10 years of bird crime in Scotland – Not a single jail sentence

No jail
And furthermore, not a single jail term has been imposed since custodial sentences were introduced in 2004 for such crimes, which are having a grave impact on the populations of some of Scotland's most iconic yet vulnerable species, including golden eagles, red kites and hen harriers.

Blight on country sports
RSPB Scotland is now calling on all land managers and their employees to help eradicate this outdated illegal practice, which continues to blight the good name of country sports and game management, as well as the international reputation of Scotland for protecting its wildlife heritage.

Hotline
RSPB Scotland acknowledges and welcomes the actions of many responsible landowners, and others in the countryside, who condemn such illegal practices, and has therefore launched a hotline for anyone with information about the illegal killing of birds of prey to call in confidence, so that the enforcement authorities can be alerted.

271 birds killed deliberately
From 1998-2007, a minimum total of 271 birds of prey were confirmed by post-mortem by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA) as being victims of deliberate and illegal poison abuse. Another 151 other birds and animals, including domestic pets, were also confirmed as victims of this indiscriminate practise, as well as a further 25 incidents where police or Scottish Government officials recovered the same illegal poisons, used to target birds of prey, from buildings or other premises.

Nest destruction & trapping
Over the same period there were a further 157 incidents of illegal crime targeting birds of prey where nest destruction (including removal or killing of eggs or young and/or physical removal of a nest), shooting, use of uncovered spring traps and abuse of cage traps with either live or dead bait was confirmed.

9% cases went to court
In total 298 cases involving illegal poisons or the illegal killing of birds of prey occurred during this period. Only 28 cases from the 298 (nine per cent) went to court; 26 of these resulted in a "guilty" verdict on at least one of the charges faced. The remaining two cases were found "not proven".

Plea bargains
RSPB Scotland has concerns that a significant number of charges are plea-bargained away, sometimes "losing" the most serious offences from a wildlife conservation perspective. Sentencing is also sometimes inconsistent and overall the courts have never come close to imposing the maximum penalties available for crimes of high conservation significance, which may now include custodial sentences for the very worst cases. Recent welcome developments, such as the appointment of specialist environmental fiscals by the Crown Office may improve this situation.

Majority of landowners are helpful
Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: "The majority of landowners and their employees in Scotland act within the law concerning wildlife protection. Our long-established partnerships with many landowners have provided huge assistance to the conservation of many species, including ospreys and the reintroduction of red kites and white-tailed eagles. Unfortunately a significant minority condone, or turn a blind eye to, the outdated practice of illegal killing of birds of prey.

Remote areas
"Much of this illegal activity takes place in remote areas on private ground where witnesses are very rare and material evidence can be easily disposed of by the perpetrators. This is why it is so important that, where good evidence exists, wildlife crime cases are prosecuted. The recommendations for improvements to wildlife crime enforcement contained in the Natural Justice report published by the Scottish Government in spring 2008 are most welcome, but should be urgently implemented."

Hen harrier and Golden eagle
"Unfortunately, species like hen harrier and golden eagle which bear the brunt of this killing are now scarce or absent from many suitable areas of Scotland. We want 2009 to be the year where the tide turns against illegal killing and the illegal use of poisoning in the countryside."

Environment minister
Minister for Environment Michael Russell added his support. He said: "Wildlife crime continues to be a problem in Scotland and the RSPB are quite right to be showing concern at the disparity between the number of crimes and the number of successful convictions. Earlier this year the Scottish Government accepted in full the recommendations of the Natural Justice report, which was a comprehensive review of the way in which crimes against wildlife are investigated and prosecuted. I want to see this report becomes a means to catching and punishing the cowardly perpetrators of these awful acts.

He added: "We are also seeing greater awareness of measures that can be taken on cross compliance, and SNH will be making £220,000 available over three years to the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime. It doesn't matter if it's bird poisoning, hare coursing, badger baiting or any other deliberate action which causes harm to an animal. A crime against Scotland's natural heritage is a crime against Scotland itself and this government is determined to stamp it out."

RSPB Scotland looks forward to working with responsible landowners and game organisations to identify individuals involved in the illegal killing of birds of prey and other wildlife crime, and will continue to assist the police and other statutory agencies in identifying and prosecuting the offenders.