Both of these cases were heard by the courts on 15 January 2024.
In Scotland, Timothy Hall and his son Lewis Hall appeared before Jedburgh Sherriff Court, charged with multiple offences of laundering Peregrine Falcons that they had stolen from the wild to clients in the Middle East for thousands of pounds. Having fraudulently obtained the paperwork from the Government ‘proving’ that the young were captive bred, they also sold birds to unsuspecting falconers in the UK.
This appearance in court is the culmination of Operation Tantallon, a very longstanding and complex investigation involving the use of DNA to show that birds that were claimed to have been captive bred were not related to their alleged parents. The Sherriff has now asked HMRC to investigate the tax affairs of both men, and the case has been delayed for four weeks before sentencing takes place.
There are two schemes for collecting DNA samples from wild Peregrines operating in the UK, which are analysed by the Scottish Government laboratory, SASA. In Scotland the scheme is managed by George Smith, a member of the Scottish Raptor Study Group. By happy coincidence it was George who first identified that the offences had occurred at several of the sites that he monitors in southern Scotland. In England and Wales the scheme is managed by Steve Downing, a member of the Northern England Raptor Forum [NERF].
The second case was heard at Chesterfield Magistrates Court, Derbyshire when Christopher Wheeldon pleaded guilty to disturbing a nest of breeding Peregrines and stealing their eggs.
Wheeldon was filmed by a covert camera installed by the RSPB Investigations Team as he abseiled into the nest and removed the eggs. Expert evidence provided by NERF helped to secure the conviction and Wheeldon was sentenced to eight weeks in custody for these offences, and a further ten weeks consecutively for unrelated offences. Hardly a deterrent to others who would steal protected species; however it is better than we normally witness in this type of case.
We know that the Lewis pair had stolen the eggs and chicks for commercial reasons. We do not know why Wheeldon took the eggs, however we do know that he is not a falconer and despite extensive enquires the eggs were not recovered by the Police. Wheeldon’s accomplice has also not been identified to date.
Despite all of the warnings that they received from Raptor Workers, the RSPB and other conservationists in 2008, the Government ill-advisedly removed the tight controls that were in place when captive bred protected species were registered with Defra by their owners. It was self-evident that the removal of the controls would lead to an increased number of cases in the theft of raptors from the wild. These two cases (and there have been very many others) are proof, (if proof is required), that the decision was flawed and the controls should be reintroduced without delay.
Operation Tantallon used DNA to prove that the birds in the Scottish case were not related to the alleged parents. Raptor Workers have collected hundreds of samples from the wild population, all of which are available to the Police investigating similar cases. NERF urges the Government to introduce a mandatory condition in the registration scheme requiring DNA sampling of all captive bred Peregrines and other birds used for falconry. Breeding and selling falconry birds is a commercial venture and the cost of taking and processing the sample must be borne by the applicant as another on-cost for conducting a business worth thousands of pounds.
If the removal of the registration requirements weren’t misguided enough, the Government have embarked on a public consultation to consider whether or not they should permit the wild-take of Peregrines from the wild to be used in aviculture or breeding for falconry. This consultation is the result of an application by a handful of individuals who are relying on Section 16 (e) of the Wildlife and Countryside Action 1981 [WLCA] which permits the removal of protected species for the purposes of falconry or aviculture.
There is already a large Peregrine captive breeding program in the UK supplying sufficient birds for falconry which does not require birds to be removed from the wild. The wild-take proposal is not wholly supported by Peregrine breeders. It is not supported by NERF and it is not supported by RSPB and other conservation groups. Permitting the licenced wild-take of Peregrine Falcon eggs and chicks will give a greenlight to criminals to steal eggs and chicks from the wild. There is no doubt that if the taking of Peregrines is permitted, there will be a flood of applications to take other species from the wild such as Goshawk and Merlin for exactly the same purposes; once again under the exemption in Section 16 (e) of the WLCA.
Natural England is the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation [SNCO] who has an obligation to protect Peregrine Falcon chicks and eggs, which are routinely stolen from the wild. They know it and we all know it and yet the juggernaut of introducing failed policies continues apace.
If we are to see a reduction in the annual theft of Peregrine chicks and eggs from the wild, the Government needs to take the following actions without further delay:
- reintroduce the registration controls abandoned in 2008
- introduce the mandatory DNA sampling of all Peregrine Falcons and other birds used for falconry bred in captivity with the costs being met by the licence applicant
- abandon the consultation with regard to the wild-take of Peregrine Falcons from the wild
- repeal the Section 16 (e) [WLCA] exemption
NERF would like to thank the independent Raptor Worker who monitored the Derbyshire nest, Derbyshire Police, the RSPB Investigations Team and the CPS for bringing the Derbyshire case before the court.
If anyone has information as to the identification of the second individual involved with Wheeldon when he stole the Peregrine eggs NERF urges them to contact:
- Derbyshire Police Rural Crime Team on 101
- RSPB Investigations Team on 0300 999 0101, or
- Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111
NERF
16 January 2024
Northern England Raptor Forum 