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Scotland tackles banned
pesticide stockpiles
A pesticide disposal scheme funded by the Scottish Government has
highlighted the astonishing stockpiles of highly toxic banned pesticides.
International
New report highlights
raptor persecution in
Northern Ireland
The scheme recovered more
than 100 kilograms of carbofuran
and more than 480 kilograms of
sodium cyanide products in just
three months.
Following a number of high profile
bird of prey poisoning incidents, a
free scheme was launched to help
remove stores of banned pesticides.
This operated between 23 February
and 29 May 2015, with the support
of stakeholders in PAW Scotland.
The scheme allowed those in
possession of these substances to
have them collected and disposed
of, safely and confidentially.
There were 191 requests for
disposal of illegal pesticides, some
involving more than one type of
pesticide. The table below shows
which pesticides were recovered
during the scheme.
Postcode information showed that
the highest numbers of collections
were carried out in Aberdeenshire
and Moray, the Highlands,
Perthshire and the Scottish Borders.
Due to the anonymous nature of the
scheme, it is not known what types
of premises the pesticides were
collected from, or whether any were
from stocks which had been used
for illegal poisoning in the past. The
Scottish Government and PAW
Scotland stakeholders have
welcomed the actions of those who
have taken the responsible step of
handing over these substances.
Dr Aileen McLeod, Minister for
Environment, Climate Change and
Land Reform said: “I am very
pleased that this scheme has helped
to safely remove a large volume of
highly dangerous illegal pesticides
from Scotland’s environment. The
illegal poisoning of wildlife cannot
and will not be tolerated in a
modern Scotland.
“The Scottish Government has
made tackling wildlife crime a
priority. We have the strongest laws
on wildlife crime in the UK, including
vicarious liability, which was recently
successfully used in the courts.
While it is obviously a concern that
these stocks were still out there, by
removing them from circulation now
we are removing any temptation for
them to be illegally used in future.
Nobody found in possession
of these pesticides now can have
any excuse for holding onto them.”
Ian Thomson, Head of Investigations
at RSPB Scotland, said: “We
commend the work of the Scottish
Government and the stakeholders
involved in implementing this
disposal scheme. It is indeed
good news that this amount of
illegal and dangerous pesticide
has been removed from circulation.
“It is clear, however, from
the number and distribution
of incidents where chemicals
such as carbofuran have been
used to poison protected wildlife
in recent years that a number of
individuals have held on to their
stockpiles of these chemicals.
“We trust that this scheme
represents a line in the sand,
and that anyone now convicted
of being in possession of or using
such pesticides will face the
strongest penalties available
to the courts.”
PAW NI has launched a new report detailing bird of prey
persection between 2009 and 2013.
Produced by the Raptor
Subgroup of the Partnership
for Action against Wildlife Crime
Northern Ireland (PAW NI), the
report reveals 30 incidents of illegal
poisoning or persecution that
involved 33 birds of prey.
The most frequent casualties were
buzzards (19 birds), followed by
recently re-introduced red kites
(seven) and peregrine falcons (four).
Other raptor species recorded
included a white-tailed eagle, a
golden eagle, and a merlin.
There were 10 confirmed incidents
of illegal poisoning of other wildlife
or poisoned baits found in
circumstances where birds of prey
were potential victims. Red kites
and buzzards are particularly
susceptible to poisoned baits, as
they will feed on carrion routinely.
There were an additional four
probable raptor crimes (including
another white-tailed eagle) and
eight incidents where secondary
rodenticide poisoning was recorded.
Northern Ireland. Encouragingly,
there has also been increased
co-operation between PSNI, the
NI Environment Agency and the
Health and Safety Executive NI.
During 2015 there were two
multi-agency searches, one in
a notorious blackspot in South
Armagh following the poisoning
of a buzzard, and the other in the
Magherafelt area following the
poisoning of a peregrine.
The report was made possible by
PAWNI, with input from: the PSNI,
Northern Ireland Environment
Agency (NIEA), Northern Ireland
Raptor Study Group (NIRSG), the
RSPB and the National Wildlife
Crime Unit (NWCU).
Eimear Rooney NIRSG
Pesticide (active
ingredient)
Stocks collected
Total estimated
weight (kg)
Banned since
Sodium cyanide 110 482 2004
Strychnine 68 5 2006
Aluminium phosphide 17 44
Carbofuran 10 107 2001
Mevinphos 9 29 1993
(Alpha) Chloralose 8 8
Aldicarb 5 30 2007
Unknown 4 16
Totals 231 722
Superintendent Brian Kee, Police
Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
service lead for rural and wildlife
crime, said: “This report highlights
the continued disregard for public
and wildlife safety displayed by a
small number of individuals in
Northern Ireland. These actions
which destroy our native wildlife
are illegal and the indiscriminate
use of such toxic poisons may
affect not only raptors but also
children, pets or livestock.”
The RSPB has welcomed the report
as another step in improving the
recording and investigation of
raptor persecution offences in
A poisoned red kite found on its nest in 2014
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