Tag: red kite

Red kite euthanised after being shot – police appeal for information

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has issued an appeal for information about the illegal shooting of a red kite in Newry in April 2024.

The kite, nicknamed Vivienne, was well known in the Mournes. She was found with gunshot injuries on Cullion Road in Newry on 20 April 2024 but was later euthanised due to the extent of her injuries.

Red kite photo by Andy Howard

A spokesperson from the PSNI said:

“Following an x-ray on April 22, and later confirmation from Agri-Food and Biosciences (AFBI), it became evident in the x-ray that the bird had been shot, as pellets were embedded in its wing and neck, including a fracture to its humerus.

The Red Kite is a large, protected bird of prey, re-introduced to Northern Ireland in 2008 and is a truly beautiful raptor with distinctive markings, recognised by its fork tail.

This Red Kite, nicknamed ‘Vivienne’ due to its identifying wing-tags brown-pink 6V, was well-known in the area and throughout the Mournes since it was born here back in 2018.

At this time, we are asking for information from the public due to offences falling under the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985 as amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment Act (NI) 2011.

Police take all wildlife crime very seriously and are appealing to anyone who has information about what may have happened to this protected bird to call us on 101, quoting reference number 1229 22/04/24.

If you are aware of anyone in the area intent on harming birds of prey, please contact police.”

Red kite shot dead near Swindon – Wiltshire Police appeal for information

Wiltshire Police are appealing for information after the discovery of a shot red kite near Swindon.

A member of the public found the dead kite near Green Hill, south of Purton, at around 5pm on 4th February 2024.

Red kite photo by Andy Howard

A spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said:

“We are appealing for information after a protected bird of prey was found dead in a rural location, Greenhills to the south of Purton.

“We would like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time or who may have dash cam footage taken from the area.

If you can help, please contact us on 101 quoting the log number 54240019567“.

It’s not clear why Wiltshire Police decided to wait for three months before issuing this appeal for information. How hard can it be?

Raptor champion standing for Mayor of North Yorkshire in 2nd May election

The election for the first York and North Yorkshire Mayor will take place on Thursday 2nd May 2024.

Whoever is elected will also take on the role of Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner in North Yorkshire. This is an important role, responsible for holding the Chief Constable to account for an efficient and effective local police service. The Commissioner also sets policing and crime priorities via their plan, and oversees the police budget.

Given the persistent volume of raptor persecution incidents in North Yorkshire, going back many, many years, whoever gets this role can have a significant influence on how these crimes are policed (or not, as in this recent case of a poisoned red kite found dead on Swinton Estate – here).

The list of candidates standing for the position can be viewed here:

statement-of-persons-nominated-yny-cam-2024-naDownload

There are two names that stand out.

One is Keith Tordoff, who I wrote about in 2021 when he was preparing to stand for the role of Police & Crime Commissioner – see here. Keith is an ardent raptor champion and has supported previous campaigns in Nidderdale to catch the notorious raptor (and dog) poisoners on the region’s grouse moors – and has suffered the consequences when his shop was targeted and he also received death threats.

Keith has pledged that if he is elected on 2nd May he intends to establish a steering group within the first 100 days to tackle these wildlife crimes and make sure that North Yorkshire Police are properly resourced to thoroughly investigate crime reports.

Screen grab from Keith Tordoff’s website

The other name that stands out on the list of candidates is Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, a co-Director of Swinton Estate, which has featured many times on this blog, and whose husband, the Earl of Swinton Mark Cunliffe-Lister is the current Chair of the Moorland Association (grouse moor owners’ lobby group) who had the brass neck to appear on Radio 4 last summer and say:

“Clearly, any illegal [hen harrier] persecution is not happening” (unbelievable, but he did say it – see here).

Which of these two candidates do you think is going to address North Yorkshire’s awful reputation for being one of the worst raptor persecution hotspots in the country?

The election takes place on 2nd May 2024. Please ensure you’re eligible to vote – if you’re not already registered, the deadline to register online is midnight on Tues 16th April 2024 (tomorrow night). Register here.

Further details about this election and requirements for voters can be found here.

Sightings of Red Kites wanted from North-east England

The Friends of Red Kites (FoRK) group is appealing to the public to submit sightings of Red Kites in North-east England to help the group with its conservation monitoring efforts.

Some of the grouse moors in NE England have become notorious blackspots for raptor persecution, where reports of the shooting and poisoning of Red Kites are all too frequent, along with suspicious ‘disappearances’ of tagged birds (e.g. see here, here, here, here).

