Macaw collector Harry Sissen has been convicted of the most serious bird smuggling case ever brought before a British court. Jailing him for 2 1 / 2

Transcription

1 LEGAL EAGLE The RSPB s investigations newsletter A liar and a hypocrite Page 3 Peregrine trapper fined and forfeits car Macaw collector Harry Sissen has been convicted of the most serious bird smuggling case ever brought before a British court. Jailing him for 2 1 / 2 years, the Judge told him, the law must be seen to have teeth. Sissen guilty of smuggling CITES Appendix 1 species Branded arrogant and conceited by Judge MP William Hague called as prosecution witness Record sentence and costs of 5,000 Paper trail of bogus documents across Europe Haul included nearly 150 parrots Raoul Dixon (Northern News Pictures) Page 4 Poisoning on Norfolk Estate Page 8 Bat prosecution in Leicestershire JULY 2000 N0. 25 Judge Guy Whitburn labelled well-known parrot keeper Harry Sissen a liar and a hypocrite following his conviction after a four-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Sissen, of East Cowton, Northallerton, North Yorkshire was found guilty on 14 April 2000 of smuggling three Lear s macaws and six blue-headed macaws into the UK during 1997 and The Lear s macaw, listed on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is one of the most critically endangered birds in the world, with the wild population confined to a small part of north-east Brazil and estimated at a mere 150 birds. Customs officers seized the Lear s macaws and over 140 other parrots during a raid in April Judge Whitburn said that Sissen had hatched a devious and elaborate scheme to smuggle the rare birds into the country. In sentencing Sissen to 2 1 / 2 years imprisonment the toughest sentence yet handed out for an offence of this nature and ordering him to pay 5,000 costs, he warned that the sentence was aimed at sending out a clear message to those who might emulate him. The Judge said, The Harry Sissen law must be shown to have teeth. In buying these birds you were propagating the trade. The birds belonged to Brazil and that is where they should have stayed. In your arrogance and conceit you did your best to deceive the court. The jury heard that Sissen smuggled the birds across Europe in a car after buying them from wildlife dealers in Yugoslavia and Slovakia. Sissen laid a paper trail of bogus documentation to conceal the illegal importation of the birds, including health documents for three Lear s macaws, signed by a Belgian vet who had never even seen the birds. Continued inside

2 (continued from front page) Evidence of payments worth thousands of pounds being made to bank accounts in Holland, the Czech Republic and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) illustrated the international nature of the parrot smuggling racket. A breeding pair of Lear s macaws, almost unknown in captivity, was claimed in court to be worth 50,000 on the black market. A wide variety of witnesses, including eminent ornithologist Carlos Yamashita of Brazil, the world s leading expert on the Lear s macaw, gave evidence during the four week trial. Media interest in the trial heightened when Sissen s MP, the Rt Hon William Hague, gave evidence relating to admissions his constituent had made to him about smuggling birds following the customs raid. partnership between the statutory authorities and conservation organisations like the RSPB who are determined to tackle international wildlife crime which is believed to be second only to drugs in terms of its monetary value. Sissen has two previous convictions for bird smuggling offences. The jury had been directed to return a verdict of not guilty on two further charges of selling a palm cockatoo and a hyacinth macaw. The three Lear s macaws future will be decided after consultation between HMCE and BirdLife International; the Brazilian authorities have requested their repatriation. The fate of the remaining birds will be decided during forthcoming court proceedings. Guy Shorrock (RSPB Images) Following the trial RSPB Investigations Officer Duncan McNiven said, Mr Sissen acted with total disregard for the critical situation which this species faces in the wild, and his selfish actions have helped to edge this beautiful parrot closer to extinction. However, a clear message is being sent from this court; that the illegal and destructive trade in endangered species will not be tolerated by the enforcement authorities. HM Customs and Excise officers Sarah Wallder and Paul Salisbury deserve huge credit for tackling such a complex investigation. The outcome is a triumph for the One of the Lear s macaws seized from Sissen. This beautiful blue parrot, named after author and illustrator Edward Lear, was only discovered in the wild in Finch possession prosecution PS Mark Barrett, Wiltshire WLO, outlines a case of possession of wild birds that resulted in a fine. In December 1998 police from Hampshire and Wiltshire executed a search warrant at an address in Avon Meadow, Downton, Wiltshire and seized three greenfinches, three chaffinches, two dunnocks and two house sparrows. David Brown, now of Roman Meadows, Downton, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates Court on 22 March He claimed that he had bred the finches, and that neither they nor their parents were wild birds. He said he hadn t a clue how the dunnocks and house sparrows had got into his aviary. He was found guilty and fined 100 plus 50 costs for possession of the finches, but his plea of not guilty regarding the other birds was accepted. The success of this case was due to cooperation between Hampshire and Wiltshire officers and the advice of the House sparrow RSPCA and Chris Stevens, a retired RSPCA inspector. Dan Powell 2

