Fine for Man found with Buzzard in his Freezer!

A warrant executed at an address in Devon resulted in the finding of a dead Common Buzzard Buteo buteo in the freezer of Mr Saleem ALI. Mr Ali claimed that the bird had been given to him by a friend, a claim that could not be disputed as the 'friend' had recently died. The Buzzard was seized and WCO PC Sarah Evans took up the investigation. X-rays showed that the bird had been shot and two pellets were still lodged in its skull. Mr Ali eventually pleaded guilty at the first court hearing on the 11th September 2014 to the offences of Possess live/dead Schedule 1 wild bird and/or its parts and one other firearms offence. He was fined £100 for each offnce and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge and £85 costs. He was also ordered to forfeit and destroy the bird AND his gun!

 

D&C Widlife Crimes Group attend the North Devon Show

 

1000s of birds’ eggs surrendered in Merseyside

Amazingly, this 'Victorian hobby' still exists amongst a small minority! See full story here:

http://www.nwcu.police.uk/news/nwcu-police-press-releases/1000s-of-birds-eggs-surrendered-in-merseyside/

Devon & Cornwall Police Lead Fight Against Wildlife Crime

World Animal Protection (formerly WSPA) has praised Devon and Cornwall Police for being one of the leading forces in the country tackling wildlife crime.

Officers have recently been trained to combat bat persecution and have made significant arrests in an investigation into dog-fighting. Devon and Cornwall are also one of the leading forces in the UK feeding intelligence back to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Vitally, this provides an accurate perspective of wildlife crime intelligence across England and Wales. Read the Full article HERE.

Sgt Dave Knight Retires (Finally!!)

SERGEANT DAVE KNIGHT FROM DEVON AND CORNWALL POLICE HAS FINALLY RETIRED AFTER YEARS OF THREATENING TO DO SO.

In 2013 Dave was honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his dedication to tackling wildlife crime. Dave joined Devon and Cornwall Police in 1989, and has been a wildlife crime officer for more than 15 years. He has been involved in a number of significant cases including one concerning the illegal trade of raptors. He was presented with the lifetime achievement award, which was sponsored by WWF and the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime (PAW), at the 25th UK National Wildlife Crime Conference. The award also recognised Dave’s work to engage staff on wildlife crime issues and his efforts to promote a clear understanding of the legislation around wildlife crime. His area of specialism is [or was] Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species the (CITES). He’s going to be a hard act to follow.   

 

Dave writes “I have been working here for over 15 years, investigating wildlife crime offences since 1998, and am very grateful to Devon and Cornwall Police for giving me the opportunity to be a wildlife crime officer. I have met many dedicated PWCO’s from across the UK and have many happy memories from the conferences I attended. I wish you all well in your endeavours to raise the profile of wildlife crime.”

 

Daves post will be filled by Sgt Paul Freestone.

Butterfly Collectors

There have been a few instances in recent years where Butterfly Conservation volunteers have encountered collectors suspected of acting illegally and have asked how they should deal with such situations. The following note provides some guidance on what the law is with regard to collecting and how to handle such encounters.

IT'S WORLD WILDLIFE DAY!!!!!

From Geneva to Tokyo and from New York to Nairobi, people around the world are today celebrating World Wildlife Day for the first time ever. Special events to mark the day are planned in Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Germany, Mongolia, New Zealand, Peru, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, among others.

Overwhelming support for World Wildlife Day has come from countries across all regions and organisations dealing with agriculture, development, nature conservation and maritime matters to Customs, justice and police as well as the economy, finance, trade and tourism. Civil society groups from across the globe and many committed individuals have also expressed their enthusiastic support for wildlife as has the private sector.
For more details SEE HERE

World Wildlife Day Website Launched

With just 5 days left to the start of World Wildlife Day, the official website can be found here: http://www.wildlifeday.org/

UN General Assembly proclaims 3 March as World Wildlife Day

On 20 December 2013, the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 3 March, the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as World Wildlife Day, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.
In its resolution, the General Assembly reaffirmed the intrinsic value of wildlife and its various contributions, including ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic, to sustainable development and human well-being, and recognized the important role of CITES in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.
READ FULL STORY

D&C Officers attend CiTES Course

Three Devon and Cornwall Wildlife Crimes Officers attended a week long CiTES course organised by UK Border Force last week at Kew Garden's in London. WCO's Paul Freestone, Martin Beck and Sarah Evans are now fully equipped to identify CiTES listed species should the need arise. The week long course included reading the CiTES Annexes, identification of CiTES species and derivatives and tours of both Kew and the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow Airport. The course was a great opportunity to work with colleagues from Uk Border Agency and other WCO's from Avon and Somerset and Staffordshire Police forces.

