Monitoring and conserving Scotland's birds of prey
A police investigation has been launched after a tawny owl was shot dead in East Lothian. The bird was found on the B6355 road, south of Gifford. It is believed to have been shot on the evening of 18th December. Details here.
Thefirst ever conviction under the three-year-old vicarious liability legislation has been achieved today at Stranraer Sheriff Court. Ninian Robert Hathorn Johnston Stewart, the landowner of the Physgill and Glasserton Estates, pled guilty to being vicariously liable for the criminal actions of his gamekeeper, who was convicted of poisoning a buzzard and possessing three banned pesticides in 2013. The landowner was fined £675. Whilst the penalty is derisory, the Scottish Raptor Study Group welcomes this landmark conviction and congratulates the Crown Office and everyone else involved in bringing this case to court. Further details here.
A poorly-researched article in the Daily Telegraph wrongly infers that white-tailed eagles in Scotland eat more lamb than fish. The article has been ably demolished by raptor experts here and here.
Landowners have come under fire from the Cairngorms National Park Authority for illegally killing birds of prey, culling too many mountain hares and bulldozing too many hill tracks. Full story here.
The Queen’s estate at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire has won a nature award from landowners despite the fact that its natural woodland, heaths and bogs have been officially condemned as being in a poor state. Environment and land rights campaigners have slammed the award as a “meaningless public relations stunt” Full story here.
A Scottish gamekeeper has been convicted on four charges of wildlife crime, including the killing of a goshawk which had been trapped and then clubbed to death. George Mutch, a gamekeeper on the Kildrummy Estate in Aberdeenshire, committed his crimes in August and September 2012. He was filmed by cameras deployed by RSPB Scotland as part of a research project into the use of crow cage traps. Mutch had denied the charges, which led to a long-running prosecution case which finally concluded today with his conviction. He will be sentenced in January. He has apparently been expelled from the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association. More details of this case and a link to the video footage here.
The 2015 Scottish Birdfair, organised by RSPB Scotland, will be held at a new location: Levenhall Links, Musselburgh on 23-24 May 2015. For the last three years, the event was held at the controversial Hopetoun House, which has links with the Leadhills (Hopetoun) Estate in South Lanarkshire – an estate with an appalling track record for raptor conservation. The Scottish Raptor Study Group welcomes the move to Levenhall Links.
The Scottish Parliament’s cross party Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment (RACCE) Committee recently heard evidence on the Government’s annual Wildlife Crime Report and the Committee has written to the Environment Minister about their on-going concerns. Particular concerns include the issue of under-reporting, detection and prosecution. The Committee’s letter can be read here.
An amazing job opportunity for an experienced raptor fieldworker, to monitor golden eagles in the Great Glen. This is a three-year position with an exceptionally good salary (£35K per annum). This is a new advert and the new closing deadline is Friday 19th December 2014. Full details here.
A leaked plan by the game-shooting lobby to remove pine martens from woodlands around Aviemore in the Highlands has sparked fierce opposition from wildlife groups. Details here and here.