3 IONS PROSECUTIONS PROSECUTIONS PRO Peregrine trapper forfeits car Dave Dick, Senior Investigations Officer for RSPB Scotland, describes a satisfactory outcome to a new WLO s first case. Following a tip off, Sgt Willie Hannah from Girvan a new WLO on his first case and I visited Heads of Ayr on 10 August 1999 and found a tethered pigeon on a grassy area below the summit of the cliffs. Matthew Morrison s car was parked in the vicinity. The following morning we returned to Heads of Ayr. At dawn we saw a tethered pigeon on the site, and shortly after this we saw a young peregrine fly in, kill the pigeon and eat it. An hour later the peregrine attempted to fly off and became entangled in a net for a few seconds before escaping. At 8.38 am Morrison appeared, carrying a rucksack. He watched the trap site through his binoculars and then walked along the cliff top towards the trapping site, before climbing down to the trap site, pulling up the net and packing it away at the side of the site. I recorded all this on video. Morrison then headed back to his car, where the police were waiting for him. A subsequent search revealed a live pigeon in his rucksack. Climbing down to the trap site with WLO PC Ronnie Sewell, we photographed and helped retrieve all the trapping equipment. A reel of thread later found at Morrison s house was forensically matched to the trapping equipment. Morrison, of Annfieldglen Road, Belmont, Ayr appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court on 14 March He was charged with taking a peregrine, using a live tethered pigeon as a decoy to take a peregrine, using nets to take a peregrine, attempting to take a peregrine, having in his possession items capable of being used for committing an offence, and conveying a pigeon in such a manner as to cause unnecessary suffering (contrary to Section 1(1)(b) of the Protection of Animals (Scotland) Act 1912). During the trial, Morrison claimed the live pigeon was an injured one he had found that day, that he was never at the Heads of Ayr, and the net was for catching crabs. However, my video was shown in court and placed him at the site. He was convicted on all six charges and fined a total of 2,700. All his equipment, including his car, was forfeited. Sheriff Robin McEwan told Morrison he had been found guilty on the clearest possible evidence, both eyewitness and film. In giving out the large fine and seizing his car the Sheriff said, People who undertake these sort of crimes do so for profit using vehicles to get to remote areas, and must face severe punishment. This case will now go to appeal. Courtesy of Ronnie Sewell St Blazey man starts blaze Gary Thomas, of Doubletrees, St Blazey, was convicted under Section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 at East Powder Magistrates Court, Bodmin, Cornwall on 12 April 2000 for setting fires at Breney Common, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) owned by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. Thomas was charged with arson rather than Wildlife and Countryside Act offences as the penalties are more severe. He received 120 hours community service. Arson and illegal burning of heathland by farmers have become problems over recent years and there have already been some notable fires in Cornwall and Devon this year. RSPB Investigator Dave Dick at the trapping site at the Heads of Ayr DC Dave Jago, WLO St Austell 3

