Pigeon fancier fined after killing sparrowhawk

23/02/2020

A pigeon fancier has been fined after killing a Eurasian Sparrowhawk with an air rifle.

Duncan Cowan, from Cowie in Stirlingshire, was ordered to cough up £450 at Stirling Sheriff Court as a result of the incident. On 18 April 2019, the raptor was spotted predating a pigeon in a field next to the 60-year-old's garden.

He was seen coming out of his shed with an air rifle before firing at the bird three or four times. Police were called before the Scottish SPCA took the injured sparrowhawk, which had lost a lot of blood, to their wildlife centre for treatment on a chest wound.

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Endangered gull fledglings stoned to death at Canterbury's Waimakariri River

Emma Dangerfield10:55, Feb 18 2020

The slaughter of five threatened fledgling gulls in North Canterbury has been described as "gut-wrenching, illegal and morally abhorrent".

The five black-billed gulls were found with their heads bashed in at a popular dog-walking spot on the banks of the Waimakariri River on Monday.

Their bodies were still soft, indicating they had been killed mid-morning. They were just days away from being able to fly.

Department of Conservation senior ranger Anita Spencer said it was particularly devastating as the birds, which are the most threatened gull species in the world, had been through a rough season.

"A lot of work goes into protecting these gulls so it is extra gut-wrenching that they got to this stage for them to be killed," she said.

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Scottish gamekeeper who killed protected birds of prey avoids jail

Campaigners call for stiffer penalties after Alan Wilson given community sentence

A sheriff has criticised Scotland’s weak wildlife crime laws after a gamekeeper convicted of killing protected birds of prey and mammals avoided a prison term.

Alan Wilson, 60, pleaded guilty in July to shooting and trapping badgers, an otter, goshawks and buzzards and installing 23 illegal snares in a small wood on a grouse- and pheasant-shooting estate at Longformacus near Duns.

Wilson, then a member of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, also admitted using snares illegally and possessing two bottles of carbofuran, a banned carbamate nerve agent used to poison birds of prey.

Sheriff Peter Paterson, sitting at Jedburgh sheriff court, said such crimes usually deserved a prison sentence. However, the Wildlife and Countryside Act allowed sentences of up to six months, and Scottish ministers had recently introduced a presumption against jailing offenders for less than 12 months.

“It highlights the difficulties with the legislation,” Paterson said. “If it wasn’t for this provision [on short-term sentences] then in my view a custodial sentence would have been appropriate.”

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Red kite killed by illegal pesticides in Nidderdale

A red kite found dead in North Yorkshire had been poisoned by several pesticides, including two illegal ones.

A post-mortem examination showed the legal pesticide bendiocarb, along with the banned substances isofenphos and carbofuran, led to the bird's death.

X-rays of the animal, which was found in Nidderdale in October, also showed it had been shot at least twice.

North Yorkshire Police appealed for anyone with information about the poisoning to get in touch.

A spokesperson said: "The test results suggest that someone not only has access to two illegal poisons but it also placing them, along with a legal pesticide, into the environment so that a wild bird has been able to consume them."

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Chris Packham calls moor ‘a death zone’ for birds of prey

Marc Horne

July 16 2019, 12:01am, The Times

An area of west central Scotland has been branded a “death zone” by Chris Packham after dozens of birds of prey were killed there.

A hen harrier that died after suffering appalling injuries in an illegal trap is the latest raptor to die in or around grouse moors in South Lanarkshire. The incident takes the total to 50 since 2003, but there have been only two successful prosecutions.

The adult male harrier had stumbled into a spring trap that had been set next to its nest on Leadhills Estate. Its right leg was almost completely severed by the metal jaws of the trap and veterinary surgeons were left with no choice but to euthanise the bird.

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Investigation into shooting of rare birds in the Borders

26th April

POLICE are appealing for information after the illegal shooting of rare birds of prey in the Borders.

On February 14, a member of the public discovered a dead goshawk on land near Abbey Saint Bathens, Duns, and reported the matter to the RSPB.

Forensic analysis of the bird was undertaken, and it was established that it had been shot.

Police were then contacted on Thursday, April 25.

The news comes after the shooting of another goshawk in the Peebles area on March 2.

Inquiries into both shootings are ongoing and anyone with information is asked to come forward.

Wildlife Crime Co-Ordinator, Constable Steven Irvine, said: "Inquiry was already underway into the shooting of the goshawk in March and we are now conducting inquiries into the earlier shooting of the bird in February.

"These birds are a protected species and unlawfully killing them is a very serious offence.

