Law protecting birds of prey

[Tangaroa]

I was wondering if people on here thought the law/legislation protecting these birds was effective???

[JB9302]

Not heard much in the way of persection of bop around this area , I think generally speaking most people are aware that bop are protected and respect that , was a different story when I was a young lad , my dad who was a keeper in the 30/40"s spoke of bop being on the predator list , his views did change as he taught us .
We can never be 100% certain though .

[lol geoff]

It's the same old problem you can have as much legislation as you want, the problem comes finding the resources to police it.

[wildliferescuer]

We had a barn owl brought in a couple of weeks ago & on x-raying it we found it had been shot! You can hardly mistake a barn owl for anything else can you?
However, how do you prove who did it? It's almost impossible.

[nightshade]

Once upon a time there were Public Service Announcements which told Drivers how to reverse,turn right etc. and people could recite these ads.verbatim
I once wrote to all the Airgun manufactures demanding to know why they did not include a copy of the Law Regarding Airguns in the box with every airgun they sold, the answer was because less people would buy their airguns
This country is full of foreign nationals who do not have to pass any test or study our rules regarding wildlife and of course we have our own home bred ignorant people.Perhaps the RSPB, and other bodys could get the government to sponsor some Public Service announcements

[Tangaroa]

Originally Posted by lol geoff

It's the same old problem you can have as much legislation as you want, the problem comes finding the resources to police it.

I guess the perfect example of that is the 2 hen harriers killed on the Sandringham estate last year.......

[thunder]

Originally Posted by Tangaroa

I guess the perfect example of that is the 2 hen harriers killed on the Sandringham estate last year.......

That's no example at all!!

henrya

[Blackbrook Eye]

It's the same as with any other law, you cannot legislate against stupidity. The big problem is catching the culprits and bringing them to account, the kind of people who wantonly persecute wildlife of any form, rarely do so when there are witnesses who are likely to point the finger at them. I regularly come across members of the air gun brigade around my local patch but when they see someone taking photos, they tend to clear off rather quickly.
It is to be hoped that the protection act regarding birds of prey will be strictly upheld but for it to be effective a zero tollerence approach, with penalties at the top end of the scale rather than the bottom end, is required.
Something that I have suggested elsewhere on this matter, is for gamekeepers to be required to keep a record of the birds of prey on and around their patch and report any obvious losses, this would at least give an indication of the areas most at risk. This suggestion was received with mixed feelings from the landowners involved, the main cry being 'and who is going to pay for it' as usual.

Keith

[Rob_D]

Police inquiry after meat bait with pesticides kills sea eagle | Environment | The Guardian

Well a few like the owner of this estate are caught several times, and continue to re-offend. Lets see if he does more in 2009 after his subsidy was cut by £107,000. His company is still showing as a sponsor for the Game and Wildlife Conservancy Trust, which just shows how much they care about BOP.

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by lol geoff

It's the same old problem you can have as much legislation as you want, the problem comes finding the resources to police it.

I agree. If there's nobody to enforce the law, there's no point in it in the first place - it's just 'window dressing'!

[RANT_MODE]
Take street crime. When I was a kid the police on foot were ubiquitous. My parents used to tell me that if I wanted to know the time, I should ask a policeman. If you told that to a kid nowadays they would think you're mad! If you rode a bike in the dark without lights, you were sure to be 'pulled up' by a policeman. The police used to carry a whistle to summon assistance from their colleagues when needed. This meant that police were often within earshot of each other. The police were out on the streets _enforcing_ the law. Without them we're slipping into lawlessness and mob rule. In some areas mob rule is already in existence, and the weak and vulnerable are frightened to go out on the streets. If the police won't or can't protect the citizens, let the citizens be allowed to protect themselves! Why should criminals be 'allowed' by default to carry weapons, when law-abiding citizens aren't?
[/RANT_MODE]

Jim