CONSERVATION & ECOLOGY
bent on breaking the law for personal gain. One fairly recent high profile case highlights the problem rather well: A gamekeeper who was guilty of one of
Britain's worst ever cases of killing birds of prey was spared an immediate jail sentence because the judge heaped blame on his employees rather than the individual. The man had poisoned hawks with banned pesticides to stop them eating pheasants which were due to be shot for sport on the estate where he worked. He was convicted of killing ten buzzards and a sparrowhawk and could have been jailed for up to six months.
But the district judge gave him a ten week jail sentence, suspended for a year, after criticising his employers for failing to properly supervise and train him. The judge said the man had lost his job, his home and his good name by using out of date and banned pesticides “in a deliberate way to reduce the population of birds of prey”.
He added: "The only motivation I can see for this is to protect the birds the estate breeds for its shoot. “No doubt, like many in his position, he appears to have largely been left to his own devices in his day to day duties.”
“There is some disagreement as to the level of supervision given by his employers, but even if he was subject to some form of annual appraisal, that was clearly not enough.”
The judge clearly thought that the employers were to blame, yet no charges were ever brought against them. So a sentence of one week for each buzzard killed was deemed satisfactory. That is no deterrent whatsoever. It is expected that the number of RSPB
‘known’ incidences will rise above the 100 mark this year, whilst a much larger number will simply go undetected.
A red kite recently found dead in Castle Douglas, Scotland was found to be a victim of poisoning. The location of this latest death was just a few miles from The Galloway Red Kite trail, a main tourist attraction for the area as well as being home
CASE STUDY
Last summer, police appealed for information after the death of a pair of protected red kites through poisoning in Co Down.
It was the latest in a series of incidents involving red kites, which were reintroduced to Northern Ireland ten years ago.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said it had been alerted to a male bird in distress, which died a short time later, close to a known nest site. When a RSPB NI project officer arrived at the scene she found a dead female parent bird. A rescue mission was then launched to save three orphaned eggs found in the nest. This included attempts to get other birds to adopt the eggs. There was mixed success, with one failed attempt and the other with inconclusive results. Subsequent toxicology tests on the dead birds revealed that both died from Carbofuran poisoining.
Claire Barnett, RSPB NI Conservation
This poisoned red kite was a released individual fitted with a tracking device
Team Leader, said they were “shocked and saddened by what is the loss of a generation of red kites.” She added: “With only around twenty breeding pairs in Northern Ireland, our red kite population is particularly vulnerable to persecution.” “Carbofuran is an illegal and deadly poison and should not be used in our countryside. It
is such an incredibly dangerous substance.” “We would like to once again make it clear that red kites are mostly scavengers and feed on roadkill and other dead animals they find on their foraging flights. During the breeding season, adults will often hunt young crows, magpies, rats and rabbits. They are no threat to livestock or game.” Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Wildlife Liaison Officer, Emma Meredith, added: “Incidents such as this give rise to concerns, as poisons are generally very dangerous. We would have serious concerns over any poison but particularly over Carbofuran.” “We are disappointed that we are still dealing with cases involving Carbofuran, an incredibly dangerous substance and one which can kill birds of prey but also a child, family pet or any adult coming into contact with it.” “We would remind the public that if they discover a bird of prey that they suspect has been poisoned or killed in any other suspicious circumstances to leave the bird/s and/or bait in situ and call the PSNI as soon as possible.”
“If anyone has information about the use of Carbofuran and/or the death of these protected birds then we would be really keen to hear from them. The person responsible needs to be identified to ensure that no further risk is posed to other wildlife, domestic pets, or even humans.” Red kites, along with all birds of prey, are protected in Northern Ireland under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, as amended by the Wildlife and Natural Environment (NI) Act 2011. Carbofuran is a highly toxic pesticide which has been banned across the EU since 2001 due to its high toxicity towards wildlife and humans.
Red Kites poisoned in Co Down
PC February/March 2019
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