The RSPB's 2021 Birdcrime Report

The RSPB's 2021 Birdcrime Report, which was published on 15 November 2022, provides a summary of related offences against birds of prey that were collated by the RSPB's investigations team last year. The shooting community remains committed to eradicating raptor persecution, with a zero tolerance towards all wildlife crime, including the illegal persecution of birds of prey. The reduction in the number of incidents recorded in 2021 should therefore be welcomed, and it is unfortunate that the RSPB should choose not to do so. Indeed, it has even attributed the only confirmed incident in Northern Ireland to the fact that crimes in the Province must be going undetected and under-reported.

There were 108 confirmed incidents of raptor persecution in the UK is 2021, which the RSPB has split into likely 'persecution groups'. Of the two-thirds of incidents that have been connected to gamebird shooting, only 21% at the very worst can be linked to grouse shooting. Despite this, the RSPB sees the licensing of driven grouse shooting as its top priority, even though its own data fails to support such a stance, and the fact that there is extensive legislation already in place that has an impact on almost every aspect of grouse shooting and grouse moor management.

Within the Report, the RSPB is also calling on UK governments to introduce additional regulation for pheasant and partridge shooting, with the release of non-native gamebirds reduced to more environmentally sustainable levels, alongside better compliance with existing regulations. introduction of any additional regulation must be justified, and based on research, and the RSPB should be aware of the considerable amount of research currently being undertaken into various aspects of gamebird releasing. Defra is committed to addressing gaps in the existing scientific literature that was highlighted during the review into the ecological consequences of gamebird releasing and management on lowland Shoots in England undertaken in 2020, and a three-year Gamebird Research Project into those knowledge gaps has now begun. We need to wait for the findings of that research, as these will provide a more complete, evidence based, picture on which to base any conclusions and recommendations. Evidence that the RSPB does not have.

Our summary and analysis of the RSPB's 2021 Birdcrime Report can be read here.