Stronger action needed to protect native birds of prey as Birdcrime report reveals illegal killing in Lancashire continues

Better application of EU Nature Directives needed to protect UK raptors, says RSPB report

The RSPB is calling for better application of the laws that protect UK raptors, as the Birdcrime 2014 report highlights that illegal persecution continues to prevent some of our native birds of prey from recovering to their natural levels.

In 2014, the RSPB received 15 reports of bird of prey incidents in Lancashire.

Nationally, the nature conservation organisation received 179 reports of shooting and destruction of birds of prey, including the confirmed shooting of 34 buzzards, nine peregrines, three red kites and a hen harrier. The report also documents 72 reported incidents of wildlife poisoning and pesticide-related offences. Confirmed victims of poisoning include 23 red kites, nine buzzards and four peregrine falcons. These figures are believed to represent only a fraction of the illegal persecution in the UK, with many incidents thought to be going undetected and unreported.

Birds of prey continue to suffer unacceptable levels of illegal persecution, which disrupt efforts to restore natural populations of some species throughout the UK. Notable incidents in 2014 included the discovery of 16 red kites and six buzzards found dead near Inverness, of which 12 kites and four buzzards were proved to have been poisoned.

Furthermore England’s worst ever raptor poisoning concluded in 2014, when Norfolk gamekeeper Allan Lambert received a suspended prison sentence for a range of offences including the poisoning of ten buzzards and a sparrowhawk.  

Martin Harper, RSPB Conservation Director, said: “The problem of illegal persecution has tarnished the UK for decades and continues to do so. Strong action is needed now to deliver the effective protection that our birds of prey so urgently need.”

Encouragingly, progress is being made in Scotland in the fight against wildlife crime. For the first time a person was handed a prison sentence for raptor persecution when Aberdeenshire gamekeeper George Mutch was jailed for four months after trapping goshawks and a buzzard. Also in Scotland, 2014 saw the first ever ‘vicarious liability’ wildlife case when Galloway landowner Ninian Johnson Stewart was found vicariously liable for actions committed by his gamekeeper, including the poisoning of a buzzard.

The RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report is the only centralised source of incident data for wild bird crime in the UK. It illustrates the nature of the raptor persecution problem identified by a number of scientific studies, Government reports and police intelligence. For example, a 2008 study on hen harriers by Natural England concluded that ‘the critically low breeding numbers and patchy distribution of the hen harrier in England is a result of persecution... especially on areas managed for red grouse or with game rearing interests’ The police National Wildlife Crime Unit’s 2013 Strategic Assessment states that ‘intelligence continues to indicate a strong association between raptor persecution and grouse moor management .

Martin Harper added: “To protect our magnificent birds of prey we must defend for the laws that protect them, including EU Nature Directives. When applied properly, these laws can help protect our most valuable wildlife and sites. All evidence points to the need for a consistent approach and effort across all four UK countries in protecting our most threatened birds of prey, such as the hen harrier and golden eagle, from illegal persecution. In this context, there is a strong case for fully implementing the EU Nature Directives consistently across the UK to protect wildlife from illegal killing.”

The Nature Directives  have driven the recovery of many species, such as the white-tailed eagle and red kite. This year, white-tailed eagles reached the important milestone of 100 breeding pairs; forty years after they were reintroduced in Scotland . Populations of red kites, once restricted to Wales after illegal persecution eradicated them from England and Scotland, continue to go from strength to strength in many parts of the UK after a number of successful reintroduction projects . Although there are concerns that populations are held back in some areas because of illegal persecution.

Martin Harper concluded: “There is no place in any society for the unjustified and illegal activity that robs many people of the chance to see these beautiful birds flourish. We applaud the efforts of law enforcement officers across the UK who work with statutory agencies, NGOs and the public to prevent, investigate and prosecute wildlife crimes. However to support this effort, more effective sanctions and penalties are needed that represent a meaningful deterrent to ensure that no one can profit from wildlife crimes.”