4 IONS PROSECUTIONS PROSECUTIONS PRO Norfolk keeper convicted A gamekeeper on a prestigious Norfolk estate has been fined nearly 1,000 for a number of serious offences involving poisons. In July last year, a member of the public out with his young children came across a dead kestrel lying next to a pheasant bait on the Holkham Estate near Wells, Norfolk. Analysis showed that the kestrel had died from eating the carbofuran-laced bait. Carbofuran, an agricultural pesticide, is regularly abused on game shooting estates to illegally poison birds of prey and other wildlife. A search by the police and the Farming and Rural Conservation Agency (FRCA) found that a variety of pesticides had been illegally stored and used by gamekeeper Martin Joyce. Additionally, two shot kestrels were found hidden in the back of his Landrover. When interviewed, Joyce claimed that he did not know what some of the pesticides were, that he didn t know the storage regulations, and that he had received no training on their use. He admitted laying the poisoned pheasant bait, claiming to be after a fox, and to shooting the two kestrels. During mitigation it was claimed he had seen the kestrels attacking his partridge chicks and shot them in a moment of fury and blind stupidity. He had been given a final written warning by the Estate but had retained his job. Joyce pleaded guilty to 17 charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Food and Environment Protection Act He was fined 850 and 100 costs at Fakenham Magistrates Court on 14 March. Three further defendants, head gamekeeper John King, estate manager Richard Gledson, and company director. The Viscount Coke each pleaded not guilty to 12 charges of permitting the unlawful storage of pesticides. The cases against them are yet to be heard. The Magistrates stressed how seriously they viewed these offences, commenting that he would have been fined a lot more had it not been for Joyce s limited financial means. They considered there was very little mitigation and that he had been reckless to the consequences of his actions to the potential detriment of himself, his family and others. WLO Sergeant Alan Roberts, FRCA officer Dr Ed Blane and Nick Crampton of the CPS deserve particular credit for their work on this complex case. Courtesy of Norfolk Police A kestrel lies dead next to a pheasant bait illegally laced with carbofuran on the Holkham Estate, Norfolk 4

5 IONS PROSECUTIONS PROSECUTIONS PRO Out for a duck RSPB Investigator Dave Dick concludes the story, begun in Legal Eagle 22, of eggers targeting the rare, specially-protected common scoter. In June 1999 an inflatable boat was seen moving between islands in a loch in the Lochaber District. Paul Sly and Philip Beard were stopped by the police near to the loch and an inflatable boat and eggs were found in their rucksack. They admitted to having a tent two miles away, later seized by the police along with further equipment. Sly of Meadfoot Road, Willenhall, Coventry and Beard of Meschines Street, Cheylesmore, Coventry appeared at Fort William Sheriff Court on 9 March 2000, charged on eight counts relating to the taking of the nests of four common scoters and a red-breasted merganser, taking and possession of 21 scoter and eight merganser eggs, disturbing a common scoter, and going equipped. They were found guilty of taking the eggs and being in possession of equipment. Not guilty pleas were accepted to the other charges. They were fined 2,000 each. Scoter eggs and a loch in the Lochaber District pictures taken from the film seized by police Sheriff Colin Mackay expressed his disappointment that he could not imprison them, saying, Unless prison is an option I do not think you will be much discouraged. He reluctantly restricted their fines as they were both paying off previous fines for similar offences. The Mersey beat PC Andy McWilliam from South Sefton in Liverpool became the main WLO for the Merseyside Police in February. Two of his enquiries have recently come to court. In April 1999 a drugs warrant by the Merseyside Police uncovered a small egg collection and a number of stuffed birds and animals, which were seized. The RSPCA took on the enquiry with the assistance of PC McWilliam. The egg collection included three peregrine eggs, a species listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act Pesticide analysis by the FRCA confirmed that two dead kestrels and a buzzard recovered at the scene with full crops had been poisoned by alphachloralose, commonly used in the illegal poisoning of raptors. There were also a number of dead finches, one with a crudely expanded close-ring, typical of a ring fitted to a wild caught bird. On 28 February 2000 Stephen Horton of Woodend Avenue, Crosby, Liverpool pleaded guilty at North Sefton Magistrates Court to 28 charges relating to the illegal possession of eggs, dead birds and a red squirrel. He was fined 280 and 300 costs. Another enquiry in December 1999 saw PC McWilliam execute a warrant under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and recover a number of birds eggs. On 22 February 2000 James Barry Lloyd of Stile Hey, Thornton, Liverpool appeared at South Sefton Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to possessing 137 wild birds eggs. He was fined 200 and 50 costs. PC McWilliam told Legal Eagle Recent events have been an eye-opener regarding the sort of wildlife crime taking place in Liverpool. The help of outside agencies in these cases has been invaluable.

