Many thanks to Howard Jones of the RSPB for his excellent and informative, but very disturbing, talk about the illegal persecution of Birds of Prey that is still happening in our countryside.
Please click the Continue Reading button to find a link to a video of the same talk that Howard did recently for a group in the Yorkshire Dales. This link will stay on our website Videos page for future reference.
Howard’s talk includes a lot of practical advice on how to identify suspicious behaviour or items you might come across that might indicate something illegal might be happening in the countryside, and what to do about it.
There is also a lot of useful advice and information on the RSPB website
Signs of bird of prey persecution
- If you find a dead bird of prey, contact the RSPB team – crime@rspb.org.uk or officer contact details can be found on the Field Nats’ Links page
- Be aware of plastic bird of prey decoys or live decoy birds like eagle owls, used to entice birds of prey in for shooting
- Poison baits or victims – do not touch
- Pole traps or other spring traps set in the open – do not touch
- Birds of prey caught in Larsen or larger crow cage traps or traps set outside of breeding season – do not touch
- Pigeons, gamebirds or chickens inside cage traps known as ‘hawk traps’ – do not touch
- Signs of nest destruction or robbery such as suspicious activity around nest sites
If you wish to report an incident
- Do not put yourself in any danger
- Take a photo or video if safe to do so
- Record a location (download the What3words app on your phone) or take a grid ref.
- Note anything else of note such as descriptions of suspects, car reg plates etc.
- Do not touch any items or any other potential evidence and contact police on 101 and/or RSPB as soon as possible.