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Abroad

Veteran Member
Scientists say they have made a forensic breakthrough in the fight against wildlife crime.

A team from Dundee has been able to recover fingerprints from the feathers of birds of prey, which are under threat from illegal poisoning, shooting and trapping.

If the birds have been handled, the incriminating marks could help police to identify the suspect.

The team was able to recover prints from the feathers of six species that they tested: kestrels, sparrowhawks, buzzards, red kites, golden eagles and white-tailed eagles,

"We found the best way of doing it was to use the flight feathers: they sustain a fingerprint because they have a nice tight weave to them," said Dr Gentles.

He added: "Before we've had birds of prey found lying at the bottom of a steep mountain and wondered how they've got there.

"People have been able to analyse them to see the cause of death. But if they look at the bird now and fingerprint the flight feathers, they will be able to see if the bird has actually been handled.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30802401
 
Maybe the scientists should have kept their fingerprint breakthrough on the hush-hush-- a poacher in a pair of gloves would thwart all of their hard scientifical work!:rolleyes:
 
Maybe the scientists should have kept their fingerprint breakthrough on the hush-hush-- a poacher in a pair of gloves would thwart all of their hard scientifical work!:rolleyes:

You know, the exact same thought occurred to me as I originally read the article. They must be hoping that it puts the poachers off that they are working so hard to bring them to justice.
 
They must be hoping that it puts the poachers off that they are working so hard to bring them to justice
I hope it works! I didn't mean to sound flippant- I hate the thought of greedy poachers killing these magnificent animals for sport/profit & I hope this will deter them.
I'm an animal lover & we actually have a pair of pet raptors-- Well, not actual 'raptors', Mallard ducks- but they certainly think they're as big & tough as eagles!
(Just ask our cat!;))
image.jpg
 
Ducks are lovely. Almost as intelligent as dogs, if you ask my colleague's father. (She is under strict instructions not to eat duck!)
 
Mine are very sweet, especially the male Peking. He's actually affectionate. Of course, male ducks are horny bastards so he may have ulterior motives.
 
Maybe the scientists should have kept their fingerprint breakthrough on the hush-hush-- a poacher in a pair of gloves would thwart all of their hard scientifical work!:rolleyes:
no kidding, the new age wannas have turned eagle/hawks feathers into a major business along with some others and it is heinous. Figure someone can make good money for a set of tailfeathers but eagles in particular mate for life: you kill one you have done the other in as far as producing more offspring
 
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Mine are very sweet, especially the male Peking. He's actually affectionate. Of course, male ducks are horny bastards so he may have ulterior motives.
eez, the worse thing I ever saw like that was a major duck molestation :eek: all these males were attacking a female, I didn't realize they were like that
 
Ducks are lovely. Almost as intelligent as dogs, if you ask my colleague's father. (She is under strict instructions not to eat duck!)
it's too greasy anyway, plus I had a traumatic duck cooking situation luckily in someone elses kitchen
 
Of course, male ducks are horny bastards so he may have ulterior motives.

Yup, definitely! My male is such a flirt we named him "Big Daddy"! He is sweet & snugly with me but will charge & pinch/peck my poor hubby!
 
Men suspected of trying to kill protected goshawks in Aberdeenshire are being sought after being captured by a special video camera.

RSPB Scotland deployed the camera on Forestry Commission land in May 2014 to monitor a nest at Glenochty, Strathdon.

Footage shows a group of men repeatedly visiting the area. Police said they seemed to be attempting to kill the birds and destroy the nest.

RSPB Scotland is offering £1,000 for information leading to a conviction.

Ian Thomson, head of investigations at RSPB Scotland, said: "This video footage captured by our camera shows what appears to be an illegal incident involving the deliberate targeting of one of our rarest and specially protected birds of prey.

"We are appealing to anybody with information about this incident to contact the police or Crimestoppers as a matter of urgency.

"On account of serious concerns about the impacts of illegal activity on the Scottish goshawk population, RSPB Scotland is now offering a reward of £1,000 for any information that subsequently leads to a successful conviction in this case."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-31507013
 
What is their beef against goshawks? Honestly, raptors? Birds of motherfucking PREY? How could someone have a beef with a hawk?

I mean, dogs-- very accessible, they're everywhere, they trust people-- you can see how some psychotic dick-fart would be able to abuse a dog.

But a raptor-- HOW do you even GET NEAR them? And physically hands-on harming them instead of shooting/poisoning? Just why? Are they pigeon breeders or rabbit hunters or something? Makes NO FUCKING SENSE!!
 
I have a whole series of bird feeders in my back yard, from nyjer sacks to suet baskets to seed dispensers. It's a real show to watch the birds come and eat! But I *always* cheer on the local hawks that come and tear away small birds from the feeders.

And it's interesting to watch birds beat up on hawks, too! Last year we had a Cooper's Hawk kill a blue jay and it sat there trapped on the grass with its kill while 6-7 other jays swooped down from the air and attacked it. The hawk had to abandon the carcass and it flew away with the jays in hot pursuit.
 
The number of crimes targeting birds of prey has dropped slightly in the last year, new figures have revealed.

There were 19 crimes in 2014, down from 23 the previous year, according to data published by the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (Paw) Scotland.

They included one of the country's worst-ever poisoning cases involving 12 red kites and four buzzards found dead in Ross-shire last spring.

Other species targeted last year include peregrine falcon and goshawk.

Also golden eagle, hen harrier and tawny owl.

There were six reported bird-of-prey poisoning incidents in Scotland in 2014, the same number as in 2013.

