Guy Shorrock (RSPB) Ben Hall (rspb-images.com) Cover story As well as buzzards, a sparrowhawk is known to have been poisoned Cross compliance bites Rural subsidies have been reduced by about £185,000 for the Stody Estate, where the worst raptor poisoning case in England took place. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has withheld 75% of the Cross Compliance subsidy paid to the Stody Estate in 2014. In November 2014, Allen Charles Lambert was convicted of a number of offences, including the poisoning of ten buzzards and a sparrowhawk by the banned pesticide mevinphos (see <strong>Legal</strong> <strong>Eagle</strong> 75). Lambert, who worked as a gamekeeper at the Norfolk estate, was given a ten-week suspended sentence. Cross compliance is a mandatory set of requirements and standards that land managers have to meet in order to receive support scheme payments. There are a number of Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) relating to public health, animal and plant health, environmental protection and animal welfare. There are also Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) relating to environmental standards. Failure to meet these requirements can result in a payment reduction. A response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that, following an investigation by the RPA, a 75% reduction has been applied to payments made to the Stody Estate in 2014. This relates to a breach of SMR1 for the intentional killing of wild birds. It was later confirmed a reduction of €263,308.10 (about £185,000) had been applied. This is believed to be the largest penalty applied under the scheme for a wildlife crime. A reduction of around £107,000 was Nine of the poisoned buzzards found on the Stody Estate applied to the Glenogil Estate in Scotland following a number of poisoning incidents in 2006. The scheme that operated in 2014 has been replaced by the current Basic Payments Scheme. This has unfortunately limited the circumstances when reduction can be made for offences of killing wild birds, though offences relating to the use of pesticides are covered under SMR10. The RSPB welcomes the work undertaken by the RPA. We believe that cross compliance sanctions should be amongst a toolkit of options to be considered by the statutory agencies when investigating raptor persecution offences. Father and daughter convicted of peregrine offences Trying to sell peregrine chicks via Facebook led to a conviction, after it became clear that the birds had been taken from the wild. On 29 October 2015, Liana Baker, 21, of Central Avenue, Bury, and her father Alan Baker, 61, formerly of the same address, appeared at Bury Magistrates’ Court for sentencing. At an earlier hearing they had pleaded guilty to possession of two peregrine falcons, contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and offering the birds for sale, contrary to the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 (COTES). Liana Baker was sentenced to eight weeks in custody suspended for 12 months, ordered to attend a rehabilitation of offenders course and pay £345 costs. Alan Baker was also sentenced to eight weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months. He was given a curfew from 7 pm to 7 am for eight weeks and ordered to pay £345 costs. Magistrate Ralph Naylor told the defendants that the offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. The offences came to light in June 2015 when Liana Baker posted photographs of two peregrine falcon chicks on a falconry forum on Facebook. Her text indicated that the chicks were offered for sale at £250 each. Baker’s Facebook post sparked outrage from legitimate falconers when they realised that the birds were not ringed and were not covered by permits. It became apparent the birds had been taken from the wild. Two falconers reported the wild-taken birds to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which traced Baker through her Facebook account. Once it became obvious that falconers had expressed their concerns on the forum, Baker’s father contacted the RSPB to tell them that he was in possession of two young peregrine falcons. He claimed these had been handed to him to look after by an unknown person visiting their home. He made no mention of the fact that his daughter had been offering them for sale. With the help of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the RSPB arranged the recovery of the birds later the same day. After a veterinary check, RSPB officers, with the assistance of Raptor Workers from the Northern England Raptor Forum (NERF), were able to add the chicks to a nest in West Yorkshire. It already contained two chicks of a similar age, and the new chicks were readily adopted by the resident parents. They later fledged and were observed free flying with the other chicks from the nest and the adult birds. In July 2015, Liana and Alan Baker were interviewed by the NWCU and Greater Manchester Police and admitted that they had tried to sell the birds on Facebook. They claimed that they had no knowledge of the origins of the birds and that they had been brought to the house by a man that neither of them had seen previously. They claimed they had tried to care for them, but realised it was too time consuming and had then offered them for sale. Enquiries were unable to ascertain where the birds had originated from, though a number of peregrine nests Prosecutions had been robbed or failed in suspicious circumstances in the north Manchester area. Following the hearing, Andy McWilliam from the NWCU praised the falconers who brought the matter to the attention of the authorities and said: “The majority of falconers and breeders work within the law and it is reassuring to know that they are prepared to challenge criminality within the falconry world. Anybody intent on trading illegally in endangered species should be aware that they may face jail.” The NWCU thanks PC Heather Ranson for her valued work on this case. The chicks were placed in a wild nest, and continued to thrive NERF 2 3