6 NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS Rentokil in first secondary poisoning case The death of a dog has resulted in fines totalling 26,000 for pest control firm Rentokil for failing to clear away poisoned rodent bodies Secondary poisoning by rodenticides a problem for red kites The dog that ran into a barn on a farm in Mells, Halesworth, Suffolk in November 1997 later died and enquiries by FRCA established that there was an exposed pile of anticoagulant rodenticide in the barn. The Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) brought 11 charges against Rentokil Initial UK Ltd, which was contracted to carry out rodent control on the farm, under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and the Control of Pesticides Regulations. The case was heard at Lowestoft Magistrates Court in October Rentokil pleaded not guilty to all charges, but were found guilty on seven charges of failing to comply with the conditions of use of a pesticide called Rentokil Bromatrol containing bromadiolone, and a pesticide containing difenacoum. The charges related to failing to search for rodent bodies and burning or burying them and the remains of bait and bait containers, and failing to protect the health of human beings and creatures and prevent access to the bait. They were fined 2,000 for each of the seven charges. In addition to the total fine of 14,000 they were asked to pay 12,000 costs. This is the first prosecution for failing to search for dead rodents and disposing of them correctly. Although the period for returning to search is not set down in law, it is sensible to return within the first week as bodies begin to appear after three days and for the following three weeks. Dan Powell Information gathered as part of the red kite reintroduction programme suggests that the risks from eating rats poisoned by rodenticides may be greater than previously thought. Because rats are developing resistance to first-generation rodenticides like warfarin, more effective second-generation rodenticides have been developed. The four main chemicals, difenacoum, bromadiolone, brodifacoum and flocoumafen are more toxic and persistent, and increase the risk of secondary poisoning. Brodifacoum is 600 times more toxic than warfarin. Rodenticides move up the food chain when a predator kills or scavenges poisoned prey. A 1995 study of polecats found rodenticide residues in 31% of the carcasses examined, and in the same year 38% of barn owls examined carried these residues. Red kites are especially vulnerable to secondary rodenticide poisoning. They have a carrion-dominated diet, and in some areas forage close to farm buildings, leaving them susceptible to picking up poisoned rats. Residues appeared in eight of the red kites found dead in the two English release areas since the beginning of 1998, and were implicated in the death of at least three of these birds. Similarly, residues were found in five of the nine kites found dead in Scotland between 1997 and A factsheet for farmers in the English red kite release areas highlights the potential problems with rodenticides and outlines good practice such as the need to search for and dispose of carcasses when poisoning is undertaken. The factsheet is available from Ian Carter, English Nature, on

7 NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS Wales poisoning outrage Chris Townend, Investigations Coordinator, reports on five peregrines and a buzzard illegally poisoned in South Wales in March and April. A further two peregrines and two buzzards may also have been poisoned. The Farming and Rural Conservation Agency (FRCA) has confirmed that six birds of prey were victims of the pesticides aldicarb and strychnine. Aldicarb is a soil-applied insecticide for use on root crops, and strychnine is permitted only to kill moles in areas of restricted public access. However in these cases the pesticides have been used illegally to deliberately kill birds of prey. Four of the peregrines were found in Glamorgan; two near Aberdare and two in a quarry near Pontypridd along with a buzzard also suspected to have been poisoned. WLO Sergeant Ian Guildford, investigating the Pontypridd poisonings said, The poisoning of these magnificent birds is an outrage. Three more peregrines and two buzzards were found near Pontypool in Gwent. One buzzard, one peregrine and a live tethered pigeon bait all tested positive for aldicarb. The remaining birds are also suspected to be victims of poisoning. PC Chris Arnold, Gwent WLO and a member of the Aberdare Peregrine Watch Group, was sickened to find the birds killed after the excitement of watching four chicks fledge from the site last year. The RSPB is particularly concerned about reports suggesting that five other peregrine nests in South Wales are missing birds that had been present earlier in the season. PC Chris Arnold is pictured with one of the poisoned buzzards Courtesy of Gwent Police North Yorkshire red kite poisoned A red kite found dead in April within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in North Yorkshire last year was poisoned with alphachloralose. The kite had been reintroduced into Yorkshire as part of the project to return red kites to their long-lost haunts. Twentythree red kites were released on the Harewood Estate near Harrogate last July. The body was recovered when project staff picked up the signal from a minature radio-transmitter fitted to the bird, which pin-pointed its exact location. D Bouchy (RSPB Images) Miles Foulger from Yorkshire Water a project partner said, This outrageous and illegal practice, which puts all wildlife at risk, must be stamped out. I am appalled that the poisoning and persecution which initially drove these beautiful birds to extinction 200 years ago still continues.

