Slaughter of the raptors

THE slaughter of Scotland's birds of prey is at its highest level in 20 years, according to an RSPB report to be published today.

There was a 50 per cent rise in the number of raptors deliberately killed or poisoned baits found in 2006, with 183 incidents compared to 121 in the previous year.

But investigators at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said these figures were the tip of a large iceberg with many killings going undetected. And even when cases do come to light, only 1.4 per cent lead to a conviction.

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The hen harrier is described as being in a "critical" situation and Scotland's golden eagle is also said to be under threat in the long term.

The society called for every police force in Scotland to have at least one full-time wildlife crime officer and the full use of penalties against those convicted of killing birds of prey.

To date, no-one in Scotland has been jailed for the offence which is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of 10,000.

The RSPB's report, called Persecution, says: "In 2006, we saw an apparent increase on the reported cases in 2005. Indeed, 2006 was the worst recorded for at least 20 years.

"This may reflect greater vigilance by the public or a genuine increase. The long-term trend of persecution, particularly poisoning, seems to suggest that the problem persists.

"Raptors' ecological characteristics - long-lived, breeding slowly and producing few young - make them inherently vulnerable to persecution.

"In respect of the hen harrier, a species specially protected under UK and EU legislation, the situation remains critical to the extent that its population is held far below its natural level in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.

"Poisoning is a serious threat to the success of the red kite and white-tailed eagle re-introduction programmes and may pose a long-term threat to the stability of the golden eagle population."

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While poisoning is the main method used, nest destruction, killing or removal of eggs and young, shooting and traps are also used. The report said the pattern of persecution "corresponds with the main distribution of game shooting in Scotland - both with grouse moors and with the release of pheasants for shooting".

Between 2001 and 2006, there were just 12 convictions in connection with persecuting birds of prey, with seven of those in 2006. Nine of those convicted were gamekeepers with one shoot manager, a crofter and a pigeon fancier making up the rest.

This compares with 853 incidents of raptor persecution recorded over the same period by the RSPB and equates to a conviction rate of just 1.4 per cent over the six-year period. The RSPB said it was aware of only one gamekeeper in Scotland who was sacked after being convicted of a poisoning offence in 1989.

Bob Elliot, head of investigations for RSPB Scotland, said it was now time to start sending offenders to prison.

"We have been successful with egg collectors. There are very few of them left because basically you get put in jail," he said. "We haven't had a jailed poisoner yet, but perhaps when we see that it will begin to stop."

Mr Elliot said the figures in the Persecution report should be regarded as a basic minimum, because it was so difficult to catch those responsible.

"We fluke it every single time we find something. There are more below the surface and I think it is a pretty big iceberg," he said.

"Even though we have good access legislation and people are encouraged to go walking, the scale of Scotland's countryside and the amount of places people don't get to, mean the chances of the RSPB, a member of the public or anyone else finding these things are very remote.

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"It probably won't happen all the time - there will be bursts when an individual might have a poisoning go every now and then - but it is devastating when it happens."

Mr Elliot said the real effect of Persecution was clearly illustrated when a map of the golden eagle population was overlaid with one showing cases of poisoning and other forms of eliminating birds of prey.

The eagles mostly live north of the Great Glen where there are very few signs of persecution and not in areas like the Grampians where there are significant areas of managed grouse moor, which should be a good habitat for them.

"There are no golden eagles in these areas. Whenever there are, they tend to be juvenile birds wandering from their home nest sites looking for places to occupy," Mr Elliot said.

The RSPB report called for "robust enforcement" of existing legislation, with more environmental specialists in the procurator-fiscal service and greater training for them as well as sheriffs and court staff.

It also calls for at least one wildlife crime officer to be appointed to full-time posts in every Scottish police force.

The report said the Scottish Government should review penalties available to the courts and that wildlife crime should be recorded centrally. It concludes by calling on landowners' and gamekeepers' groups to take a stronger stand against illegal activities of members.

"Representative bodies of land managers such as the Game Conservancy Trust, Scottish Gamekeepers' Association and Scottish Rural Property and Business Association [should] lead from the front to stamp out illegal activity and expel any members prosecuted for wrong-doing," the report said.

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Tony Andrews, chief executive of the Scottish Countryside Alliance, said: "All of us want to see a complete end to this illegal killing of wildlife - it is absolutely appalling. The use of poison in this day and age is disgusting and unacceptable.

"The trouble is that the wildlife prosecution forums are set up with the RSPB, who are one end of a very polarised community. The other end isn't represented on those wildlife crime forums and what I would like to see is far more genuine partnership - at the moment, because of the RSPB's involvement, it's accusations that gamekeepers are responsible for this which I don't believe. The RSPB can help in this process, but they shouldn't be seen as the only one."

Alex Hogg, chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, said he supported the idea of police forces having a full-time wildlife crime officer. "There are already three or four, but we would like to see more, especially if we can work alongside them and educate them as to what goes on in the countryside."

