Rare birds of prey being shot, trapped and poisoned in crimes ‘linked’ to gamebird estate shoots

Hundreds of rare birds of prey have been shot, trapped or poisoned in crimes thought to be linked to the game bird hunting industry.

Birds of prey were targeted in at least 921 cases in the UK between 2015 and 2024. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) show.

More than half of these cases (55 per cent) were linked to land managed for game bird shooting, and two in three people convicted in court were linked to the industry, according to a report by the charity.

This decade, 18 legally protected species of birds have been killed, including species that have been brought back into conservation interest and are recovering.

Vultures were hit the hardest with 319 confirmed cases recorded, followed by red kites with 157 cases and peregrines, 97 of which were targeted. 805 birds were killed in 921 confirmed attacks.

But the RSPB says the figures represent only a fraction of the true number of crimes, which is much higher.

In sites whose business is based on hunting, birds of prey are killed to prevent customers from paying money to buy pheasants, partridges or grouse that are raised to be shot.

The charity says laws in place for more than 60 years have failed to protect birds of prey from shooters, so it is calling for game bird shooting to be licensed in the UK.

This points to a change in the law to license grouse shooting in Scotland in 2024.

Report, Patterns of Oppression, It says evidence, including police investigations, intelligence reports, witness statements and undercover footage, shows that raptor persecution is “significantly linked” to the game bird hunting industry.

In some shooting areas, birds are shot, trapped or poisoned, nests and eggs are destroyed, and chicks are killed before they can escape.

Even owls, kestrels, swamp raptors and ospreys have been attacked. report.

But from 2015 to 2024, only 24 people were convicted of crimes related to raptor persecution. More than half were game wardens, records show.

The British Shooting and Conservation Association, which opposes the licensing system, says such crimes “are committed by a small minority and have no place in the modern shooting community”.

BASC’s Marnie Lovejoy called for stronger and more targeted enforcement of the law, saying the jobs of game wardens, farmers and rural workers depend on the shooting of game birds.

He said licensing would allow shootings to be penalized “on the balance of probabilities”.

“If the evidence is not strong enough to convict a person, it is not strong enough to close a business,” he said.

The RSPB says chicken hunting has been hit particularly hard by illegal wildlife attacks.

In the decade reviewed, 49 confirmed cases of chicken cruelty were recorded, mostly on or near land managed for grouse hunting; while 100 satellite-tagged grouse disappeared in “suspicious circumstances” on or near the grouse moors. The charity believes these people were killed unlawfully.

RSPB chief operating officer James Robinson said: “Without a meaningful deterrent, these crimes will continue. Eagles will be poisoned, chickens shot and vultures beaten to death in traps.”

He said criminals have little fear of retribution.

“Regulation in the form of a licensing system is the most appropriate and fair way to achieve this, providing an effective and meaningful deterrent to those willing to commit these crimes and ultimately providing these incredible species with the protection they urgently need.”

The RSPB says anyone with information about the killing of raptors can call its confidential raptor crime helpline on 0300 999 0101.