Crimes against birds of prey in Scotland down by 26% in 2016

0 Ospreys suffered some disturbance but overall figures showed a fall in crimes against birds of prey The number of wildlife crimes involving birds of prey has dropped by more than a quarter in the past year, according to the latest official figures.

New crime maps produced by the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (Paw Scotland) show protected birds of prey were victims in 14 offences in 2016 – a 26 per cent reduction from 19 the year before.

There were 23 recorded incidents in 2013 and 18 in 2014.

Gamekeepers and landowners have welcomed the new report, which they say shows “definite evidence of changing attitudes” towards persecution of birds of prey.

There were four recorded incidents of poisoning, four shootings, three cases of disturbance and three trapping or attempted trapping offences last year.

Species illegally

killed included buzzards and a goshawk, while golden eagles and ospreys were victims of disturbance cases.

Confirmed poisoning incidents fell from six in 2015 to four last year, which is the second lowest annual number in a single year since Paw Scotland began publishing the maps in 2004.

Deliberate killing by humans is one of the key threats to some birds of prey, including golden eagles, hen harriers and reintroduced red kites.

Sporting estates have come under fire for targeting raptor species in order to protect game birds for shooting.

A spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association said: “No-one can change the past and no problem can be sorted overnight but there is definite evidence of changing attitudes regarding crime against wildlife in Scotland.

“This is reflected in the figures and a general downward trend over the past five or so years. The SGA does not condone wildlife crime and seeks legal solutions only to solve species conflicts.”

Douglas Mcadam, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, admits there is still work to do to eradicate wildlife crime but believes measures put in place are working.

“Scotland has one of the toughest legislative regimes around bird of prey crime,” he said.

“These figures clearly show that it is playing a significant part in reducing bird of prey crime, even though proposed new penalties for wildlife crime generally are not yet introduced.”

He added: “The land management sector recognises that some of the incidents may have been related to game shooting interests and is committed to keep working to bring those figures down even further in future.”