Legal Eagle 24
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Joan Childs (RSPB) Goodbye Angus, hello Chris and Carol Many of you will remember Angus Nurse, who operated our database. Angus left Investigations on secondment in October 1997 to join our Marketing Department as Legal and Data Protection Officer. He has now left the RSPB to do a PhD in wildlife crime and enforcement of environmental and conservation law at the University of Central England. We wish Angus well in his new ventures. Chris Townend is our new Investigations Co-ordinator. Chris has taken over management of our database (under the provisions of the Data Protection Act) and is assisting with some casework. He is your first port of call if you are reporting new incidents or have updating information, or if you want to check details of a suspect. Carol Baker-Smith is our Database Administrator and will be entering the records that you send us. She can also check information on the database for you. Remember to let us know if there are any changes to WLO names, addresses or telephone numbers in your force so that we can update our mailing list. Additional details such as fax numbers and e-mail addresses would also be useful. Chris and Carol get to grips with the database. Update your WLOs Please let us know if there are Kenya to host ‘Tusk’ Force any changes to WLO names, addresses, telephone or fax numbers in your force so that we on illegal wildlife trade can update our mailing list. E-mail addresses are also useful. The United Nations Environment Enforcement Operations Directed Programme (UNEP) and the at Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Write to be read Government of Kenya have Flora, an agreement adopted by six We welcome contributions to negotiated an agreement to African countries in 1994. Legal Eagle. Please let us know establish Kenya as the Launched in June 1999, the Task about wildlife crime initiatives, headquarters of a Task Force to Force has already conducted news, events and prosecutions in curb the illegal trade in endangered successful cross-border and your force. Send your articles to wildlife and flora. The conclusion undercover operations that have the Editor, Joan Childs, RSPB of the agreement is an important led to the arrests of poachers and Investigations Officer on the step in the implementation of the the confiscation of hundreds of Investigations Section’s direct fax Lusaka Agreement on Co-operative tons of ivory tusks and firearms. number 01767 691052. The views expressed in Legal Eagle are not necessarily those of the RSPB. RSPB UK Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL. Tel: 01767 680551 RSPB Scotland Headquarters, 25 Ravelston Terrace, Edinburgh EH4 3TP. Tel: 0131 311 6500 BirdLife RSPB South Wales Office, Sutherland House, Castlebridge, INTERNATIONAL Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF11 9AB. Tel: 029 2035 3000 The RSPB works with bird and habitat RSPB Northern Ireland Headquarters, Belvoir Park Forest, conservation organisations in a global Belfast BT8 7AT. Tel: 028 9049 1547 partnership called BirdLife International. www.rspb.org.uk Registered charity no 207076 Illustrations by Tim Sidaway, Mike Langman and Dan Powell 26/898/99-00 LEGAL EAGLE The RSPB’s investigations newsletter Fighting talk as Environment Minister opens PAW 2000 Mark Thomas (RSPB) The battle against wildlife crime was stepped up on 16 February when Environment Local people help Minister Michael Meacher protect white-tailed opened the Partnership for eagles page 2 Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW) seminar at London Zoo. He announced a series of hard-hitting measures to protect endangered animals and plants including: Cormorants off the ● a new National Wildlife hook page 6 Crime Unit ● PAW’s Enforcement Plan 2000-2003 which sets out future priorities ● a DNA test to detect tiger products ● the new Countryside and Rights of Way Bill. Mr Meacher said, ‘Wildlife crime presents a clear danger to our animals and Caution after bat plants. Fanatical collectors, roosts blocked page 9 the anoraks of wildlife crime, who have to acquire an egg, butterfly or The Rt Hon Michael Meacher MP, orchid, spell doom for our endangered pictured here with RSPB Investigations species. The new National Wildlife Crime Officer and Legal Eagle Editor Joan Unit will provide an exciting opportunity Childs, vows to get tough with ‘the for us to shift our effort up a gear. Wildlife anoraks of wildlife crime’. crime must be treated more seriously with tougher penalties, and that is what the STOP PRESS: New Bill new Bill will reflect.’ APRIL 2000 published – see page 7 N0 24 COURT CASES COURT CASES COURT CASES Mull locals help protect their eagles The residents of Mull have acted to help Oban Sherrif Court on 25 January 2000. Brian Maguire, the procurator-fiscal, protect the population of white-tailed A not guilty plea was accepted to the told the court that Mortimer had eagles nesting on the island, a source of charge of intentionally disturbing a approached an RSPB official in white-tailed eagle at the nest, but the Mull in November 1998 posing as a much local pride and tourist revenue. men pleaded guilty to possession of BBC researcher. articles capable of being used to On 30 March 1999 a local sheep farmer commit an offence, which included OS The white-tailed eagle became extinct spotted two men walking towards a maps, a Global Positioning System, a in Britain in 1916 because of white-tailed eagle nest. An eagle was telescopic mirror, binoculars, wire- persistent persecution and egg seen acting in an agitated manner ‘off cutters, climbing equipment, tripods, collecting. A reintroduction the nest’. The police and RSPB were cameras, film, plastic tubs, balaclavas programme began 25 years ago but it quickly at the scene and with the help of and two mountain bikes. remains one of Scotland’s rarest the local gamekeeper and farmers, breeding birds with only six nests police apprehended the men close to a The men were fined £750 each. Sheriff fledging young last year. nest. Police searched their car and Rajni Swanney said the penalty did seized equipment. Camera equipment not reflect the seriousness of the Dave Dick, Senior Investigations and other articles were later found offence, but she was restricted by the Officer for the RSPB in Scotland, buried in the wood. men’s personal circumstances. praised both the local community and Mortimer, serving a prison sentence on Strathclyde Police for working Jan Ross of Bury Road, Bury, Tottington, another matter, asked for no time to together to catch the men, and Lancashire and Brian Mortimer of Ribble pay the fine and had 28 days added to protect the nests of golden and white- Drive, Bury, Lancashire appeared at his sentence. tailed eagles. C H Gomersall (RSPB Images) There are only 20 nesting pairs of white-tailed eagles in the UK, and a large proportion is on Mull. 2 COURT CASES COURT CASES COURT CASES Heavy fine for pole-trapper A search instigated by suspicious These were later examined by the three charges under the Wildlife and workmen has helped to snare a bird- RSPB. One was a Larsen trap with Countryside Act 1981 relating to the killing aviculturist. white dove feathers in the decoy pole-trapping of a tawny owl and compartments. Such traps are still possession of two cage-traps. He was In April 1999, two workman attended used illegally, normally on game found guilty and fined £2,500 with the then home of Carl Garnham, in shooting estates where they are baited £538 costs. Broadhempston, Devon, to dismantle with live pigeons to catch birds of his aviaries. They found a tawny owl prey. The other was a sparrow cage Garnham, a keen aviculturist, admitted caught in a spring-trap which trap with a spring-trap attached by a occasional problems with raptors appeared to have been set in the open length of twine. Any sparrows caught around his aviaries but would only say on the roof of an aviary. The owl was could lure species like sparrowhawks the spring-trap which caught the owl taken for treatment, but was so badly to the spring-trap. was set ‘inappropriately’. He denied injured it had to be euthanased. the cage-traps were intended for On 20 December 1999, Garnham, of catching raptors. It is unfortunate that WLO PC Steve Saunders visited the Hawthorne Drive, Ibstock, barbaric practices like pole-trapping, scene and found two suspicious- Leicestershire appeared at Totnes illegal for nearly a century, seem set looking cage-traps in an outbuilding. Magistrates’ Court, Devon to answer to continue in the new millennium. Guy Shorrock (RSPB) PC Steve Saunders with the Larsen trap seized from Garnham with dove feathers in the decoy section. 3 COURT CASES COURT CASES COURT CASES Legal Eagle 23). The eggs were and Countryside Act 1981 and said New millenium, examined by the RSPB and were that he had been given the remainder same old story determined to have been blown in the in 1979. same unusual manner as many eggs In July 1999 WLO PC Bob Alcock from the Crang collection. Despite only receiving a conditional executed a search warrant at Seaway discharge, Dodsworth entered an Court, New Road, Brixham, Devon, appeal against sentence. He appeared home of Adrian Foulkes. A collection of Egg collector’s at Newcastle Crown Court on 26 221 eggs, including those of peregrine January, but he was still unable to and Cetti’s warbler, was seized. appeal fails produce any reliable documentary or On 10 January 2000 Foulkes pleaded Legal Eagle 18 reported the case of other evidence to support his claims. guilty at Torbay Magistrates’ Court to John Dodsworth, now of Roker Prosecution evidence was given by possession of the eggs.