National Wildlife Crime Unit funding secured for 2 years

Some good new on the Wildlife Crime front!! On 5th February the UK Government committed to funding the NWCU until 2016 in its document, ‘UK commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade’.
response to the announcement the Association of Chief Police Officers lead on Wildlife and Rural Crime, Chief Constable Simon Prince said:

“The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) has a critical role in the prevention and detection of Wildlife Crime; the Unit collates and disseminates intelligence from forces and agencies across the country, which enables a coordinated approach to this form of criminality. Additionally, staff of the NWCU have specialist knowledge of this complex area of policing and provide expert advice to Police Officers throughout the UK who are responsible for the investigation of Wildlife Crime.

“This funding announcement is very much welcomed by the Police Service. Wildlife Crime can result in far reaching damage to certain species and the environment, and there are many who seek to illicitly profit from the trade in endangered species worldwide.

“The additional funding secures the future of the NWCU over the coming years, and ensures that we continue to have a national capability which is essential in identifying and bringing to justice those involved in this type of crime.”

The Head of Unit at the NWCU, Detective Inspector Nevin Hunter said:

“This funding commitment will enable the NWCU to continue to provide support to Police Wildlife Crime Coordinators and Police Wildlife Crime Officers across the UK. We will work with them to address the UK national wildlife crime priorities. The IWT announcement yesterday by the UK Government is hugely important, but it is vital that we also provide support to investigations involving bats, badgers, fresh water pearl mussels and where poaching and raptor persecution take place.

The development of the NWCU has seen the investigation of wildlife crime increasingly professionalised in recent years, with it being seen as relevant and important across the Police service. The unit will continue to support this – developing national standard operational practices in conjunction with the College of Policing.

In recent months the NWCU has worked closely with the Border Force and the newly formed National Crime Agency (NCA). The unit hopes to build upon the relationship with the NCA in order to address serious and organised crime in whatever form it takes to ensure the conservation of not only globally important, but also iconic species of wildlife across the UK”.

For Full story see HERE

Deer Poachers Targetted in new Police Operation

Devon is officially the worst location in the UK for stag and deer poaching, according to official figures. In response, we have begun a specially targeted anti-poaching operation.

Called Project Trespass, it follows a recent discovery of eleven stag heads in a North Devon lay-by. Police believe organised gangs are behind the increase in this particular criminal activity.

Dead Swans - Police Appeal for witnesses

Devon and Cornwall Police Wildlife Crime Officers are investigating after six Mute Swans were found dead in Restronguet Creek, Devoran. Wildlife Crime Officer PC619 Barry Nicholas was initially alerted to two dead Mute Swans by a member of the public who had seen the bodies on mudflats opposite Greenbank Road. Closer inspection revealed the birds to have been be-headed.

 

 

A search around the area lead to the discovery of a further four Mute Swan carcasses in various states of decomposition. PC6427 Paul Freestone, Wildlife Crimes SPOC for Cornwall said “At this time we have no way of knowing how these Swans died but the fact that they have had their heads removed leads us to believe that they were killed illegally”. PC Nicholas added, “Killing a Mute Swan would constitute an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and I would encourage anyone who has any information regarding the deaths of these birds to contact the Wildlife Crimes Team”. Anyone with information please ring Devon and Cornwall Police on 101 quoting ref: GT/13/1987

UK’s only nesting “butcher birds” successful on Dartmoor

Red-backed Shrikes have fledged two youngsters from the UK’s only nesting pair of red-backed shrike in 2013. The birds, at a secret location on Dartmoor, have been under close watch to guarantee their safety in a project managed by the RSPB with support from Devon & Cornwall Police, Dartmoor Study Group, Devon Birds, Forestry Commission, Dartmoor National Park Authority and Natural England. 

 As in previous years a combination of volunteers, staff and sophisticated wildlife surveillance equipment as part of site protection and monitoring. Although it’s been hard work, the efforts have been rewarded with two youngsters fledged. The project is grateful to the volunteers involved and to Devon Birds for funding some of the cameras used on site as part of Devon & Cornwall Police’s Operation Wilderness.” 

 Police Wildlife Crime Officer, PC Josh Marshall has been directly involved in the protection scheme since the birds first bred on Dartmoor in 2010. Operation Wilderness cameras were deployed to assist with the protection of the birds. The Cameras were downloaded at regular intervals to ensure the security of the site. 

