Bird of prey tracking tech to help stop Highland wildlife crime

23rd March

By Jane Cassidy

SOME of Scotland’s golden eagles will be fitted with new tracking technology able to pinpoint death locations in a bid to cut wildlife crime.

The satellite tag has an early warning system to detect unusual behaviour and will provide more accurate information on deaths.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the tags should “make a real difference in deterring would-be criminals” as they will give an instant fix on birds which die.

The trackers will also give more in-depth information on raptor movements and behaviour.

Golden eagles at the Cairngorms National Park will be fitted with the tags in an 18-month trial which, if successful, could be extended to cover the species elsewhere.

The technology could potentially be miniaturised to fit on smaller tags for other birds of prey, such as hen harriers.

It uses the “geostationary Iridium” satellite network and ensures signal information is always available, while multiple sensors immediately send a distress signal and exact location back to base if unusual behaviour is detected. This means rapid identification and recovery of any tagged birds which die and provides detailed information on their movements in the minutes leading up to their death.

Last year, RSPB Scotland said 12 golden eagles had disappeared over seven years after their tags stopped transmitting in an area of the Highlands dubbed a “black hole” for satellite-tagged birds of prey.

Cunningham said of the new technology: “The tags should make a real difference in deterring would-be criminals, as well as playing a key role in establishing exactly what happened, should any of these magnificent birds of prey disappear or die in unusual circumstances.”

Grant Moir, Cairngorms National Park Authority CEO, said: “This is an exciting breakthrough in the technology around raptor conservation, understanding the birds and combating wildlife crime.”

The latest wildlife crime report published by the Scottish Government in December showed raptor persecution offences fell from 25 in 2015-16 to 11 in 2016-17.

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Thousands sign petition to end kite and buzzard killings

Posted on: 30 Aug 2014

An RSPB Red Kite volunteer has urged the government to take action over bird of prey persecution, after thousands signed the petition she set up.

RSPB volunteer Andrea Goddard has handed over a petition to Scottish government minister Paul Wheelhouse MSP demanding greater action over wildlife crime. Mrs Goddard, who helps out at RSPB Scotland’s Tollie Red Kites visitor centre in Ross-shire, was so outraged by the killing of 16 Red Kites and six Common Buzzards earlier this year, that she set up an online petition which has attracted support from more than 6,900 people. The petition asks the government to extend the investigative authority of SSPCA inspectors, providing them with greater powers to tackle wildlife crime in Scotland.

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Joint assault on animal crime as it's learned 90 birds of prey killed by poison in eight years

BY LINDA STEWART – 08 MAY 2014

More than 90 birds of prey have been poisoned in Northern Ireland since 2006, Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has revealed.

The minister has pledged to improve the way wildlife crime is tackled in the province following a wildlife crime summit attended by nearly 30 organisations.

Mr Durkan said poisoning of birds of prey was an issue of huge concern and one that could hopefully be addressed by the Partnership Against Wildlife Crime (PAW), which includes the PSNI, animal welfare and countryside sports organisations.

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Blame game begins over 'horrendous' Scottish wildlife crime

MSPs clash over how culpable landowners and estate managers are for recent spate of apparently deliberate raptor poisonings

By Ben Riley-Smith, Scottish Political Reporter

5:59AM BST 07 May 2014

A row over the culpability of Scottish landowners for "horrendous" wildlife crime has broke out in Holyrood as MSPs debated a recent spate of raptor poisonings.

Claire Baker, a Labour MSP, pointed the finger at estate management teams, saying there were elements that believed such actions against birds of prey were both "acceptable" and "necessary".

But Alex Ferguson, a Tory MSP, warned against attempts to turn the problem into an "us and them" issue, suggesting wildlife groups were "whipping up" hostility towards landowners and gamekeepers.

Scottish Land & Estates, which represents the country's landowners, later released a statement saying it was "too simple" to blame recent incidents on land management.

The dispute came as MSPs united in their condemnation of recent raptor poisonings during a Holyrood debate on how best to tackle the problem.

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'Fewer birds of prey poisoned'

The number of birds of prey illegally poisoned fell dramatically last year, a report has revealed.

The first annual report on wildlife crime in Scotland shows the number of confirmed poisonings of birds of prey fell from 16 in 2011 and 30 in 2009 to just three last year.

One golden eagle and two buzzards were found to have been poisoned during 2012 and over the past five years there have been a total of 94 confirmed poisonings of birds of prey.