"Anyone who can assist with these investigations should contact police immediately."

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s Head of Investigations said “Goshawks are one of Scotland’s rarest breeding raptors, with only about 150 breeding pairs.

“Despite the fact that most of their diet consists of crows, woodpigeons and rabbits, species that are perceived as pests by some farmers and gamekeepers, cases of illegal persecution against this species are not uncommon, depriving people of the opportunity to see this charismatic and spectacular bird of prey.

"We join with the police in asking that if anyone has information about this crime, or other raptor persecution incidents, they contact Police Scotland.”

Source

Seven in 10 hen harriers in UK study likely illegally killed

Bird of prey 10 times more likely to die on English grouse moors than other habitats

Patrick Barkham

Tue 19 Mar 2019 16.00 GMTLast modified on Wed 20 Mar 2019 13.07 GMT

Hen harriers are 10 times more likely to die or disappear from or near to English grouse moors than any other habitat, according to a long-term study which reveals the scale of the illegal persecution of the endangered raptor.

An analysis of hen harriers over a decade found 72% of 58 satellite-tagged birds were confirmed or considered “very likely” to have been illegally killed. Just 17% of juvenile hen harriers survived beyond their first year around grouse moors in northern England and southern Scotland, compared with 36% across the Scottish mainland, where persecution has also been recorded, and between 37% and 54% on Orkney, where there are no grouse moors.

The hen harrier is almost extinct as a breeding bird in England, despite scientific studies indicating there is suitable habitat to support more than 300 pairs on English moorland. Conservationists fear the protected bird is being illegally killed by some gamekeepers because it eats red grouse. However, because the birds are killed in remote places, often on private estates, there is seldom evidence of wrongdoing and prosecutions are rare.

The study of 58 birds, fitted with satellite tags by Natural England researcher Stephen Murphy, and published in Nature Communications, found just seven were still flying at the end of the 10-year study period in 2017. Of the dead birds which were recovered, postmortems showed that five had died of natural causes and four had died because they were illegally killed, while the tags of another four birds had failed. The vast majority, 38, simply disappeared, their tags abruptly ceasing to transmit data with no indication of malfunction.

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Study suggesting widespread illegal killing of hen harriers on English grouse moors published

Research published today in Nature Communications shows the likelihood of hen harriers dying, or disappearing is ten times higher in areas covered by grouse moor

Published 19 March 2019

A new study reveals that young hen harriers in England suffer abnormally high mortality compared to populations in Orkney and mainland Scotland and the study provides compelling evidence that the most likely cause is illegal killing in areas associated with grouse moor management.

Published today in Nature Communications this paper represents the culmination of a 10-year Natural England study involving 58 satellite tagged hen harriers. The analyses have been led by the University of Cape Town and Aberdeen University with the provision of land use data by the RSPB.

The study showed the likelihood of hen harriers dying, or disappearing, was ten times higher within areas predominantly covered by grouse moor, compared to areas with no grouse moor. The study revealed that 72% of tagged harriers were either confirmed or considered very likely to have been illegally killed.

The hen harrier, sometimes called the ‘skydancer’ because of its amazing acrobatic display in the breeding season, is one of England’s rarest birds and is legally protected. Illegal killing of hen harriers has long been thought to limit their population size, but identifying the scale of these crimes and their impact on harrier populations has been difficult because they occur in remote areas and evidence is likely to be destroyed, thus successful prosecutions are rare.

This long-term study has enabled patterns of disappearances to be assessed across a large number of birds. This provides overwhelming evidence that illegal killing is occurring on some grouse moors, where some gamekeepers view hen harriers as a threat to their grouse stocks.

Rob Cooke, Natural England Director said:

This research identifies the scale of the problem hen harriers have faced on grouse moors. It makes for sobering reading and shows how vital it is that everyone involved in the future of this wonderful bird pulls together. Natural England is working in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including moorland communities, conservation organisations, police and landowners to implement the joint Hen Harrier Action Plan which aims to improve the conservation status of this at-risk bird.

Last year’s Hen Harrier breeding season was the most successful in over a decade with 34 chicks fledged across the country. While this was very encouraging we recognise that a continued partnership approach is required to combat illegal persecution of these rare birds and ensure that numbers of breeding hen harriers continue to grow.”

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BirdLife launches Flight for Survival

27/02/2019

Each year a sickening 25 million migrant birds are illegally slaughtered as they pass between Africa and Europe, sparking BirdLife International to launch a new campaign called Flight for Survival this week. The campaign will set out to raise awareness off the issue globally, though there will be a key focus on seven species in particular: Blackcap, Common Quail, Eastern Imperial Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, European Turtle Dove, European Honey Buzzard and White Stork.

