> Dozens of birds of prey were illegally shot, poisoned or trapped in the UK last year, conservationists have said.
>The RSPB’s annual bird crime report found there were 108 cases of bird of prey persecution, notably in Dorset, Norfolk and Yorkshire.
The report found 71% of cases were related to land managed for gamebird shooting.
>But the RSPB said the numbers were only the tip of the iceberg.
It said many killings of birds of prey go undetected and unreported.
>The annual survey included 41 shootings or attempted shootings, 32 poisonings and 18 trappings, along with illegal nest destruction.
>A total of 91 birds were affected, including buzzards, red kites, peregrines, and goshawks, as well as a hen harrier, white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, sparrowhawks and a number of owls.
>All birds of prey are protected by law but they can be seen as a threat to stocks of pheasants, partridge or grouse by those involved in gamebird shooting, the RSPB said.
Norfolk, Dorset and Yorkshire, which are popular with such shooting, recorded the highest number of incidents, with 13,12 and 10 cases respectively.
>Five individuals, all gamekeepers, were prosecuted in 2021 for offences relating to bird of prey persecution, the report said.
> It also warned there had been a surge in the detection of rat poison brodifacoum at well beyond lethal levels, suggesting a deliberate misuse to target birds of prey.
>A rare white-tailed eagle was discovered in Dorset with seven times the lethal dose of brodifacoum, the RSPB said, although a police investigation failed to prove it was deliberate.
Among the confirmed incidents was a golden eagle found poisoned, lying beside a dead hare laced with the same banned pesticide, on a grouse shooting estate in Scotland.
>In Wales, RSPB officers assisted a police investigation into a poisoned red kite and a shot buzzard and found 18 toxic pesticides, many of which are banned, stored on a pheasant shooting estate.
>The report also noted a “mass grave” of at least 11 buzzards and four red kites was found down a well on a pheasant shoot in Wiltshire.
Honestly, the grouse and pheasant shooting has to end. I don’t see any added value of these practices to this country, just environmental destruction.
Cats and birds. It’s nature. Shooting down birds for sport isn’t, it’s genocide.
It’s clear there is a serious problem here and we can best solve it by culling the creatures creating the problem: Gamekeepers.
All so some limp-dick tweed Tarquin can take pot-shots at one of the dumbest birds in existence
Gamekeepers are garbage human beings. It’s a misleading title really, most people think “gamekeeper” oh, he looks after animals.
​
Nope–it means shooting foxes, birds of prey, badgers and anything else which means some rich prat’s pheasants are safe for the annual shoot.
6 comments
> Dozens of birds of prey were illegally shot, poisoned or trapped in the UK last year, conservationists have said.
>The RSPB’s annual bird crime report found there were 108 cases of bird of prey persecution, notably in Dorset, Norfolk and Yorkshire.
The report found 71% of cases were related to land managed for gamebird shooting.
>But the RSPB said the numbers were only the tip of the iceberg.
It said many killings of birds of prey go undetected and unreported.
>The annual survey included 41 shootings or attempted shootings, 32 poisonings and 18 trappings, along with illegal nest destruction.
>A total of 91 birds were affected, including buzzards, red kites, peregrines, and goshawks, as well as a hen harrier, white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, sparrowhawks and a number of owls.
>All birds of prey are protected by law but they can be seen as a threat to stocks of pheasants, partridge or grouse by those involved in gamebird shooting, the RSPB said.
Norfolk, Dorset and Yorkshire, which are popular with such shooting, recorded the highest number of incidents, with 13,12 and 10 cases respectively.
>Five individuals, all gamekeepers, were prosecuted in 2021 for offences relating to bird of prey persecution, the report said.
> It also warned there had been a surge in the detection of rat poison brodifacoum at well beyond lethal levels, suggesting a deliberate misuse to target birds of prey.
>A rare white-tailed eagle was discovered in Dorset with seven times the lethal dose of brodifacoum, the RSPB said, although a police investigation failed to prove it was deliberate.
Among the confirmed incidents was a golden eagle found poisoned, lying beside a dead hare laced with the same banned pesticide, on a grouse shooting estate in Scotland.
>In Wales, RSPB officers assisted a police investigation into a poisoned red kite and a shot buzzard and found 18 toxic pesticides, many of which are banned, stored on a pheasant shooting estate.
>The report also noted a “mass grave” of at least 11 buzzards and four red kites was found down a well on a pheasant shoot in Wiltshire.
Honestly, the grouse and pheasant shooting has to end. I don’t see any added value of these practices to this country, just environmental destruction.
Cats and birds. It’s nature. Shooting down birds for sport isn’t, it’s genocide.
It’s clear there is a serious problem here and we can best solve it by culling the creatures creating the problem: Gamekeepers.
All so some limp-dick tweed Tarquin can take pot-shots at one of the dumbest birds in existence
Gamekeepers are garbage human beings. It’s a misleading title really, most people think “gamekeeper” oh, he looks after animals.
​
Nope–it means shooting foxes, birds of prey, badgers and anything else which means some rich prat’s pheasants are safe for the annual shoot.