The RSPB Report Details 921 Confirmed Attacks on Birds of Prey Between 2015 and 2024 and 134 Suspicious Disappearances
A comprehensive new report published this week by the RSPB details a decade of wildlife crime against birds of prey. Using only confirmed incidents of illegal killing by shooting, poisoning, trapping and destroying nests and eggs, the report paints an alarming picture of relentless persecution in the 21st century, despite over 70 years of full legal protection.
Backed by forensic evidence from post-mortems, covert footage and eye-witness accounts, the RSPB have analysed the statistics by species, giving in-depth insight on nine of the UK’s most persecuted birds of prey. Of the 921 confirmed incidents, 55% are related to gamebird shooting.
The Tip of the Iceberg
What’s more, the report notes that “though the number of confirmed bird of prey persecution incidents in the UK is alarming, evidence from satellite tagging, population analyses and intelligence reports suggest that the true number of birds being killed far exceeds official figures.”
Because many of these crimes take place in remote locations, it is likely that a significant number of incidents go unrecorded. Criminals will often go to great lengths to hide or destroy evidence, including removing carcasses and disposing of satellite tags in water bodies, covered in lead or foil to prevent further transmissions. So proving wildlife crime in itself is challenging, and identifying individuals responsible, and prosecuting them, even more so.
In addition to the 921 confirmed incidents covered in detail in the report, a further 134 satellite-tagged birds of prey disappeared in suspicious circumstances during the decade, with 87% vanishing on or near land managed for gamebird shooting. This figure includes 89 Hen Harriers, 17 Golden Eagles, 6 White-tailed Eagles and 4 Red Kites among others.
Shooting, Poisoning, Trapping and Nest Destruction
Shooting is the most frequently recorded method of killing birds of prey, accounting for 48% (443) of all the confirmed incidents. But because shotgun pellets cannot be easily traced back to an owner, pursuing justice for these crimes is difficult.
Poisoning accounts for 26% (236) of the incidents analysed in the report, and is the most common form of wildlife crime against birds of prey in Wales and Northern Ireland. Often using banned substances, illegally placed in the open, this criminal practice is indiscriminate, affecting all kinds of wildlife and sometimes domestic pets too.
And the cruel practice of trapping, using cage traps, pole traps and spring traps, accounts for a further 14% (130) of confirmed incidents, with some recent successful prosecutions achieved using covert film footage.
The Catastrophic Impact of Illegal Killing on Hen Harriers
Relentless persecution is still severely impacting the breeding populations of Hen Harriers in the UK uplands, especially where land is managed for grouse shooting.
The map here shows the location of the 49 confirmed persecution incidents between 2015 and 2024, but a further 100 tagged Hen Harriers disappeared in suspicious circumstances, including birds like Circe (Oct 2025) and Sita (March 2025), fitted with tags funded by Hen Harrier Action supporters. The report notes:
“Satellite tagging has transformed our understanding of Hen Harrier ecology and survival – and revealed the shocking scale of illegal killing faced by this Red-listed species.
When a tag suddenly stops transmitting, and neither the tag nor the bird is found, it strongly suggests that the bird has been killed and its tag damaged or destroyed.”
North Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland are persecution hotspots for Hen Harrier incidents.
The UK's Nine Most Persecuted Birds of Prey
The RSPB report includes sections with detailed statistics and maps (like the Hen Harrier one above) for a further eight birds of prey, including Golden Eagle, Buzzard, Red Kite, Peregrine Falcon, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk, White-tailed Eagle and Short-eared Owl.
Despite all of these birds being legally protected, of the 921 confirmed persecution incidents recorded here, only 26 people have been convicted of wildlife crime. Even when convictions are successful, the penalties are rarely severe, so there is little deterrent for those committing the crimes. Only one person have ever been jailed in the UK for bird of prey persecution. Yet elsewhere in Europe, courts impose much harsher penalties on those convicted of such offences. In Spain, for example, two men were sentenced to over two years in prison, and a fine of more than £50,000, for poisoning birds of prey including Black Kites, Griffon Vultures and an Egyptian Vulture.
We need tougher penalties for these crimes, including custodial sentences where appropriate, as the Friends of the Dales charity called for recently in an open letter to Mary Creagh CBE, the Under-Secretary of State for Nature. At least some parts of the shooting industry agree. Dr Marnie Lovejoy, of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, told the BBC “What we should do is strengthen law enforcement to prosecute individuals who commit these crimes. They have no place in the modern shooting community“.
You can download and read the RSPB report below.