He added: "If anybody is found guilty in court, they are finished with the SGA - we exclude them. But where is the evidence?"

A spokesman for the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association said: "We are as anxious as an association as anyone else to see and end to that [illegal poisoning]."

KITES FLY IN SOUTH AND PLUMMET IN NORTH

THE incidence of raptor persecution is believed to be far higher than the number of cases discovered suggests.

This is illustrated by the contrasting fortunes of two attempts to increase the population of red kites, one in the Black Isle in northern Scotland and the other in the Chilterns in England.

The scavenging bird of prey was once common throughout the UK but numbers fell to just 45 pairs in Wales before reintroduction projects started in the late 1980s.

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By 1993, 93 birds had been released in Black Isle and the same in the Chilterns.

Since then the English population has soared - in 2006, there were estimated to be more than 320 pairs.

But in the Black Isle the number of red kites fell. Last year there were just 41 breeding pairs.

"The substantial difference in the rate of population expansion cannot be explained by differences in productivity, which have been similar in both areas," the RSPB report says.

"There is no evidence of the northern birds dispersing and breeding elsewhere, suggesting that post-fledging mortality is very much higher in the northern group.

"Since 2000, the Black Isle population has continued to show a poor growth rate."

A study in 2001 found that 37.5 per cent of red kite deaths in the north of Scotland were caused by poisoning, with 23 deaths out of 60 since 1989.

GOLDEN EAGLE

aquila chrysaetos

FOUND In north-west Highlands and Galloway

NUMBERS 431 pairs in the UK, mostly in Scotland

On AMBER LIST

The report says: “As well as localised complete absence of breeding golden eagles, this is also evidence of reduced productivity due to human interference. One long- term study in North- east Scotland showed that on grouse moors between 58 per cent and 75 per cent of breeding attempts failed because of persecution compared to 15 per cent on deer forest where golden eagles bred over five times more successfully.

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“Some models ... have indicated that current levels of persecution may be sufficient to bring about a long- term decline in the overall population.”

PEREGRINE FALCON

falco peregrinus

FOUND All over Scotland, but particularly on uplands and rocky sea cliffs in the summer and southern marshlands in winter

NUMBERS 1,285 pairs in the UK

The report says: “Scottish Raptor Study Group data consistently identify poorer breeding performance by peregrines on managed grouse moors than on other upland land- use areas.

“In North- east Scotland, for example, average productivity at 66 upland peregrine sites was measured over four breeding seasons (1992 to 1995).

“Those on managed grouse moors were a third less productive per occupied site than on other upland areas. Those nests on grouse moors in the region that were successful produced no fewer young than those at other upland sites, suggesting that the failed grouse moor sites were not suffering from poor food supply, bad weather or other natural factors.”

RED KITE

milvus milvus

FOUND In central Scotland, Galloway and the North- east

NUMBERS 430 pairs in the UK

On RED LIST for endangered species

The report says: “ Extinct because of sustained persecution in Scotland by the late 19th century, the red kite is currently being re- introduced in joint projects run by Scottish Natural Heritage and RSPB Scotland. This work has been predominantly successful.

“However, the most substantial threat to this success comes from persecution of the reintroduced birds. Poisoning is the most insidious form of this since kites’ feeding behaviour makes them extremely vulnerable to poison baits.

“Indeed, in 2006, five birds were found poisoned, all in the north of Scotland. As in previous years, game shooting interests are strongly implicated in these deaths.

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“Scotland and the rest of the UK are likely to become increasingly important for this species in a wider European context since other major populations on the continent – in Spain and Germany – are now reported to be significantly declining.”

BUZZARD

buteo buteo

FOUND All over Scotland

NUMBERS Between 44- 61,000 in the UK

The report says: “[ They] continue their welcome return to much of lowland eastern and southern Scotland, despite this being an area that is still marred by their widespread persecution. “ Twenty- five buzzards were confirmed poisoned in 2006 ( 14 in 2005) and a further 13 were found shot. They remain the most widely killed species of raptor.”

HEN HARRIER

circus cyaneus

FOUND In summer on heather moorlands in the Highlands and on lowland farmland and marshy areas in winter

NUMBERS The latest figures show 521 pairs in the UK

On RED LIST for endangered species

The report says: “A national survey in 2004 showed the population in Scotland increased by 45% from 436 pairs in 1998 to 633 pairs in 2004. However, most of this increase was in Orkney, the Western Isles and north- west Highlands on moorland ( not managed for grouse shooting), in young conifer plantations and in more mature conifer plantations.

“In contrast, there were significant declines in the population in the eastern Highlands and Southern Uplands, with most of the decreases in areas with a concentration of driven grouse moors.”

STOP THEM NOW

The Scotsman has teamed up with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to help catch those responsible for killing birds of prey.

Information about raptor poisonings and other incidents can also be passed to police via the National Wildlife Crime Unit in North Berwick on 01620 893607.

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