The RSPB supports the licensing of driven grouse moors and the introduction of vicarious liability as these measures could address improve enforcement through providing more effective deterrents, which would ensure that no one can profit from wildlife crime.

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Mice to make homes in tennis balls at RSPB Dee Estuary thanks to local club

Harvest mouse in vegetation.   Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)ption

One of Europe’s smallest mammals has been given a helping hand by staff at the RSPB’s Dee Estuary nature reserve – thanks to a kind donation from a local tennis club.

Since the discovery of an empty harvest mouse nest, found during recent grass cutting, alerted reserve wardens to the fact these tiny creatures are living on the Cheshire site, the team have been getting creative with an unlikely source - old tennis balls - to help give nature a home.

Harvest mice are not common this far north, so the team were interested to discover how many are living on the reserve and in which areas. Being tiny and secretive creatures, it can be difficult to survey their distribution, but thanks to an idea to use tennis balls as homes for the mice, the reserve staff will next year be able to gain a better idea.

Alasdair Grubb, warden at the RSPB’s Dee Estuary nature reserve, said: “Sadly harvest mice numbers are falling in the UK due to changing farming practices and other pressures on our countryside, so we were delighted to discover they had made a home at Burton Mere Wetlands and were eager to find out how many and whereabouts they were living.

“Tennis balls might seem like an odd solution, but it’s actually a trick that’s been used with balls from Wimbledon for years. So, I contacted the tennis section at Neston Cricket Club and enquired if they would consider donating any of their used balls.

“The club coach, Dan Stickland, was more than happy to help and provided 35 old tennis balls for me to drill a hole in and put around the reserve in suitable locations; which means next summer I’ll be able to revisit each tennis ball and see whether it has been used as a nest.

“As well as allowing us a means of surveying the numbers, the tennis balls also protect the mice from predation and bad weather, and provide extra homes by giving them chance to nest in areas where there might be ample food, but not quite the right conditions.”

Despite this helping hand, unfortunately visitors to the reserve are still unlikely to see these cute little creatures due to their shy behavior, but there are still plenty of reasons to visit Burton Mere Wetlands at this time of year, most notably for the vast flocks of ducks, geese and swans settling in for the winter.

For further information on the reserve and its activities, please call the reserve on 0151 353 8478 or check out the website www.rspb.org.uk/deeestuary.

One of the tennis ball homes created for the harvest mice, made by the team at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, and donated by Neston Cricket Club. Alasdair Grubb.

Nature Summit: EU officials to consider future of Lancashire special places

UK sites affected could include Forest of Bowland and Leighton Moss

Campaigners from across Europe, including the UK, are arriving in Brussels to tell the European Commission to drop the attack on vital nature laws and focus on their enforcement instead.

Today’s discussions have particular relevance for Lancashire as the future of special sites, such as the Forest of Bowland and Leighton Moss and key species including hen harriers and bitterns are protected under the Nature Directives.

Conservationists, including the RSPB’s Chief Executive, politicians and representatives of the EU institutions are today [Friday 20th November] attending the “Conference on the Fitness Check on EU Nature Legislation” organised by the European Commission in Brussels as part of the review of the Birds and Habitats Directives: collectively known as the Nature Directives.

EU Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, will outline the Commission’s first findings from the process so far. The Commission consultants will outline their findings from the biggest ever detailed evaluation of nature conservation legislation in Europe. The results, which included over half a million responses from citizens across the European Union concerned about threats to the Nature Directives, will be discussed by panels composed of officials from Member States, industry and farmers’ representatives, conservation organisations and MEPs.

It’s feared the Fitness Check, which is part of the Commission ‘REFIT’ agenda, of the laws could be used as an excuse to re-open and potentially weaken these laws under the guise of ‘better regulation’. But since the review began, the people of Europe have demonstrated an unprecedented show of support to protect nature.

A record number of people took part in a public consultation on this issue in the summer, with the overwhelming majority of the more than a half a million who responded backing the directives and asking for stronger implementation.