8 VERSITY ACTION FOR BIODIVERSITY ACTION Bat to school The first bat prosecution under The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations resulted in fines for both owner and contractor in a landmark case. D Middleton (FotoNatura FLPA) Badger Act prosecutions Maclean Homes (South West), building 500 houses on the outskirts of Bristol, employed a wildlife consultant to carry out an assessment before work started. A large active badger sett was identified and although initially cordoned off, was later destroyed. The consultant gathered evidence and assisted the police with prosecution. Maclean Homes pleaded guilty on 12 November 1999 at Weston- Super-Mare Magistrates Court to interference of a badger sett under Section 3 of the Badger Act and was fined 2,500 with 3,000 costs. Brown long-eared bat John Busby Insulation & Environmental Services Ltd of Oadby, Leicestershire, and Leicestershire County Council appeared at Hinckley Magistrates Court on 6 and 7 March They were charged with damaging a bat roost under Section 39(1)(d) of The Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations These rules make the damage or destruction of a breeding site or resting place of a wild animal of a European protected species an offence of absolute liability, as oppose to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, where intent must be shown. Bat expert Bob Stebbings, who had surveyed the roof, told the court that the colony could have been in the roof-space for 20 years. As well as live specimens he found a number of dead and dying bats. Insulation & Environmental Services Ltd pleaded guilty to damaging the roost of a colony of up to 100 brown long-eared bats at South Charnwood High School at Markfield, Leicestershire when they were contracted by Leicestershire County Council, who owned the school, to remove asbestos from the roof. They were fined 1,000 plus 225 costs. The defence for Leicestershire County Council argued that it was not legally possible to vicariously damage a bat roost, but Magistrates found the council guilty and fined them 2,500 plus 400 costs. Leicestershire County Council announced its intention to appeal against the decision. Gillie Sargent, Conservation Officer for the Bat Conservation Trust, was delighted with the outcome and congratulated WLO Neil Hughes of Leicestershire Constabulary for bringing the prosecution. It sends a very clear message to local authorities and their contractors that they need to take wildlife law seriously. It is clear that the onus is on local authorities to ensure that surveys for bats and other protected wildlife are conducted before proceeding with any work on buildings owned by them. They cannot leave the responsibility to their contractors. Bat populations have declined dramatically over the past few decades mainly because of the loss of roosting sites and changes in land use. Bats now rely heavily on man-made structures and people can make a significant contribution to their conservation by protecting roosts in their property. In another incident a landowner saw a man digging at an active badger sett with a second man and five dogs. He also saw a large animal hit repeatedly with spades. Keiron Herlihy of Wellstead Avenue, Yate, Bristol appeared at North Avon Magistrates Court on 3 March charged with attempting to take/injure a badger and sett interference. He pleaded not guilty, claiming he was digging for foxes. The Court was not prepared to accept beyond all doubt that the animal being beaten was a badger. Herlihy was found not guilty of attempting to take a badger but guilty of sett interference. He was fined 150 and 900 costs. The court refused to make a seizure order on the dogs. PC 3023 Roger Joliffe, WLO for Avon and Somerset Constabulary 8

