Birds of Prey and the Law

A bird of prey is any bird species that pursues birds, mammals, or fish for food. They are classified in two orders: Falconiformes and Strigiformes (owls). All birds of prey have hook-tipped beaks and sharp curved claws called talons (in nonpredatory vultures the talons are present but atrophied).

There are 15 species of diurnal, breeding raptor resident in the UK, split into three basic groups: eagles (the largest), hawks (the next largest, with broad wings) and falcons. There are also six species of breeding owl (seven if the very small numbers of breeding non-native Eagle Owl is included).

Not in law, no.

The terms are somewhat interchangeable but ‘raptors’ tend to exclude owls. Owls though are fully protected by law.

Raptor persecution is a wildlife crime against a bird of prey, their chicks, and/or their nest. It is one of the UK Wildlife Crime Priorities and the term includes poisoning, shooting, trapping, habitat destruction and nest destruction/disturbance.

All birds of prey and their chicks are protected by law, therefore any harmful or damaging action taken aganst them  is a crime and is ‘raptor persecution‘.

For more  > What is raptor persecution?

Birds of prey in Northern Ireland are protected all year under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, as amended by the Wildlife and Environment Act (NI) 2011. It is illegal to disturb them at, in, on or near their nests.

Unlike the rest of the UK (where Common Buzzard, Kestrel, and Saparrowhawk are not listed on Schedule One of the Wildlife and Countryside Act) ALL raptors are listed on Schedule 1 of the order and there are six raptor species which receive additional protection on Schedule A1 which protects them and their nests from disturbance or destruction at all times of the year: Peregrine Falcon, Red Kite, Barn Owl, Golden Eagle White-tailed Eagle and Osprey.

• If witnessing any bird of prey being antagonised or disturbed please call PSNI on ‘101’ or anonymously at Crimestoppers 0800 555 111

Birds of prey are deliberately and relentlessly shot, trapped and poisoned in the UK countryside because they take small numbers of birds, like Red Grouse, that are reared by the shooting industry to be sold to be shot.

Some farmers (particularly in areas dominated by sheep farming) still persecute birds of prey because they believe that larger species like eagles will take lambs: evidence suggests that any lambs that are taken will have been scavenged rather than hunted.

ALL birds of prey are protected and it is illegal to shoot, poison, or trap, any species, and most can not be intentionally or recklessly disturbed while they are nesting or caring for fledged chicks.

Most experts agree that the Hen Harrier is Britain’s most persecuted bird of prey because that’s what the data suggests.

Hen Harriers breed on moorlands, and amongst a wide and varied diet will take Red Grouse chicks. This has led to the almost complete annihilation of the species from England’s uplands – just four pairs nested in 2017 despite there being suitable habitat for hundreds.

The highly-respected website Raptor Persecution UK keeps a running total of the number of Hen Harriers that have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances or have been found illegally killed, since 2018.

In August 2023 the site stated that since 2018 at least 98 Hen Harriers have either been illegally killed or have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, most of them on or close to driven grouse moors.

It went on to say that “there is no question that the grouse shooting industry is simply taking the piss”.

No. This is a myth put about by some shooting lobbyists, shooting estates, and gamekeepers, who cling to the Victorian belief that birds of prey need to be ‘controlled’ by man and are ‘eating everything that moves‘ and that shooting estates can’t be profitable where there are ‘too many’ raptors ‘in conflict’ with shooting interests (this manufactured ‘conflict’ is purely based on profit, shooting lobbyists GWCT commenting in 2014, for example, on the Langholm Moor Development Project that “if there are too many harriers on a moor the shoot becomes uneconomic”).

Whilst it is true that some species of bird of prey – notably Common Buzzard and Red Kite – are more common now than they have been for decades, this actually reflects a recovery of some populations after centuries of persecution that has seen species that were pushed to the point of local extinction now spreading back into old territories.

Will populations ever recover to levels last seen hundreds of years ago? No reliable data exists to identify how common birds of prey once were beyond the enormous numbers recorded locally killed on shooting estates, but common sense says that it is unlikely. The natural landscape has been hugely changed/degraded since birds of prey were last truly plentiful, prey numbers are much reduced (and it is availability of prey that will ‘control’ the number of predators in any habitat in the long run), and ongoing illegal persecution (especially of Hen Harriers, Northern Goshawks, and Peregrine Falcons) is still having a severe impact on survival rates.

