Legal Eagle

News
Wildlife Crime
Awareness Week
18–25 October 2015 was the second annual
Wildlife Crime Awareness Week held in the UK.
It was organised by World Animal
Protection and Crimestoppers, and
many police forces got involved.
Celebrities, including Stephen Fry
(below) and Michaela Strachan,
showed their support.
The event focused on making sure
the British public understand what
wildlife crime is, how to spot it, and
who they should report it to.
People may be forgiven for thinking
that wildlife crime is an issue that
mainly affects other countries.
The news often concentrates
on problems such as poaching
elephants and rhinos for ivory
in Africa, and taking primates
from the wild for the pet trade,
but wildlife crime is a serious
problem here in the UK as well.
Wildlife crime can also often have
links to other serious organised
crime and anti-social behaviour.
Many police forces supported
the event, including Thames Valley,
Kent, Humberside, North Yorkshire,
Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Police
Service of Northern Ireland,
Lincolnshire and the Metropolitan
Police. They showcased their
Wildlife Crime Officers, letting
the public know what they do.
A Twitter campaign was set up,
with the hashtag “#wildlifecrime:
It’s illegal! See it, report it” to
encourage more people to
become involved.
As many police forces have their
own Twitter accounts, people can
easily report crimes or be kept up
to date on their local area.
Birdcrime 2014 report is out
The RSPB Investigations team’s annual report, Birdcrime, was published
at the end of 2015.
The report is only able to record
a fraction of the total number of
incidents, as many crimes remain
undetected, especially in remote
areas. This is recognised in a
number of scientific studies
and Government reports: illegal
persecution is preventing the full
recovery of populations of some
of our most charismatic raptors,
including hen harriers, golden
eagles and peregrines.In 2014
we received 179 reports of shooting
and destruction of birds of prey,
including 23 buzzards, nine
peregrines, three red kites and a
hen harrier. There were 72 incidents
of wildlife poisoning and pesticiderelated
officences. Victims include
23 red kites, nine buzzards and
four peregrines. 19 individuals were
prosecuted for wild bird related
offences. These included the first
person – a Scottish gamekeeper –
to be sent to jail for raptor
persecution offences, and
a gamekeeper who received
a suspended jail sentence for
England’s worst raptor poisioning
case. The first vicarious liability
case led to the landowner losing
£66,000 in subsidies. We are calling
for better implementation and
enforcement of wildlife laws. To
read more, go to rspb.org.uk/
birdcrimereport
News
New full-time Wildlife and
Environmental Crime Officer
for Police Scotland
As part of a continued effort to tackle wildlife
crime, Police Scotland Highland and Islands
Division has recently appointed a full-time
Wildlife and Environmental Crime Officer.
Police Constable Daniel Sutherland,
who is based at Dingwall Police
Station, has experience tackling
crime in a number of specialist
areas, including community policing
and wildlife crime.
Daniel said: “Since the very
beginning of my police career,
I’ve been interested and involved in
tackling wildlife crime. I have been
a part-time Wildlife Crime Officer
(WCO) since 2012, which has only
served to increase my knowledge
of legislation and the policing
processes in this particular area.
I have always been an outdoors
enthusiast and have a keen interest
in the wildlife and the environment
The report states that 779
protected raptors were illegally
killed in Scotland between 1994
and 2014. 468 birds of prey were
poisoned, 173 shot and 76 caught
in illegal traps. There were also
seven attempted shootings. The
confirmed offences included 104
red kites, 37 golden eagles, 30
hen harriers, 16 goshawks and
10 white-tailed eagles. The report
deals only with incidents confirmed
as involving criminal activity: the
number killed will be higher. In a
further 171 incidents, poison baits
and/or non-bird of prey victims of
poisoning were found, including
that go with it. I am delighted to
now have a more proactive role
in this particular area.”
To support the wider work of PAW
Scotland, Daniel plans to build
new relationships with partnership
agencies to tackle issues of wildlife
crime, and strengthen links with
current partner agencies. The aim is
to prevent incidents occurring, using
education and by deterring and
detecting wildlife crime, both locally
and nationally. This will include
building awareness of wildlife and
rural crime, with assistance from
Scottish Partners Against Rural
Crime and Rural Watch. Daniel is
keen to improve specialist training
Dan is pleased to have a
more proactive role tackling
wildlife crime
for WCOs, and is taking an active
role where possible on all wildlife
crime incidents.
Chief Inspector Colin Gough, Wildlife
and Rural Crime Co-ordinator for the
Highland and Islands Division, said:
“This appointment is a very positive
step for the Highlands and Islands
and I am confident Dan will become
the focal point for partner contact
in this rapidly developing area of
our business.”
RSPB Scotland report out
A comprehensive and detailed report, covering the last 20 years of illegal
killing of birds of prey in Scotland, has been issued by RSPB Scotland.
14 cats and 14 dogs. There were
134 incidents where clear attempts
had been made to target raptors,
such as the use of illegal traps,
though no victims were found. The
report shows a significant majority
of cases are in areas associated
with game bird shooting, especially
in uplands managed intensively
for driven grouse shooting. It is
noted that there have been some
significant and welcome reductions
in the number of cases reported
from lowland areas of Scotland.
There is now well-documented
scientific evidence of the impact
of illegal killing on golden eagles,
hen harriers, peregrines, and
red kites. The JNCC Hen Harrier
Framework 2011 stated that illegal
killing had significant impact,
particularly on land managed
for driven grouse shooting in
the southern uplands and eastern
Highlands. This report on illegal
killing gives reliable data to inform
Scottish Government. It can be used
to improve conservation efforts for
our birds of prey. It re-affirms the
need for continued vigilance, good
wildlife laws, effective enforcement
powers for the police and strong
sanctions in the courts, to act
as effective deterrents.
Ileana Sandham
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