Archie James Watson, a 21 year old gamekeeper/farm worker from Pewsey has been summoned to appear before Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday 25 May at 10am, on 6 charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and 3 Firearms Offences. The case has been brought after almost two years of detailed investigation and forensic analysis in […]

A protected bird of prey found dead in a ditch had been shot and then glued to a bamboo stick, police have said. The sparrowhawk, which had been killed with a pellet gun, was dumped in a drainage ditch inside a plastic bag in Thorne, near Doncaster. It was discovered by a member of the […]

Police have carried out searches at several locations this week (27 May 2022) in connection with suspected raptor persecution and poisoning of birds of prey.  Officers from Durham and Northumbria attended the addresses across the two force areas following information received from the public.  Suspicious substances were seized from some of the locations and taken […]

Police have advised dog walkers to keep their pets on a lead in a forest in case they are poisoned. Dorset Police said a dead buzzard was found in the Ashmore area of Dorset, though its cause of death is yet to be determined. The poisoning of three white-tailed eagles was also investigated by police earlier this […]

Officers are appealing for information after a protected bird of prey was found shot in woodland at Mominail, near Ladybank, Fife. The dead buzzard was found by a member of the public in the morning of Sunday, 9 April, 2022. Wildlife crime liaison officer, Detective Constable Ben Pacholek, said: “It is sad and disappointed to […]

Wild birds are nesting and the national campaign to protect them across the UK is underway. Egg thieves will go to any lengths to raid the nests of rare wild birds but Operation EASTER is determined to stop them in their tracks. Operation EASTER was developed in Scotland 25 years ago. The operation is now […]