Hunters become hunted as birds of prey illegally killed

THE number of birds of prey illegally killed on moorland has more than tripled in the past two years, new figures have revealed.

A report by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has found that growing numbers of birds of prey are being illegally shot, trapped and poisoned on shooting estates, amid claims that those responsible are increasingly confident of evading prosecution.

The report reveals that 87 birds of prey were killed last year, including buzzards, red kites and peregrines.

That is an increase on the 68 birds of prey known to have been killed illegally the previous year.

However, the charity fears the number of killings could be far higher, claiming the figures are “only a glimpse into a far larger problem”. The report found that in 2017, 16 birds of prey were trapped or poisoned on land managed for driven grouse shooting, with the numbers jumping to 54 killed by these methods last year.

The RSPB has now called for tougher legislation and enforcement to act as a deterrent, including independent reviews of the UK’S driven grouse shooting. Martin Harper, conservation director at the charity, said: “The driven grouse shooting industry has, despite decades of warnings, failed to put its house in order – most shockingly turning a blind eye to the ongoing illegal persecution of birds of prey.”

The charity points out that in the past two years, only one person has been convicted under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for killing a bird of prey. However, landowners, shooting organisations and anti-rspb groups rejected the report’s findings.

Ian Gregory, spokesman for You Forgot The Birds, a network set up to challenge conservation groups, said: “This is a cynical spin operation from a charity which cares more about headlines than showing what is going on with nature. The charity’s own figures show that UK bird crime has been on a falling trend this decade.”