Wild birds and the law

Wild bird crime
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Wild bird crime

Daniel Lingham illegal egg collection

In 2006, the RSPB received 1,109 reports of potential offences against wild birds. These included:

  • 185 reports of shooting and destruction of birds of prey
  • 182 reports of poisoning incidents
  • 72 egg collecting incidents including confirmed robberies from 16 nests of Schedule 1 species
  • 39 reports of illegal taking, possession or sale of birds of prey
  • 66 reports of illegal taking, possession or sale of wild birds other than birds of prey, predominantly finches.   

1,109 incidents is the highest number of reports that has ever been received in one year by the Investigations unit (2001-2005 saw an average of 625 incidents) and the figure is more than double the number of incidents recorded in 2004. Whether this reflects an actual increase in bird crime incidents is difficult to assess, as the increased figures may reflect the fact that a higher percentage of witnessed wildlife offences are being reported. 

This increase may be due to increased public awareness of wildlife offences and new methods of reporting incidents to the RSPB, such as the online reporting system. It is also believed that efforts by the newly formed National Wildlife Crime Unit to record all wildlife crime has significantly improved the recording of offences against wild birds. This increase in recorded incidents involving wild bird crime reinforces the belief that the data is only a small fraction of the total amount of persecution occurring.

In 2006, the RSPB received information on 62 individual prosecutions involving wild birds. These cases involved a total of 173 charges, of which 136 were proved. Of the 62 prosecuted individuals, 55 were found guilty and convicted. Fines for the year totalled £26,650 and five people were imprisoned.

For a full breakdown of the facts and figures see Birdcrime 2006.

What can I do?

Have you seen a crime against a wild bird? Use this form to report a wildlife crime to the RSPB.

Report a wildlife crime

Last modified: 10 September 2007

Downloads

Birdcrime 2006 (415Kb)
Birdcrime 2006 report
Persecution 2006 (728Kb)
A review of bird of prey persecution in Scotland in 2006