Whatever the statistics say, though, all birds of prey are protected by law, and as we say repeatedly on Protect the Wild, the shooting industry is not fit to decide how many birds of prey live in the UK and  must never again be allowed to ‘control’ them.

If a bird of prey is trapped in a legal cage trap ( > Cage Traps and the Law) it must be released by the cage operator immediately. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

It is not recommended that we try to release a bird of prey from a trap (no matter how tempting). A trapped bird may attack injuring themselves or us, and we may even find ourselves charged with damaging a legal trap.

Take a photo and contact the police or RSPB Wildlife Enquiries (01767 693690) instead.

In May and June 2023 the Raptor Persecution UK blog published reports of ‘mannequins’ being used as scarecrows on grouse moors. The mannequins, positioned prominently and posed to look like they were pointing at something or walking, were found in areas where Hen Harriers (a highly protected species but the UK’s most persecuted bird of prey) might breed.

Is this illegal though (ie what law/s might be being broken)?

• The Wildlife & Countryside Act says that NO bird of prey can be shot, poisoned, or trapped, and they can not be intentionally or recklessly disturbed while they are nesting or caring for fledged chicks but there seems to be no legislation making it a crime to prevent (without causing harm or injury of course) a territorial pair of birds of prey from nesting in the first place.
• While the estates in question were in a National Park, they are actually privately owned and managed. Presumably the gamekeepers that set these mannequins up had the landowners’ permission so there is no question of charging anyone with littering or fly-tipping etc.
• It’s obvious to any outside observer what the consequence of placing these mannequins in this way might be (ie deterring Hen Harriers from nesting on the moor), but if the birds hadn’t already started nesting proving ‘intent’ to commit a crime would be extremely difficult. The landowner or employee could say that the mannequins were placed to ‘protect’ Red Grouse from corvids or to discourage foxes (so were just modern versions of ‘scarecrows’ which are used as non-lethal deterrents by Natural England themselves) and had nothing to do with Hen Harriers.
• Couldn’t someone just take them down anyway? The mannequins were on private land, securely staked and fenced off. In law they will be considered to be private property and anyone found damaging them or taking them away could risk being charged with theft or criminal damage (but only if they were seen, of course).

Yes, but as part of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, if a bird of prey is listed under section 7, schedule 4 they must be registered as living at an address in England or Wales and any captive bird of a species listed in Schedule 4 must be registered with Animal Health (DEFRA).

As of 2009 just nine species of bird are covered. As well as being registered these birds must also be closed ringed (a permanent identification ring placed on the bird as a hatchling) or microchipped.

• Honey Buzzard
• Osprey
• Golden Eagle
• Goshawk
• Marsh Harrier
• Montagu’s Harrier
• Peregrine
• Merlin
• White-tailed Eagle

Peregrines and Falcons do not need to be registered if an Article 10 certificate for the bird is held, and it’s ringed or microchipped.

Hunting foxes was banned by the Hunting Act 2004, but a ‘falconry exemption’ allows dogs to ‘flush’ a fox so that it can be caught by a bird of prey.

Under Schedule One ‘Exempt hunting‘, Section 6 ‘Falconry’, the Act states that:

Flushing a wild mammal from cover is exempt hunting if undertaken—

(a ) for the purpose of enabling a bird of prey to hunt the wild mammal, and

(b) on land which belongs to the hunter or which he has been given permission to use for the purpose by the occupier or, in the case of unoccupied land, by a person to whom it belongs.

The loophole was originally meant to ensure falconers did not get prosecuted if their birds killed a mammal that had been flushed out of cover by dogs, but Defra warned as long ago as 2005 that hunts were using birds of prey (including Golden Eagles, Steppe Eagles, and Eagle Owls) to flout the ban, so issued a clarification:

“Employing (whether or not released to hunt) a bird of prey which does not ordinarily hunt that particular wild mammal [would be illegal], because, in our view, it suggests that the flushing was not for the purpose of enabling the bird of prey to hunt the mammal.”

They also said that the falconry exemption allowed dogs to flush out wild mammals for the birds to hunt but not for the dogs to “run after, chase or pursue the wild mammal after it has been flushed out. Nor does the exemption allow the dog(s) to kill the wild mammal.“

• Hunts can only carry a bird if they have the correct licences and any behaviour that abuses or causes suffering to the bird of prey should be reported to the police.
• Hunts must be able to prove that the bird was not taken from the wild and be able to properly care for the bird when not out with the hunt.