 Red-backed shrikes were driven to extinction in the UK at the end of the last century and egg collecting remains a major threat. Operation Wilderness is a Devon and Cornwall Police operation that was instigated by PC Marshall in an effort to combat the persecution of Devon and Cornwall's rarest birds after 5% of Devons breeding population were wiped out in a single poisoning incident in 2011. The operation involves placing covert cameras into a number of locations in Devon where birds such as the shirke and other rare birds breed. The operation has been successful in bringing offenders to justice but also with the prevention of the criminal activity. 

 Kevin Rylands from the RSPB said; “This is now the fourth year they have returned to Dartmoor, but they failed to breed successfully last year, probably due to the awful weather. A lone male visited the previous breeding site in May this year but failed to find a mate. Fortunately though a pair was found at a new site in June and this bodes well for the future of the species on Dartmoor.” Kevin Rylands (RSPB) concluded “We hope red-backed shrikes will continue to re-colonise Dartmoor but that is dependent upon birds returning next year, finding suitable habitat and not being disturbed. In addition to facing threats from egg-collectors, red-backed shrikes, along with many other migratory birds, are in great danger when travelling between the southwest and wintering grounds in Africa, with many trapped and killed en route. The extent of habitat and amount of large insects and other available prey on Dartmoor has no doubt contributed to the recent success of this species. Surveys have shown that Dartmoor (and other SW uplands) holds a wealth of species previously widespread in lowland areas such as cuckoo, meadow pipit and whinchat and the RSPB is working with conservation partners to ensure that this important upland and its fringes can provide the food and nesting sites that birds need.” .

LOST BIRD OF PREY....

A Gyr x Lanner Falcon has been lost from a bird of prey display near Exmouth this morning. It is a male bird and is wearing jesses and rings. If sighted please call Sharron Beech on 07843098727.

WCO and Exmoor Zoo Team up at North Devon Show

The Wildlife Crimes team was hosted at the North Devon Show recently, by Exmoor Zoo in continuation of the partnership work established several years ago. The Zoo won first prize for their stand!

Mutilation of Dartmoor Pony

A Police investigation is being conducted into the disturbing circumstances surrounding the discovery of what appeared to be the mutilated body of a Dartmoor foal on Tuesday 23rd July in the Yennadon Down area, Dousland near Yelverton, Devon. Police are appealing for anyone who was in the area during the night of 22nd and 23rd who saw anything suspicious to contact the Devon and Cornwall Police quoting Crime reference JT/13/955

Buzzards found at Chittlehampton were poisoned

Forensic results have revealed that the two buzzards found dead near Chittlehampton, Devon were poisoned. WCO Sgt Dave Knight told the North Devon Journal:

“The persecution of birds of prey is one of the national wildlife crime priorities. Sadly, the persecution of these birds still occurs and the manner of their poisoning is indiscriminate with potential lethal consequences for companion animals.”

Anyone with information about the incident should call the Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, quoting reference CS/13/215.

Op Hathor - Cornish Chough update 2013 (Claire Mucklow)

2012 was the best year yet for choughs in Cornwall with 18 young fledged from five nests, would 2013 be even better? The breeding season started off with all the signs it could be another bumper year, albeit the season got off to a slow start for most of the established pairs and it was unlikely that the new young pairs would do anything other than ‘practise’. Of the nine pairs, (by standard methodology), five were confirmed breeding and all was going well until an unpaired male decided to muscle in on the territory of the long established pair at Southerly Point on the Lizard. A day of pretty nasty and prolonged fighting resulted in the disappearance of the older male – almost certainly a fight to the death- and the new usurper male immediately taking over the site alongside the older female who chicks were at the time a week or so old. It is very unlikely the new male was the father of these chicks as the pair had not been tolerating him, but his urge to breed and him being a younger stronger bird won out. He and the female continued to feed the chicks for about a week more, then she disappeared too – this is not unusual where birds have a life-long bond-leaving the new male to bring up the babies on his own, which he did with great success, the two chicks fledging in early July. A sad end for this important pair of choughs, but the legacy they leave is remarkable and truly historical for Cornwall. 

Another pair of Lizard choughs was also not faring well, on checking their nest, the two chicks were found to be underweight, one succumbing to the inevitable shortly afterwards. Towards fledging time the remaining chick, and mysteriously, both the adults then vanished – we can only assume that they were struggling to find food to feed themselves and abandoned the site.

Happily, elsewhere the chough pairs have done really well with two maximum broods of five in Penwith, and a new pair raising one chick, so a total of 13 young fledged for the year, not bad considering. Thanks to the chough team and all those behind the scenes who do their bit for choughs in Cornwall.

 

There are birds on the north coast ranging from Godrevy to Mawgan Porth as well as on the Lizard peninsula and far west Cornwall. All records are very useful to keep track of their numbers and movements so please do send your sightings to cornishchoughs.org.uk

 

Claire Mucklow