Record levels of wildlife crime (1 Viewer)

From the RSPB web site:

Record levels of wildlife crime

Figures released by the RSPB show record highs and lows for wildlife crime in the UK in 2003. Sadly, 16 red kites were poisoned, the highest number in any one year, but egg collecting has reached an all-time low, with only nine confirmed cases.

The RSPB's Birdcrime 2003 report documents 560 crimes against wild birds during the year, including: 143 cases of shooting and destruction of birds of prey and 91 cases of illegal poisoning.

Graham Elliott, the RSPB's head of investigations, said: 'The poisoning of 16 red kites in one year is shocking, and reflects the recent concerns of Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee on the high levels of bird of prey poisoning incidents.'

On a positive note, the threat to birds from egg collectors appears to have declined dramatically. In some years in the 1980s up to one quarter of all kite nests in Britain were robbed.

The report shows that the number of nest robberies, of significant species, has declined dramatically with only seven confirmed cases in 2003, compared with 46 confirmed cases in 2000.

Graham Elliott added: 'There is no doubt that the sharp decrease in the number of nest robberies is because seven egg collectors have gone to prison since the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 allowed judges and magistrates to impose custodial sentences in England and Wales, instead of just fines.

'Building on this success, a major future challenge is to ensure that effective enforcement and suitable penalties bring an end to the needless persecution and poisoning of our spectacular birds of prey.'


Source: RSPB Public Relations Department

Thanks for that, Chris,

See also my cooments in post #4 http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=24407

Andy.

Wildlife crime generally would go unreported and unprosecuted (if reported) out here, but on the positive side, Lithuania does not suffer from the wanton vandalism or shooting for fun that seems to blight some localities elsewhere.
Only persecution that I'm aware of comes in the form of some illegal poaching and, at some fish farms, suspected persecution of fish-eating birds (but, I think, not very widespread).
Two years ago a border guard on the Lithuanian/Belarussian border shot a White Stork off his nest - the response was, to some relief, very positive: he lost his job, got his car confiscated and was put in prison.

As for egg collection, I know of no children or adults that collect eggs and have never known a nest to lose its contents ...and I have one bird on my patch that is, to my knowledge, the only one that breeds in Europe south of the Arctic Circle. It's returned there for eight years now and in the early years I worried it might get robbed - it's a big obvious species - but it has not happened and now I 'know' it'll be okay each season