The millions of killed birds are often either poisoned, shot or trapped (by glue or mist nets). Two studies by BirdLife International – covering the Mediterranean and Central, Eastern and Northern Europe respectively – have unearthed these shocking figures and causes of death. A myriad of species are killed, with feeble reasons such as sport, food or 'pest control'. More often than not, such action is illegal.

These great threats come on top of a changing climate and world in which habitat is continually being destroyed. Egyptian Vulture – an Endangered species – has declined by 50 per cent during the last 50 years and nowadays just one in seven juveniles reach adulthood. Another striking example of dramatic decline is that of European Turtle Dove. Once common and widespread in Europe, and indeed the UK, this species was listed as Vulnerable for the first time in 2016. It is one of the most heavily persecuted species in the Mediterranean.

Both of these birds will be part of an awareness raising campaign provided by Flight for Survival, along with the five aforementioned species. The project will follow the migration journeys of these species as they travel from Africa to their breeding grounds in Europe, revealing the various threats they face as they pass through some of the worst blackspots.

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RSPB believes as many as 10 ravens were deliberately killed with poison, near Knighton

19th February

By Barry Hancock

West Mercia Police has carried out an investigation after 10 dead ravens, a dead crow and parts of a dead lamb were found close together on farmland near Vron Woods, Beguildy, near Knighton, on the Powys/Shropshire border.

The birds were reported to the RSPB and collected by Natural England in April 2018, which sent the birds to be tested.

Government toxicology tests on five of the ravens, the crow and the lamb confirmed the presence of Diazinon. This is a veterinary product, used legally for sheep dip, but which is known to have been used illegally to poison wildlife. It is believed the lamb carcass was deliberately laced with Diazinon for this purpose.

Birds of prey and ravens are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. To kill or injure one is a criminal offence and could result in an unlimited fine or up to six months in jail. Police interviewed a local person under caution but, due to lack of evidence, the case could go no further.

Ravens are a recovering species which breed mainly in Wales, Scotland, and western and northern England.

Jenny Shelton from RSPB Investigations said: “Shropshire has a history of Diazinon abuse for the purpose of illegally targeting birds of prey and other protected species. We are grateful to Natural England and the police for investigating this matter, which poses a serious threat to wildlife and people.

"Ravens are incredibly intelligent creatures, able solve problems and form memories similar to our own. These once-scarce birds are gradually starting to recover after persistent persecution at the hands of humans, so it’s disturbing to hear of incidents like this still taking place.

“This area is also a stronghold for red kites – another bird making a comeback after disappearing entirely from England due to persecution. Poison baits pose a danger to these birds too.”

If you have any information relating to this incident, call West Mercia Police on 101.

The RSPB is urging people to be vigilant and report dead birds of prey or ravens this spring – a key time of year for illegal poisoning to take place. If you find a dead bird of prey or raven beside a carcass that could be a poison bait, contact the government hotline on 0800 321600. Alternatively contact the police on 101 or RSPB investigations on 01767 680551.

Source

Huge shipment of illegally killed birds seized in Slovenia

 14/11/2018

Slovenian customs officers have discovered an astonishing 1,349 dead songbirds on a bus heading for Italy, where they were to be eaten in restaurants.

The illegally killed birds included 13 protected species, with 1,028 Red-throated Pipits, 209 White Wagtails, 73 Meadow Pipits, 16 Tree Pipits and 10 Eurasian Skylarks discovered in the 15 boxes seized last month. The vehicle was coming from Romania, and officials have ascertained that they were destined for the Italian black market that distributes such birds to restaurants for use as a 'luxury' dish.

Such dishes are available for a limited time each year – mainly during the autumn migration period – and other species discovered in this latest batch included European Goldfinch, Swallow, European Greenfinch, Common Quail, Willow Warbler, Western Yellow Wagtail, Corn Bunting and Reed Bunting.

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Satellite-Tagged Migratory Bird Shot Dead In Manipur

The incident has prompted the state government to discuss cancellation of gun licenses (air guns) in the next Cabinet meeting

Updated: November 16, 2018 12:17 IST

Days after it was satellite-tagged and released, an Amur falcon "Manipur", named after the northeast Indian state bordering Myanmar, was allegedly shot down by unknown people at a roosting site during its migratory passage through the region.