Last month, environment ministers from nine EU countries, including Germany, France and Spain – but not the UK - signed a letter to the Commission calling for the laws to be better implemented, not weakened. In the same week, an equally supportive letter followed from MEPs representing the seven biggest political groupings in the European Parliament.

A European Parliament draft report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, presented earlier this month, also highlighted the importance of protecting the Nature Directives.

Mike Clarke is the RSPB’s Chief Executive. He said: “At a time when nature is facing an extreme crisis, the Fitness Check evidence has shown, unequivocally, that the Nature Directives not only work but they are the strongest tool Europe has to prevent further erosion of nature. The evidence proves it makes no sense to undermine the Nature Directives. It is also clear that problems, such as poor and uneven enforcement, lack of funding and the impact of measures like the Common Agricultural Policy are responsible for driving down populations of threatened wildlife.”

Campaigners from the conservation organisations behind the Nature Alert campaign to protect the directives (BirdLife Europe, EEB, Friends of the Earth and WWF) will be raising awareness outside the event and will also be represented amongst the speakers.

The European Commission’s decisions on the future of Nature Directives is expected by June 2016.

Nature Summit: EU officials to consider future of Merseyside’s special places

UK sites affected could include the Mersey Estuary

Campaigners from across Europe, including the UK, are arriving in Brussels to tell the European Commission to drop the attack on vital nature laws and focus on their enforcement instead.

Today’s discussions have particular relevance for Merseyside as the future of special sites, such as Mersey Estuary and key species including shelducks are protected under the Nature Directives.

Conservationists, including the RSPB’s Chief Executive, politicians and representatives of the EU institutions are today [Friday 20th November] attending the “Conference on the Fitness Check on EU Nature Legislation” organised by the European Commission in Brussels as part of the review of the Birds and Habitats Directives: collectively known as the Nature Directives.

EU Environment Commissioner, Karmenu Vella, will outline the Commission’s first findings from the process so far. The Commission consultants will outline their findings from the biggest ever detailed evaluation of nature conservation legislation in Europe. The results, which included over half a million responses from citizens across the European Union concerned about threats to the Nature Directives, will be discussed by panels composed of officials from Member States, industry and farmers’ representatives, conservation organisations and MEPs.

It’s feared the Fitness Check, which is part of the Commission ‘REFIT’ agenda, of the laws could be used as an excuse to re-open and potentially weaken these laws under the guise of ‘better regulation’. But since the review began, the people of Europe have demonstrated an unprecedented show of support to protect nature.

A record number of people took part in a public consultation on this issue in the summer, with the overwhelming majority of the more than a half a million who responded backing the directives and asking for stronger implementation.

Last month, environment ministers from nine EU countries, including Germany, France and Spain – but not the UK - signed a letter to the Commission calling for the laws to be better implemented, not weakened. In the same week, an equally supportive letter followed from MEPs representing the seven biggest political groupings in the European Parliament.

A European Parliament draft report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy, presented earlier this month, also highlighted the importance of protecting the Nature Directives.

Mike Clarke is the RSPB’s Chief Executive. He said: “At a time when nature is facing an extreme crisis, the Fitness Check evidence has shown, unequivocally, that the Nature Directives not only work but they are the strongest tool Europe has to prevent further erosion of nature. The evidence proves it makes no sense to undermine the Nature Directives. It is also clear that problems, such as poor and uneven enforcement, lack of funding and the impact of measures like the Common Agricultural Policy are responsible for driving down populations of threatened wildlife.”

Campaigners from the conservation organisations behind the Nature Alert campaign to protect the directives (BirdLife Europe, EEB, Friends of the Earth and WWF) will be raising awareness outside the event and will also be represented amongst the speakers.

The European Commission’s decisions on the future of Nature Directives is expected by June 2016.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/legislation/fitness_check/conference_en.htm

 

 http://www.birdlife.org/naturealert