Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Charles is passionate about the need to tackle wildlife crime and his work to date shows that he is raising awareness and delivering change.
He said:
“Hen Harrier day is a really positive, peaceful, initiative which I wholeheartedly support. If we don’t work to protect these once abundant birds they will disappear forever and that would be a tragedy. We must raise awareness of the problem in the wider public arena to garner increased support to enable us to protect the meagre numbers in circulation now, so that hopefully breeding patterns will start again. If we work together with the public I believe we can stop the persecution of these wonderful birds and really make a difference.”
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Not just fine words either. Thanks for all you have done to stimulate the Derbyshire Police response to wildlife crime Alan. Wish all the other PCCs around the country had your passion and commitment. Next time they come up for election in May 2016 we all need to be asking the PCC candidates how they intend to tackle raptor persecution.
How’s the investigation into the Sparrowhawk found on Chatsworth Estate going?
Yes the police have a very difficult job with bird crime but the very fact they show determination to tackle the persecution will have some effect.
Hmm, I wonder if when calling in a crime against wildlife if it is the same in Derbyshire as in my neck of the woods, the person deems it “not serious” or needing/deserving an immediate response and you’re told to ring 101 which you can’t do from most mobile operators thus making it impossible to report?
Why can’t you phone 101 from a mobile? I did just that to report a cow on the road last Saturday, got through no problem – is it that I’m on Orange? Surely not………
Wow the hen harrier has another high profile champion. Wish you were our commisioner.
I can hear the tide turning . . .
Long overdue and a good start from the top to tackle this ; a sport that protects the toffs and their cruel pastimes which is against nature and the overall health of the raptor populations which have been cruelly and illegally persecuted.
I hope this mans’ commitment is echoed by his colleagues up and down the country, especially in Scotland.
Many more people love Hen Harriers than those employed in the pointless business of killing grouse. I am sure that people would pay more nationally to see Hen Harriers than the money generated for the few who make a living from killing game birds.
Can’t they shoot pigeons, crows -birds that are super abundant and much regarded as pests?
Can I give a late response to Joe Privett’s question about Derbyshire Police response to wildlife crime? In essence, they take it very seriously indeed, and recognise that wildlife crime covers both town and countryside. I welcome Alan Charles’ support. Two examples:
1) According to the papers, our police are currently using the Proceeds of Crime Act against a building developer who intentionally destroyed a known bat roost in Matlock in order to proceed with his conversion work, thinking the penalty for the roost destruction was a tiny expense to pay for the high return on his property. If successful, the POCA should hit him hard, and it would be great if POCA were threatened for use against the grouse-rearing industry should one of their employees ever get caught killing raptors.
2) I was personally warned by the police a few years ago that I faced prosecution if I were to disturb a peregrine nest in Derby. I should point out that I help run the Derby Cathedral Peregrine Project and back in about 2010 we had two chicks that died on the nest and one had already been consumed by the others. A vet offered to do an autopsy to determine cause of death, and I was all set to abseil down ten days before our scheduled, licenced ringing event was due to take place – purely to collect the remaining corpse. Natural England refused to grant us a licence because we were scheduled to legally disturb them the following week for ringing, so that stopped us in our tracks. Chatting to the Police WLO we had been dealing, with he told us in no uncertain terms that because his police force took raptor persecution so seriously, I shouldn’t even think about continuing with the abseil without a licence. Even if disturbed through the best of intentions, they would probably feel obliged to take action in order to demonstrate that they meant business. I have to say was impressed.
And whilst here, can I repeat a big ‘well done’ to Mark et al for a brilliant Hen Harrier Day in Derbyshire last weekend. Didn’t see any police there, although a couple of gamekeepers were spotted in the crowd.