UK’s birds continue to suffer at hands of criminals

Photo: Wikimedia Commons Crimes against wild birds remained at near record highs last year.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) received 1,206 reports of shooting, poisoning, trapping and disturbance of birds and of the theft of birds and their eggs.

While the figure is slightly down from the all-time high of 1,228 reports in 2007, it remains the second highest RSPB has ever recorded. Many more are believed to have gone undetected and unreported.

The RSPB is now using its annual Birdcrime report to repeat its call for a fundamental shake-up of the way such crimes are policed.

The figures include 210 reports of shooting and destruction of birds of prey.
Data from the report showed the two worst counties in England for all reported incidents against birds of prey were North Yorkshire with 24 and Derbyshire with 14 reported incidents.

In Scotland, problems were worst in Perth and Kinross where there were 18 reported incidents and in the Borders where there were 15. Aberdeenshire, Angus and the Highlands each had 14 reports.

In Wales, Bridgend and Denbighshire saw the most reports of crimes against raptors, with five each. Northern Ireland’s hotspot was County Down, which accounted for five of the province’s 11 reported incidents against birds of prey.

The RSPB has called for a ‘Thematic Review’ of Wildlife Crime policing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure minimum standards of investigation across the UK. This would compliment a similar review carried out in Scotland in 2008. It also demanded that crimes against birds of prey be classed as ‘recorded crime’ by the Home Office and included in national crime statistics.

Ian West, Head of Investigations at the RSPB, said: “How many more of our wild birds have to be lost before the authorities start taking these crimes seriously?

“It is absurd that the government lists the killing of birds of prey as a wildlife crime priority and yet these crime are not recorded by the Home Office. This provides little incentive for police to tackle crimes seen as less important. If I stole a packet of sweets, it would be recorded in the Home Office figures. If I shot a golden eagle, it would not. That cannot be right.

“The law is being flouted and our natural heritage ransacked for want of modest resources and a shared determination to tackle the problem.”

“The recent outrage over two golden eagles found poisoned in Scotland shows the strength of public concern. The public’s help will be vital in helping us put a stop to these crimes and hold those responsible to account.”