9 VERSITY ACTION FOR BIODIVERSITY ACTION Spine-chilling: a prickly case for Norfolk Police PC Garth Coupland of Norfolk Constabulary describes a recent case of illegal trapping of hedgehogs. In July 1999 in the grounds of a large country mansion in Norfolk, at the base of a tree, I found a Mark 4 Fenn trap set inside a tunnel made from two bricks with boards on top. The mouth of the tunnel was 10 cm wide and 16.5 cm high. In the trap was a decomposing hedgehog a Schedule 6 species. The landowner admitted responsibility, claiming he had set it for grey squirrels, but had already caught a rabbit, a blackbird and other hedgehogs. Courtesy of Norfolk Police I reported him for three offences: Section 10 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911 (requires that a trap that is set for or likely to catch rabbits or hares is checked every day. The previous knowledge of a rabbit catch made this charge possible). Section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (makes it an offence to set a trap calculated to cause injury to a Schedule 6 species. The previous hedgehogs caught show that reasonable precautions had not been taken). Section 8 of the Pests Act 1954 (covers the type of trap and the circumstances and animals for which it can be used). He received a caution for the first two offences. This enquiry revealed that some gamekeepers consider hedgehogs a pest and that a dead hedgehog is the best bait to catch hedgehogs. Sticks placed in tunnel entrances are not to prevent hedgehogs entering, but to guide them to the centre of the trap. I would urge WLOs who have seen this type of trap to consider these offences. Hedgehog caught in a Fenn trap on a Norfolk estate Look out for mammals Do you know which mammals are protected? Which are listed on Schedule 5 and which are on Schedule 6? Can you tell an otter from a mink, or identify a water vole hole or a bat roost? The Mammal Society runs Mammal Identification Skills Workshops across Britain. Jackie Savery has details of dates and venues on tel: , enquiries@mammal.org.uk. 9

10 ONAL INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL INTE First shahtoosh prosecution The Metropolitan Police has made history with the first ever prosecution for selling shahtoosh shawls. A total of 138 shawls, with an estimated retail value of 353,000, were seized from The Renaissance Corporation, retailers of Indian artefacts and woollen goods, at their premises in South Audley Street, Mayfair, in February The raids were part of Operation Charm, the Met s initiative against the illegal trade in endangered species. Courtesy of Metropolian Police The company pleaded guilty at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court on 5 May to offences of offering the shawls for sale contrary to the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1985 (COTES). The Renaissance Corporation, a subsidiary of the Indian Company Cottage Industry Exposition, was fined 1,500 and ordered to forfeit the shawls. The Met s WLO Andy Fisher said, The endangered chiru or Tibetan antelope is killed for its very fine wool or shahtoosh, which is made into shawls. The demand from the western fashion industry has encouraged poaching of the animals. We will continue to work to reduce the demand for shahtoosh in London and help protect the chiru from extinction. The Tibetan Plateau holds the world population of the antelopes, estimated at only 70,000 animals, and up to 20,000 are believed to be poached each year. It is feared that at least 1,000 animals nearly 2% of the world population were slaughtered to make the shawls being sold by the Renaissance Corporation. Some of the shahtoosh shawls seized by the Metropolitan Police, displayed by WLO Sergeant Ian Knox Reptile smuggler sentenced On 25 January 2000 Paul Sullivan was sentenced in a court in San Francisco, California to six months in jail for smuggling protected wildlife into the United States. Sullivan pleaded guilty to three counts of reptile smuggling in violation of the Lacey Act and CITES. Sullivan is a British citizen who operated an international wildlife business in Cameroon, West Africa. Dealing under the name Camfauna Beau, Sullivan shipped protected goliath frogs and chameleons to undercover US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) agents posing as wildlife dealers. In August 1999 he travelled to California to meet the agents and was promptly arrested. 10