The incident has prompted the state government to discuss cancellation of gun licenses (air guns) in the next cabinet meeting while a district administration has imposed a ban on air guns in the aftermath of the incident.

Meanwhile, wildlife biologists associated with the tagging exercise will kick-off landscape-level surveys across river valleys in Manipur to ascertain the status of roosting sites.

Amur falcons are known to breed in southeast Russia and northern China and migrate west through India and across the Arabian Sea to southern Africa where they spend their winter, making a round-trip of at least 20,000 km every year, travelling between their breeding and wintering grounds.

This arduous journey includes a non-stop flight over the Arabian Sea after passing across India. The resilient falcons arrive in large numbers during October in Nagaland and a few other places in northeastern India, including Tamenglong in Manipur.

"Manipur", a male migratory raptor, was one of the two Amur falcons to be tagged for the first time in the state. The second bird, a female, was christened "Tamenglong" after the district where it was captured and released. Both were captured on November 4 and released in the morning the day after.

The exercise in the remote community forest area of Chiuluan village along the Barak river in Tamenglong district of the state was undertaken by a team of officials led by Suresh Kumar of the Wildlife Institute of India, the state Forest Department under DFO Arun R.S. and biologists from Hungary.

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Police investigating after once-rare bird of prey shot out of sky above Saddleworth Moor

The incident has appalled conservationists

Neal Keeling

06:00, 21 SEP 2018

Police have launched an investigation after a once-rare bird of prey was shot out of the sky above Saddleworth Moor.

The red kite was blasted within the Peak District National Park area. The killing has appalled conservationists.

The re-introduction of the species has been a success story in recent decades after its numbers dropped to just ten in the 1970s, with those remaining confined to central Wales.

Tim Melling, the RSPB's regional conservation officer, said: "It is the most benign bird of prey, feeding on carrion, worms, and insects.

"We don't know who shot this bird, but 75 per cent of all crimes against birds of prey are connected with the game shooting industry."

Climber Adam Long told the M.E.N. he heard gunshots and saw the bird fall from the sky.

The shooter, however, remained out of sight.

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Powys birds of prey are "second most persecuted in UK"

28th September

By Mike Sheridan 

Powys has the second highest number of attacks against birds of prey in the United Kingdom over the past five years, according to new figures.

The 'BirdCrime' report authored by the RSPB and released this week shows there were 68 confirmed incidents of bird of prey persecution in the UK during 2017, but the charity says many illegal killings are going undetected or unreported.

In Powys three incidents of Red Kite poisonings were recorded and a rare Peregrine Falcon, a Schedule 1 listed species protected by law, was shot between Llanfair and Berriew.

The county saw 25 confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents in the period between 2012 and 2017 – quite a distance ahead of the next highest county in Wales, Conwy, with four.

Bob Elliot, RSPB Head of Investigations, said: "The persecution of birds of prey is a widespread problem in the UK, and is affecting some of our most loved and vulnerable species, like owls and eagles.

"Every week the RSPB’s Investigations team get reports of yet another raptor being shot, trapped or poisoned. But for every report we receive, scientific studies suggest there are many more that go undetected and unreported. As such, these figures only scratch the surface of the true extent of raptor persecution in the UK."

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RSPB vows to crackdown on wild bird shooting after gamekeeper found guilty of killing owls

The RSPB have vowed to crackdown on illegal wild bird shooting after a gamekeeper is found guilty of killing two owls.

Timothy Cowin was caught by RSPB officers shooting two short-eared owls on Whernside Moor in Cumbria last April.

Cowin attempted to hide the body of the wild birds, but they were found by RSPB officers on the moors.

Police officers were called to the scene where they pursued Cowin on foot. He was later arrested.

Officers believed Cowin, 44, was using a device to attract the birds to the area in order to shoot them.

Cowin pleaded guilty to three charges concerning the killing of the owls. He also pleaded guilty to one charge relating to the possession of items capable of being used to commit offences against wild birds.

On Tuesday, Cowin appeared at Yorkshire Magistrates' Court. He was fined £400 for each of the two birds and £200 for possession of the device. As well as this, he was ordered to pay £170 costs and £40 victim surcharge - a total of £1,210.

Last updated Wed 29 Aug 2018

Source  

POISONED - Rare birds of prey killed in south Kilkenny

INTENTIONALLY TARGETED - LARGE AMOUNTS OF THE POISON CARBOFURAN INGESTED BY DEAD RAPTORS

Sean Keane

2 Jul 2018

A pair or rare and legally protected birds have been intentionally poisoned at their nesting place in South Kilkenny.