But while there is a "encouraging decline" in poisoning cases, the report raised concerns that other forms of persecution could be increasing.

"The last few years have shown an encouraging decline in raptor poisoning numbers. It is too early to say yet whether this represents a genuine reduction in overall raptor persecution, or whether there has been a corresponding increase in other forms of persecution," the report stated.

While there was one case in the northern region where a golden eagle was poisoned last year, there was a case in Tayside where such a bird was trapped and another case in Dumfries and Galloway where a golden eagle was shot.

Conservation charity RSPB Scotland says it is concerned that some criminals may have changed tactics from illegal poisoning to trapping, shooting and destroying nests.

It is now calling for more resources to be put into tackling and preventing such crimes.

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RSPB Government misses chance to turn up the heat on wildlife criminals

Despite evidence that wildlife crime is a threat to some of our most threatened species, the Government has ignored the advice of a committee of MPs by refusing to provide long-term financial security for the National Wildlife Crime Unit. They have also ignored some simple recommendations to turn up the heat on wildlife criminals in England and Wales. Martin Harper is the RSPB's conservation director. Commenting on the Government's announcement, he said: "Every year threatened species are killed illegally, putting some species at a great risk. Despite ministerial assurances that tackling wildlife crime is a 'core priority' and the Government being given a clear roadmap by a group of MPs on how to tackle wildlife crime, Ministers have ignored these recommendations. The Government's rejection of even simple wildlife crime measures at this crucial time displays a worrying lack of commitment to tackle this significant conservation issue."

In October last year, the Environmental Audit Committee, under the chair of Joan Walley MP, investigated wildlife crime and made recommendations, including securing long-term funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit and tightening up controls on poisons used to kill birds of prey, allowing offences of possession to be linked to tougher sentences. Martin Harper said: "We're also very disappointed by the Government's response to introducing vicarious liability legislation, which would allow landowners to be prosecuted for crimes committed by their employees and make a real difference to tackling bird of prey persecution."

Read on :  http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3688

RSPB raps failure to tackle to bird attacks

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

By ANDY GREENWOOD

The Government has been criticised for failing to take "simple measures" to tackle wildlife crime such as the poisoning of birds of prey which has blighted the Westcountry.

Ministers rejected calls by MPs to guarantee long-term funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit – led by Devon and Cornwall Police Inspector Nevin Hunter – in order to ensure it can fight such crime effectively, including monitoring criminal activity on the internet.

The Environment Department and Home Office have each committed £136,000 to the unit for its running in 2013-14 and no decision on funding for 2014-15 has yet been made, the Government said.

In its response to a report by the Environmental Audit Committee on wildlife crime, the Government also rejected steps to criminalise possession of the main poison – the pesticide carbofuran – used to kill birds of prey.

Two years ago, four goshawks, three peregrine falcons and a buzzard were found poisoned in Devon and Cornwall.

The MPs said the Government should bring in the order listing proscribed poisons "to send a clear signal that it regards poisoning birds of prey as wholly unacceptable" and make it easier to secure prosecutions.

But the Government said existing laws already make the sale, supply, storage and use of carbofuran illegal, with unlimited fines upon prosecution, and that it is a crime to use a poisonous substance to kill or take wild birds.

Tony Whitehead, from the RSPB in the South West, said: "Our network of wildlife crime officers do a great job. Devon and Cornwall Police's Operation Wilderness, launched last year, introduced sophisticated surveillance equipment to help guard rare bird of prey nests.

Continued:  http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk/RSPB-raps-failure-tackle-bird-attacks/story-18460045-detail/story.html#axzz2O0EgJ4XK

Call for tough new laws to protect birds of prey

A NEW survey has revealed that 20 incidents of the poisoning, shooting and trapping of wild birds have been reported in Staffordshire and Derbyshire.

The RSPB has disclosed that its investigation unit had to deal with seven incidents in Staffordshire and 13 in Derbyshire during 2011 involving red kites, barn owls, peregrine falcons, goshawks and other persecuted species.

Fen Gerry, speaking for the RSPB in the Midlands, said: “Among the wildlife crime figures in the Midlands, there were reported incidents of birds of prey persecution, egg collecting incidents, the taking and sale of wild birds and reports of poison and pesticide incidents.


Continued: http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Call-for-tough-new-laws-to-protect-birds-of-prey-05102012.htm