, said:
“We are very grateful to the person that found this dead kite for reporting it to us. It is appalling that individuals are still using this poison, decades after it was banned, and this bird will have suffered an agonising and horrific death.
Carbofuran is a highly toxic substance and is one of several banned pesticides still used by criminals targeting birds of prey or other protected wildlife. Its possession or use is illegal and placing it out in the open poses a potentially deadly and indiscriminate risk not only to wildlife but to people and pets.
We ask anyone using the area to be vigilant if they find anything suspicious, don’t touch, but do take photos and report to Police Scotland immediately on 101.”
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.
Further to the blog on 30 September 2024 (here), a man attended court yesterday after being summoned in relation to the illegal poisoning of a red kite and two buzzards between 2017 and 2022.
John Bryant, 40, of West Ashby, Horncastle, Lincs appeared at Boston Magistrates Court on 16 October 2024 where he confirmed his name, age and address. He didn’t enter a plea.
The case was continued and Bryant will appear again on 20th November 2024.
NB: As this case is live comments are turned off until criminal proceedings have concluded.
UPDATE 24 November 2024: Lincolnshire man faces trial in relation to poisoned red kite and buzzards (here)
UPDATE 12 March 2025: Lincolnshire gamekeeper guilty of multiple offences in relation to deaths of red kite and buzzards (here)
Statement from Lincolnshire Police, 30 September 2024:
A 40-year-old man has been summoned to court for offences relating to killing or taking birds of prey.
John Bryant, of West Ashby, Horncastle, has been summoned to court following an investigation into reports of three birds of prey, a red kite and two buzzards, being poisoned and killed over a five year period between 2017 and 2022.
He will appear at Boston Magistrates’ Court on 16 October 2024.
ENDS
No further details are available yet.
NB: As this case is live comments are turned off until criminal proceedings have concluded.
Raptor Persecution UK 