Read more about this insanity here: Daily Telegraph
Showing posts with label Red Kite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red Kite. Show all posts
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Barn owls 'threatened' by new legislation
Barn owls, red kites and corncrakes could be killed as invasive species under the Infrastructure Bill, claim experts from the Zoological Society of London.
Twenty four experts from the Zoological Society of London and other organisations including the Natural History Museum and University of Oxford, made the warnings in an open letter to the Government about the potential dangers of the bill, which is published in the journal Nature.
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Barn Owls dying from Rat Poison
The barn owl used to be a common sight in the United Kingdom, but now the birds have become increasingly endangered. One of the biggest causes of barn owl deaths is rat poison - and the government isn’t doing everything it could to help them.
To get rid of rats throughout the United Kingdom, farmers and civil servants frequently use rodenticide. But the rats aren't the only animals who suffer: animals that eat rats, including barn owls, are also poisoned. In 2010, 91% of the dead barn owls in a contaminated area had been exposed to rat poison, and that number just keeps growing.
Kestrels, red kites and other birds of prey have also died in huge numbers from ingesting rat poison.
These poisons should be used as a last resort, not first choice, and they should only be used by licensed, trained pest control officers. DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should introduce proper regulation on rodent poisons - before it’s too late to save barn owls.
To get rid of rats throughout the United Kingdom, farmers and civil servants frequently use rodenticide. But the rats aren't the only animals who suffer: animals that eat rats, including barn owls, are also poisoned. In 2010, 91% of the dead barn owls in a contaminated area had been exposed to rat poison, and that number just keeps growing.
Kestrels, red kites and other birds of prey have also died in huge numbers from ingesting rat poison.
These poisons should be used as a last resort, not first choice, and they should only be used by licensed, trained pest control officers. DEFRA, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs should introduce proper regulation on rodent poisons - before it’s too late to save barn owls.
Although not yet fully quantified, poisoning may well be the number one threat to the species.
Thursday, 19 December 2013
Illegal Bird Deaths Continue to Rise in UK
Cases of the illegal persecution of British birds are continuing to rise, according to the latest figures from the RSPB. The Birdcrime report, published on Friday, shows there were 208 reports of the shooting and destruction of birds of prey in 2012, including confirmed shootings of 15 buzzards, five sparrowhawks and four peregrine falcons.
In the same year there were more than 70 reported poisoning incidents including nine buzzards and seven red kites, the report found. But the numbers of poisoning incidents has fallen in recent years, with 101 reports in 2011, 128 in 2010 and 153 in 2009. The RSPB said it was difficult to tell whether there was a decline in poisoning overall because not all incidents are reported, although there were early signs in Scotland that the number of incidents were fewer. This is possibly due to the introduction of the offence of vicarious liability, where employers and landowners are held legally responsible for the wildlife crimes committed by their employees.
“Levels of reporting could potentially be less but the real numbers may be higher as many incidents are likely to go unnoticed and unreported,” said an RSPB spokesman.
Some areas of the UK’s countryside including parts of the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland have become “no-fly zones” for birds of prey, the report warned, with grouse moors the key issue affecting some bird of prey populations. The intensively managed upland has prevented the populations of species such as the golden eagle and hen harrier from occupying parts of their natural range, especially in England.
Martin Harper, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said: “There are few sights in nature as breathtaking as witnessing a peregrine stooping or hen harriers sky-dancing. These are sights we should all be able to enjoy when visiting our uplands. However, these magnificent birds are being removed from parts of our countryside where they should be flourishing.”
The report comes at the end of the first year since the 1960s in which hen harriers failed to breed successfully in England – despite enough suitable habitat to support more than 300 pairs. Just two pairs attempted to nest this year in England, but both failed.
Harper said current legislation was failing to protect the hen harrier. “The absence of successfully breeding hen harriers in England this year is a stain on the conscience of the country. It is therefore vitally important that the government brings forward changes to wildlife law in England and Wales that deliver an effective and enforceable legal framework for the protection of wildlife.”
Birds of prey have been protected by law in the UK since 1954. But the current laws regulating wildlife are spread over a collection of acts dating back to 1829, resulting in a legal landscape that has been called “out of date, confused and often contradictory”.
In 2011 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tasked the law commission with a review of UK wildlife law. In October, the independent body set out its proposed principles, which will be published as final recommendations for a draft bill in summer 2014. They included measures to bring into line with EU regulations the rules on the killing and capture of wild birds, extending criminal liability to those who ultimately benefit from wildlife crime and introducing stronger penalties. Most wildlife crimes committed in the UK carry a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
The RSPB said it was “heartened” by some of the commission’s recommendations, but called for the introduction of vicarious liability throughout the country to punish employers whose staff commit wildlife crimes. This may already be having some deterrent effect in Scotland with a reduction in the number of confirmed poisoning incidents, it said.
In the same year there were more than 70 reported poisoning incidents including nine buzzards and seven red kites, the report found. But the numbers of poisoning incidents has fallen in recent years, with 101 reports in 2011, 128 in 2010 and 153 in 2009. The RSPB said it was difficult to tell whether there was a decline in poisoning overall because not all incidents are reported, although there were early signs in Scotland that the number of incidents were fewer. This is possibly due to the introduction of the offence of vicarious liability, where employers and landowners are held legally responsible for the wildlife crimes committed by their employees.
“Levels of reporting could potentially be less but the real numbers may be higher as many incidents are likely to go unnoticed and unreported,” said an RSPB spokesman.