The efforts of the entirely voluntary FoRK team, not only monitoring the local kite population but also engaging the public to take ownership of ‘their’ kites, is commendable.

If you’re in the area and want to report a Red Kite sighting or get more involved with FoRK’s activities, please contact them via their website here.

Two red kites found poisoned in Essex – Police seize firearms & ‘other articles’ in raid

Essex Police’s Rural Engagement Team has been busy again.

Yesterday, with assistance from other agencies including the National Wildlife Crime Unit and Natural England they searched a farm in the Colchester area after the discovery of two poisoned red kites. Firearms and ‘other articles’ were seized and the investigation is ongoing.

One of two poisoned red kites found. Photo: Essex Police

The county of Essex is becoming a real hotspot for bird of prey persecution.

Other raptor persecution crimes in recent years include the suspected shooting of a peregrine in January 2024 (here), the shooting of a buzzard in December 2023 (here), the shooting of another buzzard in January 2023 (here), the shooting of a red kite in September 2022 (here), the shooting of another red kite in November 2021 (here), another red kite found dead in suspicious circumstances in November 2021 (here), the shooting of another three buzzards in 2020, one in Dec (here), one in September (here) and one in June (here), and the suspected shooting of a Hobby in August 2020 (here).

Buzzard suffers shotgun injuries in Essex – the 8th known raptor persecution victim in this county in recent years

Essex Police is appealing for information after the discovery of a shot buzzard found injured in a field near to Layer Wood /Layer Marney on 29th December 2023.

An x-ray shows the buzzard’s humerus bone had been shattered with a shotgun pellet, suggesting it was shot close to where it was found:

Photos from Essex Police

The buzzard is still alive and is being cared for by a local wildlife rescue centre.

Essex Police has launched an investigation – any witnesses or anyone with information please contact Essex Police on Tel 101 and quote incident number 42/2817/24.

This latest raptor persecution victim is the 8th in Essex in recent years, following the shooting of another buzzard in January 2023 (here), the shooting of a red kite in September 2022 (here), the shooting of another red kite in November 2021 (here), another red kite found dead in suspicious circumstances in November 2021 (here), the shooting of another three buzzards in 2020, one in Dec (here), one in September (here) and one in June (here), and the suspected shooting of a Hobby in August 2020 (here).

Red kite poisoned in Norfolk – police appeal for information

Press statement from Norfolk Constabulary (2 January 2024):

APPEAL AFTER BIRD OF PREY POISONED

Police are appealing for information after further tests revealed a Red Kite discovered dead in North Creake had died from suspected insecticide poisoning.

Red kite photo by Pete Walkden

Officers from Norfolk Police’s Op Randall team have been investigating the death of the protected bird of prey, which was found dead by a member of the public in a field in North Creake in August 2023, and had suffered no obvious physical injuries.

Further tests were ordered to establish the cause of death and a post-mortem examination carried out through the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) at the end of November has subsequently detected a number of pesticides and insecticides, including very high levels of Bendiocarb which has been concluded as the likely cause of death.

Searches carried out out  by police alongside National Wildlife Crime Unit officers and the RSPB investigation team to find the source of the substance have so far proved negative and now officers are keen to speak to anyone with information that may help their investigation or who has witnessed anything similar in the area.

Wildlife officer PC Chris Shelley said: “We’ve been waiting for the results of the toxicological analysis, and now know the levels of Bendiocarb contained within the samples taken from the bird have not come from the approved use of such a product.

“I have to conclude that this product has been used illegally in very close proximity to where the bird was recovered.

“Bendiocarb has been the active ingredient in a number of insecticide products in the past approved to deal with wasps and ants. In more recent years the number of products including this ingredient has reduced and its approved use has been to tackle such species inside buildings. Products containing this ingredient can only be purchased and used by professional pesticide users, and only then can they use the product inside a building to reduce the risk to non-target species.

“Red Kites are listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. We have a zero tolerance approach to the persecution of birds of prey and I’d appeal to anybody who knows anything that may help get to the bottom of what happened here or indeed has any information about anything similar happening, please get in touch with us.”

Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch via the following channels, quoting reference 38/82207/23:

Website: https://www.norfolk.police.uk/tell-us

Email: OperationRandall@norfolk.police.uk

Phone: 101

Crimestoppers: Contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form: www.crimestoppers-uk.org

ENDS

Environment Minister provides additional evidence ahead of today’s Stage 1 debate on grouse moor licensing bill

Ten days ago the Rural Affairs & Islands Committee published its Stage 1 report on the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Bill (here).

