More coots were killed in 2023 than in any other year on record, a report has found.
The RSPB’s Birdcrime report also found that at least 1,344 individual raptors were stalked in the UK between 2009 and 2023, and that 75% of people convicted of raptor stalking offenses in that period were linked to the shooting. industry.
Shotguns have historically killed raptors due to fear that raptors will eat game birds such as grouse, meaning there are fewer for people to shoot. Traditionally targeted birds include rare and endangered species such as golden eagles, coots, peregrine falcons, sea eagles and hawks.
RSPB calls for laws to be tightened; Although birds of prey are protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, only one person has been jailed in the last 15 years.
Mark Thomas, the RSPB’s UK head of investigations, said: “If we are to save birds like the critically endangered coot, the current legislation is clearly not enough: we need UK-wide licensing of game bird shooting, tougher penalties and meaningful sentencing. To stop these crimes and save our wildlife.”
In Scotland, a law passed in March this year requires all grouse shoots in Scotland to be licensed to operate, and if crimes such as the killing of birds of prey take place on the estate, the license can be revoked. The RSPB is recommending a similar law passed by the Labor government in England. It also says that the shooting of all game birds, not just grouse, must require a license to operate across the devolved nations, and has called on national governments to enforce tougher penalties for the deliberate killing of birds.
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A Defra spokesman said there are no plans to introduce licenses for game bird shooting in England, adding: “Bird of prey crime is a national wildlife crime priority and there are strict penalties in place for offenses committed against birds of prey and other wildlife.”