Large amounts of the poison carbofuran was ingested by them near their nests at the Slate Quarries, close to the Tipperary border.

Ranger with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Jimi Conroy believes that a live pigeon was probably used as bait and was first covered in the poison and then tied to a stake close to the nest to lure the nesting couple.

He said that the fact two had been killed had made it certain they were knowingly poisoned and because carbofuran is a controlled substance, he believes it was intentionally used to kill them.
He said it was a shocking crime and that because peregrines are so rare they are protected under The wildlife Acts.

He is looking for information which will lead to the conviction of those responsible. He is asking anyone that saw anything suspicious in the Slate Quarries area over the last number of weeks, including the tying up of a pigeon to come forward. The number to ring is 076-1002655

Source  

Here's What Killed 13 Bald Eagles ... and Their Raccoon Dinner

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | June 22, 2018 09:23am ET

Wildlife experts have partially solved a murder mystery regarding the deaths of 13 bald eagles, but they still don't know who did it.

The 13 eagles — including some so young, they hadn't yet grown their iconic white head feathers — were poisoned with a deadly pesticide known as carbofuran, according to a six-month investigation first reported by Maryland radio station WNAV.

Carbofuran is highly toxic — just one granule of it can kill a small bird, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the use of liquid carbofuran in food crops in 2009, but many people still likely have aging containers of the pesticide in their sheds, Karyn Bischoff, a toxicologist at Cornell University's Animal Health Diagnostic Center, told The Washington Post. [Photos: Bald Eagles of the Mighty Mississippi]

The 13 dead bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were first discovered by a man looking for deer antlers on Maryland's eastern shore in February 2016. After finding four of the dead birds, the man called the Maryland Natural Resources Police, who later found nine more when they came out to investigate the site in Federalsburg, The Washington Post reported.

The bald eagle is a federally protected bird, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spent the following six months investigating the birds' deaths, interviewing more than a dozen landowners and property managers near the scene of the crime. But "there was no smoking gun," John LaCorte, a special agent with the Fish and Wildlife Service, told The Washington Post. "It's very frustrating."

Carbofuran once killed up to 2 million birds each year, according to the EPA. The pellet form of the pesticide, which looks like grain seeds, was banned in the mid-1990s, when bald eagles were still on the endangered species list.

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More than 100 wedge-tailed eagles found dead on Victorian farm

The eagles – and four other protected species – are alleged to have been poisoned

Calla Wahlquist

Thu 7 Jun 2018 04.27 BSTLast modified on Thu 7 Jun 2018 04.28 BST

More than 100 wedge-tailed eagles have been found on a farm in eastern Victoria, prompting a criminal investigation.

Officers from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) found the carcasses on a property at Tubbut, which is on the edge of the Snowy River national park near the New South Wales border in East Gippsland.

Guardian Australia understands that the eagles are alleged to have been poisoned.

The penalty for deliberately killing the animals, which are a protected species under the Victorian Wildlife Act, is a fine of up to $7,928.50 or six months’ imprisonment. An additional penalty of $792.85 is applicable for each additional bird killed, which could push the maximum fine in this case to more than $90,000.

A spokesman from DELWP said the matter was still under investigation and that charges had not yet been laid.

“DELWP is taking this matter very seriously,” he said.

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Many birds

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.

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Red kite put down after being shot and blinded

21 May 2018

A rare red kite had to be put down after it was found shot and blinded in County Durham, the RSPB said.

The bird was found alive in Derwent Gorge, near Shotley Bridge, by a member of the public. However, after it was found to be blind it was euthanized.

Since 2010, six kites have been poisoned or shot near Derwent Gorge, including a red kite found poisoned in nearby Muggleswick in 2014.

Police are investigating and have appealed for witnesses.

Like all birds of prey, red kites are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to deliberately kill or injure a wild bird.

Those convicted can face an unlimited fine or up to six months in jail.

Howard Jones, RSPB Investigations Officer, said: "It is very sad that this bird had to be euthanized, but there was no alternative.

"Close examination of the bird by experts revealed that its injuries were so severe that it could never have been released back into the wild and it would have had zero quality of life."

Jenny Shelton, from the charity's Investigations Unit, added: "Spring is a crucial time of year when adult kites will be feeding their young, so the death of this bird could have also affected any family it might have been raising.

"Red kites were almost completely wiped out of the UK until they were reintroduced in the 1980s.

"This has been a wonderful success, and most of us enjoy watching these impressive birds. But threats like persecution are preventing them from naturally expanding their range and we clearly have a problem area on our hands here.

Continued