11 ONAL INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL INTE Armed gang steals some of the last Bali starlings Shocking news has emerged from the Indonesian island of Bali concerning one of the world s rarest birds. Approximately half of the Bali starlings held in a captive-breeding-for-release facility were stolen by armed men during an audacious raid on the Bali Barat National Park on the northwestern tip of the island during November The beautiful pure white Bali starling is a critically endangered bird endemic to the island with a wild population thought to number less than 40. The birds are found only within the confines of the national park and the wild birds are supplemented each year with release of young from the captive breeding facility. Thirty-nine birds, including all of the breeding pairs, are believed to have been stolen during the raid. The unit had been turned into a high security facility following earlier breakins and was protected by guards armed with sub-machine guns. The raid took place following a visit to the facility the previous day by Indonesian army officers claiming to have an interest in wildlife. Speculation has centred on involvement by the army possibly with collusion from officials within the national park. The Bali starling is a highly prized cage bird whose numbers have been reduced to a critically low level by illegal trapping for the cage bird industry. There are thought to be about 1,000 birds in captivity in zoos or registered to studbooks but only relatively few of the birds successfully rear young each year. Guy Shorrock (RSPB Images) RSPB Investigations Officer Duncan McNiven, who visited the Bali Barat National Park last year said, I was encouraged by the efforts being made by the national park staff to further the conservation of this lovely bird and I hope the news of the theft has not dealt this project a fatal blow. Our sources in Indonesia do not know where the birds have ended up but it would be as well for WLOs to keep an eye open in case any Bali starlings which cannot be accounted for turn up in the UK. Bali Starling Legal Eagle helps save the tiger! Tiger conservationists in India are planning a monthly newsletter highlighting recent cases of poaching, seizures and changes in the law for field officers, wildlife wardens and enforcement officers. And, following a request to the RSPB from the British High Commission in Delhi, several back issues of Legal Eagle, along with details of how we compile and distribute it, are winging their way to India. We hope that this will help in setting up a tiger newsletter and ultimately in the conservation of the tiger. 11

12 WLOs on course for success! The 2001 National WLO Foundation Courses to be held at the Warwickshire Police Headquarters, will be run on April and September. Book now for these courses or check the availability of places for the 2000 course on September. There will also be a postfoundation course on June 2001 which is open to any officers who have attended the foundation course. Photo courtesy of Craig Fellowes Contact PC Fellowes on or PC Morgan on for further details. A role-play scenario in a pheasant release pen Badger back on your television sett! Watch out for the second series of Badger featuring the work of a WLO and due to be screened in July on BBC1. Paul Henery, Northumbria Police WLO, is the consultant for the programme. Paul is no stranger to television, having starred in documentaries on both Channel 4 and Channel 5, just one of the spin-offs from his 11 year stint as a WLO, over five of which have been full time. Paul has a lifelong interest in wildlife and painting, and is a semi-professional artist who has won several awards including Bird Illustrator of the Year in Paul deals with about 600 incidents each year, averaging 20 prosecutions annually. Local problems in his area include finch trapping, taking of falcons from the wild, egg collecting and badger baiting. He has recently been involved in incidents of water vole shooting, harassment of dolphins, and had to deal with a spectacled caiman that was handed in. WLOs go under cover WLOs from West and North Yorkshire manned a wildlife crime stand at the RSPB Members Weekend at York University in April. After joining the children at the Sunday morning face-painting event, WLOs Sgt Peter Dunn and PC Adrian Fox now wish to be known as Sgt Badger and PC Panther. Courtesy of BBC Write to be read We welcome contributions to Legal Eagle. Please let us know about wildlife crime initiatives, news, events and prosecutions in your Force. Send your articles to the Editor, Joan Childs, RSPB Investigations Officer on the Investigations Section s direct fax number The views expressed in Legal Eagle are not necessarily those of the RSPB. Guy Shorrock (RSPB Images) RSPB UK Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL. Tel: BirdLife INTERNATIONAL The RSPB works with bird and habitat conservation organisations in a global Partnership called BirdLife International. RSPB Scotland Headquarters, 25 Ravelston Terrace, Edinburgh EH4 3TP. Tel: RSPB South Wales Office, Sutherland House, Castlebridge, Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff CF11 9AB. Tel: RSPB Northern Ireland Headquarters, Belvoir Park Forest, Belfast BT8 7AT. Tel: Registered charity no Illustrations by Dan Powell and John Busby