Two of the cases remain under live police investigation and are not included on maps showing the distribution of crimes around the country which have been published.

There were eight shooting incidents, two trappings, one disturbance and two other unspecified incidents.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-32129101
 
A gamekeeper on a Stirlingshire sporting estate caught a bird of prey in a type of trap that has been illegal for decades, a court has heard.

James O'Reilly set the gin trap on the family-owned 5000-acre Cardross Estate.

The offence came to light on 22 March 2013 when a local man walking his dog found a buzzard caught by the leg.

O'Reilly, 50, was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work after having pleaded guilty to four charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard a dog-walker found the distressed buzzard caught in a trap by its leg next to a decomposed deer carcass.

The "otherwise healthy bird" was said to have "suffered tremendously" before it was eventually found and handed to the Scottish SPCA.

Despite efforts to save it, it had to be humanely destroyed days later.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32817301
 
An appeal for information has been made after the discovery of the body of a rare bird of prey in south-west Scotland.

A post-mortem examination has revealed the hen harrier, which was found on remote moorland near to Daer Reservoir in South Lanarkshire, had been shot.

RSPB Scotland said the young female bird, named Annie, had been fitted with a satellite transmitter as a chick.

The work was part of a hen harrier research project on Langholm Moor.

The alarm was raised after the tracking device suggested the bird stopped moving in mid-March.

After an extensive search, involving the police, the bird's body was found at an undisclosed location in late April.

The timing of the appeal is likely to be questioned by the supporters of grouse shooting. The shooting season officially begins on Wednesday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-33861121
 
Big news on the eve of the Glorious 12th as hen harrier is found illegally shot

Harrier-hen-597559.jpg

Physical evidence that the birds are being illegally targeted is rare
The killing of a female harrier called Annie will reignite the bitter battle between conservationists and shooting set on the eve of the Glorious Twelfth – the traditional start of the grouse season.

Calls for driven grouse shooting to be licensed, or even outlawed, are intensifying as the demise of one of Britain’s rarest birds is blamed on illegal persecution.

Protected Hen harriers are known to take grouse chicks but finding physical evidence of them being illegally targeted remains extremely rare. Five male hen harriers vanished from their nesting grounds across Northern England earlier this summer but in only what can be described as “suspicious circumstances”.

Physical evidence of the shooting of satellite-tagged Annie earlier this spring was revealed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds after a post mortem.

Annie had been fitted with a transmitter when she was a chick as part of the Langholm Moor Demonstration project. Scientists following her movements became concerned in March when the signals stopped. Her corpse was found on a grouse moor in south-west Scotland the following month after an extensive search by RSPB Scotland investigators, liaising with Natural England and Police Scotland.

Annie was examined at the SAC Veterinary Centre in Edinburgh and the findings were made public today.

Commenting on the post mortem result that she had been illegally shot, Stuart Housden, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “This case shows very clearly what happens to some of our hen harriers when they leave protected nesting areas and move around the UK’s uplands.

“This is just the latest incident of criminal persecution of this species, following the confirmed shooting of birds in Aberdeenshire, Moray and Ayrshire in the last two years. It is little wonder these magnificent raptors continue to be absent from large areas of our uplands.”

RSPB Scotland is asking anyone with information that will help identify the perpetrator to contact Police Scotland on 101.

The grouse season is still 24 hours away but the heather-coated uplands have been echoing to sound of pot shots after becoming a battleground for one of conservation’s most intractable problems.

On one side is the grouse shooting industry and on the other campaigners who believe the wild landscapes are devoid of one of most charismatic birds because they are being intentionally driven away.

Four years ago the Government’s scientific advisers, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, revealed the alarming disparity of hen harrier numbers, pointing the finger at “illegal persecution”. Rather than a potential count of 2,600 nesting pairs across Britain, we count harriers in hundreds.



 
Two red kites have been added to a toll of 16 birds of prey recorded as having been illegally killed in the Highlands last year.

The two raptors were found near Beauly and Cawdor following a poisoning incident that killed 12 kites and four buzzards near Conon Bridge.

Details about the two kites have been released following the conclusion of police inquiries into their deaths.

The one found near Beauly was shot and the other was poisoned.

A police spokesman said: "Investigating wildlife crime is challenging because of its nature, and the vast areas covered.

"Police Scotland works closely with partners including the RSPB to tackle wildlife crime, and brings to bear the full range of investigative techniques at its disposal.

"Our detection rate is increasing. Our aim is to reduce wildlife crime and earlier this year we launched a campaign raising awareness."

A spokesman for Cawdor Estate said: "The Cawdor Estate was not aware of an alleged poisoning of a red kite, found in woodland in the area close to Cawdor, until we saw an RSPB press release yesterday.

"As we received no contact from Police Scotland nor the RSPB at the time of the discovery of the bird in 2014 nor since, we have no reason to believe this was found on Cawdor Estate land.

"Any illegal persecution of protected species such as the red kite is absolutely abhorrent and we strongly condemn anyone found guilty of such an act."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-34072580
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The number of crimes against birds of prey showed a slight rise in Scotland last year, according to the latest data.

The Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) Scotland recorded 20 incidents, up from 18 in 2014.

Six birds were poisoned, five shot, there were five cases of disturbance, three trapping or attempted trappings and one chick theft.

Species involved included buzzards, red kites, osprey and a hen harrier.

Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland's head of investigations, said the latest figures show any claims of a decline in the illegal killing of raptors were "wholly without foundation".

Tim Baynes, director of the Scottish Moorland Group for landowner body Scottish Land & Estates, said the annual variations were "very small".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-35851171
 
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