Some areas of the UK’s countryside including parts of the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland have become “no-fly zones” for birds of prey, the report warned, with grouse moors the key issue affecting some bird of prey populations. The intensively managed upland has prevented the populations of species such as the golden eagle and hen harrier from occupying parts of their natural range, especially in England.
Martin Harper, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said: “There are few sights in nature as breathtaking as witnessing a peregrine stooping or hen harriers sky-dancing. These are sights we should all be able to enjoy when visiting our uplands. However, these magnificent birds are being removed from parts of our countryside where they should be flourishing.”
The report comes at the end of the first year since the 1960s in which hen harriers failed to breed successfully in England – despite enough suitable habitat to support more than 300 pairs. Just two pairs attempted to nest this year in England, but both failed.
Harper said current legislation was failing to protect the hen harrier. “The absence of successfully breeding hen harriers in England this year is a stain on the conscience of the country. It is therefore vitally important that the government brings forward changes to wildlife law in England and Wales that deliver an effective and enforceable legal framework for the protection of wildlife.”
Birds of prey have been protected by law in the UK since 1954. But the current laws regulating wildlife are spread over a collection of acts dating back to 1829, resulting in a legal landscape that has been called “out of date, confused and often contradictory”.
In 2011 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs tasked the law commission with a review of UK wildlife law. In October, the independent body set out its proposed principles, which will be published as final recommendations for a draft bill in summer 2014. They included measures to bring into line with EU regulations the rules on the killing and capture of wild birds, extending criminal liability to those who ultimately benefit from wildlife crime and introducing stronger penalties. Most wildlife crimes committed in the UK carry a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
The RSPB said it was “heartened” by some of the commission’s recommendations, but called for the introduction of vicarious liability throughout the country to punish employers whose staff commit wildlife crimes. This may already be having some deterrent effect in Scotland with a reduction in the number of confirmed poisoning incidents, it said.
Thursday, 19 September 2013
The Amber Listed Red Kite
The Red Kite Milvus milvus is a magnificent raptor. I was lucky enough to see a pair of these birds in May 2013 whilst on holiday in the Dordogne region of France. In the UK this bird is Amber listed in terms of conservation importance, just a step down from Red status. (See RSPB for Amber list criteria) http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/status_explained.aspx
The recently published paper by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel indicates that the Red Kite has become less scarce in the UK with a 5 year mean population of 1,191 breeding pairs. News to be cautiously welcomed. Territory coverage is listed as 'moderate'. In 2011 records show confirmed and/or probable 1,234 breeding pairs across the UK and Northern Ireland.
The recently published paper by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel indicates that the Red Kite has become less scarce in the UK with a 5 year mean population of 1,191 breeding pairs. News to be cautiously welcomed. Territory coverage is listed as 'moderate'. In 2011 records show confirmed and/or probable 1,234 breeding pairs across the UK and Northern Ireland.
The Red Kite
For those of us living in the South East of England the following numbers of breeding pairs were included in the record: Bedfordshire 4, Berkshire 31, Buckinghamshire 52, Hertfordshire 31, Oxfordshire 42 and Sussex 3. (Perhaps a visit to Buckinghamshire would prove worthwhile...)
the figure of 1,234 pairs for 2011 is the highest total every recorded by the RBBP.
Saturday, 10 August 2013
Nothing Glorious about the Twelfth
As expected there has been an abundance of correspondence in the press about the Glorious Twelfth, a rather inapt name for the day when many individuals, often untrained and inexperienced, invade the countryside to kill and, worse still, to injure wildlife - wildlife managed solely for this purpose. It is well documented that the suffering inflicted on wildlife in many cases surpasses the shooting itself. It is also a fact that a large number of native birds and mammals who interfere with grouse shooting are trapped, poisoned or snared. Victims include stoats, weasels and raptors such as hen harriers, red kites and golden eagles.
Mind you, Adrian Blackmore, Head of the shooting campaign, Countryside Alliance, completely refutes such inflammatory comments as unfair and misleading. Well, he would wouldn't he?
There is no doubt that careful grouse moor management does help many other species of birds, including waders. But there is no doubt that the biggest problem associated with driven grouse shooting is the number of natural predators that are illegally killed to support the artificial environment of the grouse moor. The illegal killing of raptors happens, despite what Mr Blackmore says, and does nothing to help legitimate shooting, which is more and more populated by tweed-clad gentry who can afford to spend £1,000s on his/her 'sport'.
The illegal killing of birds of prey is rife in the Scottish uplands. What a pity that Mr Blackmore won't acknowledge that and do much more to improve the image of legitimate shooting.
Mind you, Adrian Blackmore, Head of the shooting campaign, Countryside Alliance, completely refutes such inflammatory comments as unfair and misleading. Well, he would wouldn't he?
There is no doubt that careful grouse moor management does help many other species of birds, including waders. But there is no doubt that the biggest problem associated with driven grouse shooting is the number of natural predators that are illegally killed to support the artificial environment of the grouse moor. The illegal killing of raptors happens, despite what Mr Blackmore says, and does nothing to help legitimate shooting, which is more and more populated by tweed-clad gentry who can afford to spend £1,000s on his/her 'sport'.
The illegal killing of birds of prey is rife in the Scottish uplands. What a pity that Mr Blackmore won't acknowledge that and do much more to improve the image of legitimate shooting.
The Red Grouse
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