{"id":12484,"date":"2015-02-18T09:29:01","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T09:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=12484"},"modified":"2015-02-18T09:29:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T09:29:01","slug":"police-release-video-of-masked-gunmen-attacking-goshawk-nest-in-cairngorms-national-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/police-release-video-of-masked-gunmen-attacking-goshawk-nest-in-cairngorms-national-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Police release video of masked gunmen attacking goshawk nest in Cairngorms National Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police Scotland and the RSPB have appealed for help identifying wildlife criminals, after releasing video footage of masked gunmen appearing to repeatedly attack a goshawk nest in the Cairngorms National Park. <\/p>\n

In May 2014, a video camera deployed by RSPB Scotland staff to monitor a goshawk nest at Glenochty, Strathdon, on land owned by Forestry Commission Scotland captured footage revealing a group of men repeatedly visiting the area in what appears to be an attempt to kill the birds and destroy the nest.<\/p>\n

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By Pellinger Attila at Hungarian Wikipedia [CC BY 3.0<\/a>], via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

The goshawk is a specially protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence for anybody to visit active nests without a licence issued by Scottish Natural Heritage, or to recklessly kill, take or destroy these birds or their eggs and dependent young. The Scottish goshawk population has only 150 breeding pairs and it is one of our scarcest breeding raptor species, now recovering its populations after years of human persecution.<\/p>\n

Police Scotland\u2019s Aberdeenshire and Moray Divisional Wildlife Crime Liaison Officer, Mike Whyte, said “Police, RSPB and other organisations continuously work together in response to the illegal activities of a handful of individuals who operate outwith accepted practices. In this case it is in direct conflict with one of the UK Wildlife Crime priorities, Raptor Persecution, an offence which by its rural geographic location is one that is historically difficult to detect”.<\/p>\n

Ian Thomson, Head of Investigations at RSPB Scotland, said: \u201cThis video footage captured by our camera shows what appears to be an illegal incident involving the deliberate targeting of one of our rarest and specially protected birds of prey. We are appealing to anybody with information about this incident to contact the police on 101 or on Crimestoppers as a matter of urgency. On account of serious concerns about the impacts of illegal activity on the Scottish goshawk population, RSPB Scotland is now offering a reward of \u00a31000 for any information that subsequently leads to a successful conviction in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n