Police seize illegal bird trap in a park

 24th September

By Kloe Hackett

POLICE seized an illegal trap used to catch wild birds.

The officers were called to a park in Wickford to deal with the large metal illegal device.

They have not revealed where the park is in the town.

A spokesman for Basildon Community Policing Team posted on Facebook: “Today, we have seized a device used in the illegal trapping of wild finches.

“This was located in the Wickford area.

“Please make us aware if you see any similar devices.

“Possession or control of a wild bird is an offence.

“Anybody possessing wild birds is obliged to show, on a balance of probabilities, that their possession is lawful.

“Finches listed on Part I Schedule 3 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 can only be legally sold if they have been bred in captivity from lawfully held parent birds, and if they are fitted with Government approved close-rings.”

A wildlife charity conservationist has blasted the illegal bird catchers.

Macbraden Bones, 48, Essex Wildlife Trust landscape conservationist area officer for the south east, said: “I have never heard or come across this before.

“This is the first time I have heard of this and have not seen a problem like this in our area.

“I am stunned by this, there are a number of concerns with this.

Continued

RSPB Scotland probes lonely death of hen harrier Rannoch

 by Jamie Buchan

 June 27 2019, 11.34am

A hen harrier that was being tracked by a leading bird welfare charity has been found dead in an illegal trap on a Perthshire moor.

The young female, named Rannoch, was said to have suffered “significantly” before she died in the open spring snare.

Rannoch had been fitted with a satellite tag by RSPB Scotland, as part of the organisation’s Hen Harrier LIFE conservation programme.

Her movements had been closely followed by the charity until November when she stopped moving in an area of moorland between Crieff and Aberfeldy.

The solar-powered tag battery had drained before accurate information could be gathered to find her. When the tag came back online in May, RSPB Scotland was able to get enough data to track down her remains.

A post mortem report from the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) veterinary laboratory states: “The bird was trapped by the left leg in a spring trap at time of death.

“Death will have been due to a combination of shock and blood loss, if it died quickly or to exposure and dehydration/starvation if it died slowly.

“Either way the bird will have experienced significant unnecessary suffering.”

Dr Cathleen Thomas, project manager for Hen Harrier LIFE said: “We are absolutely devastated that Rannoch has been a victim of crime. The life of this beautiful bird was cut short in the most horrific way due to human actions.

“Satellite tagging has revealed the amazing journeys made by hen harriers, but also uncovers who their journeys end.”

She said: “Often the birds disappear with their tags suddenly ceasing to function as perpetrators go to great lengths to hide the evidence of their crimes.

“Rannoch’s death in a spring trap is evidence of one way in which these birds are being killed.”

She said, in terms of population size, hen harriers are now the most persecuted bird of prey in the UK and numbers are now “perilously” low.

“Every loss we suffer impacts the continued survival of the species.”

Continued

Bird SLAUGHTER: Majestic kite trapped by torture device as rare harriers vanish mysterious

A MAJESTIC red kite was left enduring a slow and agonising death after being gripped by the cruel teeth of an illegal wildlife trap.

By STUART WINTER

PUBLISHED: 17:40, Tue, May 22, 2018 | UPDATED: 17:40, Tue, May 22, 2018

Harriers have vanished and the kite trapped by device

The medieval looking contraption broke both the protected bird of prey’s legs as it snapped shut with tremendous force.

For the heavily bleeding kite, it would have been a slow death sentence, but a passerby took the bird to a vet who had no option but end its suffering.

The death of the kite comes in a dismal week for Britain’s rarest birds of prey.

Conservationists today announced that three hen harriers fitted with satellite trackers have vanished suspiciously over recent weeks.

As the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds investigate the harriers’ disappearance, colleagues at the RSPCA have launched an appeal for information on how the kite became trapped near Aberystwyth earlier this month.

These gin traps were made illegal to set many years ago and yet shockingly are still being used to catch animals.

Although red kite numbers are buoyant after recent reintroductions, the kites of central Wales are remnants of the surviving British population which almost became extinct last century.

Continued