The Committee’s report contained requests for further detail / clarification from the Scottish Government on many aspects of the Bill, prior to today’s Stage 1 debate in the Scottish Parliament.

Those information requests included more information on the level of threat to raptors on grouse moors and the levels of ‘recovery’ of raptor populations, the provisions of NatureScot to suspend / revoke a grouse shooting licence, the range of relevant offences that would trigger a suspension / revocation, various questions about muirburn, various questions about the proposed ban on snares, and various questions about the proposed extension of powers for the SSPCA.

An illegally poisoned red kite found on Dava Moor, just outside the Cairngorms National Park, 2021

Yesterday, Environment Minister Gillian Martin MSP responded to the Committee with the following letter (see below), in which she provides a summary of the status of several raptor species whose populations have been affected by ongoing illegal persecution on grouse moors (regular blog readers won’t learn anything new – it’s all information that’s been in the public domain for some time). She also answers the unfounded and arrogant criticism from some in the grouse shooting industry that her speedy decision to ban snares was made fast because (a) the Committee had pushed her for a speedy response ahead of its deliberations for the Stage 1 report and (b) because the grouse shooting industry’s proposals for a licensing scheme for snare use didn’t contain any evidence that the Government hadn’t heard before.

Here’s her letter – well worth a read. She’s standing firm on the fundamental issues of importance but is prepared to consider her position on some of what I would consider minor, less important issues such as potentially changing the length of the licence period from an annual licence to one that is issued for a three to five year period. It’s also worth noting her cover letter to the Committee in which she points out that, unusually, the Committee’s Stage 1 report does not indicate whether the Committee supports or rejects the general principles of the Bill!

wildlife-bill-sg-response-to-stage-1-reportDownload

It’ll be all eyes on the Scottish Parliament this afternoon as the Stage 1 report is debated in the main Chamber, followed by a vote on whether the Bill can progress to Stage 2.

You can watch live on Scottish Parliament TV from 2.30pm HERE

Thank you to all of you who sent emails to your MSPs and to the three Ministers ahead of this debate, urging their attendance and support of the Bill following the news that one of the South Scotland golden eagles has ‘disappeared’ and which Police Scotland ‘believe has come to harm‘. It’s been important for MSPs to understand ahead of this debate the extent of public anger that these criminal atrocities against birds of prey continue.

Let’s see which MSPs agree.

Channel 4 News reports two thirds of raptor persecution crimes in 2022 linked to shooting estates

Channel 4 News aired an exclusive seven-minute report this evening about raptor persecution on gamebird shooting estates across the UK.

Fronted by Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson, this was a pre-cursor to the publication tomorrow of the RSPB’s latest Birdcrime report (2022) and the film featured two case studies that are included in that report – the illegal shooting of a hen harrier found dead on the Knarsdale Estate in Northumberland earlier this year, and the illegal poisoning of a red kite and a white-tailed eagle found on a pheasant shoot in West Sussex in October 2021. A beater’s gundog also died from the same poison, on the same estate, within a few days.

I’ll be writing in detail about both these cases and others, once Birdcrime has been published. There’s a lot to say.

In the meantime, I thoroughly recommend you watch the Channel 4 report here:

Buzzard shot & critically injured in North York Moors National Park

Yet another bird of prey has been found shot in the North York Moors National Park and is currently ‘fighting for its life’.

The buzzard was found with shotgun injuries. Photo: North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police (Ryedale) issued the following statement on Facebook at the weekend:

‘We are again appealing for witnesses after this poor buzzard was found fighting for it’s life at the top of Daleside Road in Rosedale. X-rays revealed that it had been shot, but fortunately it survived the trauma and is currently receiving intensive veterinary care.

PC Jez Walmsley of the Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside safer neighbourhood team stated “This is the third buzzard in the last four months that has been shot or died in suspicious circumstances in the Rosedale area”. I would appeal to anyone who has any information about who is persecuting these magnificent birds to come forward. Please email me Jeremy.Walmsley@northyorkshire.police.co.uk’

I’m not sure about this being ‘the third shot buzzard in the last four months’ – if that’s the case then it’s in addition to two shot red kites found in the area in June 2023 (see here and here). I haven’t seen any media about two shot buzzards found in the last four months so I suspect PC Walmsley may be confusing the two shot red kites for buzzards. If that’s not the case, then five shot birds of prey have been found in this grouse moor-dominated area of the North York Moors National Park.

Either way, it’s clear that this so-called National Park, like so many others in the UK, is still not a safe haven for birds of prey.

UPDATE 11 October 2023: Buzzard shot in North York Moors National Park didn’t survive its injuries (here)