In 2019 George Adams, a former huntsman with the Fitzwilliam Hunt, was found guilty in what was called ‘a landmark decision’ of illegally chasing and killing a fox, despite trying to use the ‘falconry exemption’ as an excuse. Evidence for the prosecution had come from the Beds and Bucks Hunt Saboteurs, who said afterwards, “Other hunts which use this loophole will now have to reconsider their options as they will no longer be considered to be taking part in exempt hunting just by having someone with a bird of prey present. The use of birds of prey alongside hunting with hounds is not, and never was, falconry.’

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) issues Schedule 1 permits for ringing and nest recording on behalf of Natural England. 

The BTO can only permit disturbance of specially protected species for purposes of ringing and nest recording. Limited photography at the nest during these activities is covered by such a permit as is photograpy for the purpose of nest recording.

If a Schedule 4 listed bird of prey is to be used for commercial purposes, an Article 10 certificate must be applied for. This is because some birds of prey are defined as endangered by CITES, meaning that all commercial movement and activity is regulated in order to protect them.

According to Defra commercial purposes includes: “the selling of, the purchase, offering to purchase, acquisition for commercial purposes, display to the public for commercial purposes, use for commercial gain and sale, keeping for sale, offering for sale and transporting for sale”. It will also need to be wearing a closed ring or be microchipped.

A bird of prey must be ringed, marked and registered to be kept in captivity legally.

If you suspect that a neighbour’s bird of prey is wild (or has been taken from the wild), or has not been registered, please contact your local police force’s wildlife officer for assistance.

All native owls are protected by the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, but both the Barn Owl and the Snowy Owl have further protection under Schedule One which makes it an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb both species at, on or near an ‘active’ nest.

No. It is illegal to take a bird of prey or owl of any age home. All are legally protected.

Members of the public do sometimes find young owls on the ground and become concerned they are ‘orphans’ and might die. Young owls are very adventurous though and often climb out of nests they can’t then climb back into. It’s quite possible that the parents will be nearby. If the bird has no parents then he or she will need to be hand reared. This is a very specialised job, and must be done by a wildlife rescue centre.

No. While many birds of prey are Schedule One protected birds, it is not unlawful to photograph them at the nest if the photographer does NOT disturb them.

Disturbing a NESTING bird of prey on Schedule One is an offence though. It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb Schedule One birds whilst they are nest building, at, on or near an active and whilst they have dependent young. 

In June 2024, for example, a 68-year-old man from Neath appeared before Swansea Magistrates Court where he was found guilty and fined more than £1,600 pounds for offences against the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 after disturbing a nesting Honey Buzzard. John Paul Haffield visited nest sites of Schedule One protected birds of prey and other species throughout Wales taking photographs of the birds and their young or their eggs within the nest and then offered those photographs for sale online on his own website.

According to the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit (which lists raptor persecution as one of its seven ‘wildlife crime priorities‘):

“The purpose of Operation Owl is to increase public awareness of bird of prey persecution and to seek support in tackling it head on. As part of the Operation, police will carry out checks on known persecution hot-spots at random times to disrupt offender activity. Birds like peregrines, red kites and hen harriers are deliberately and relentlessly shot, trapped and poisoned in our countryside. 

This initiative, supported and governed by the National Police Chiefs Council Wildlife Crime & Rural Affairs portfolio, builds on the successful blueprint introduced by North Yorkshire Police [the county with more confirmed incidents of raptor persecution than any other in England], the RSPB and the RSPCA, working together with the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks in 2017.”

Wildlife crime is defined as any action which contravenes current legislation governing the protection of the UK’s wild flora and fauna, including species traded in the UK.

Note that wildlife crime does NOT include:

• Incidents involving domestic or companion animals such as dogs (other than dogs being used to hunt mammals), cats, rabbits, domesticated birds, etc.

• Wild animals that have been involved (killed or injured etc) in road traffic accidents.

Road accidents with wild animals do not need to be reported to the police, but note that domestic animals (as well as goats, horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep and pigs) come within the remit of the Road Traffic Act.
If you have a road accident involving these animals you are required by law to report it to the police. If the wild animal is so badly injured in a road accident that there is no chance of recovery or the animal can not be returned to the wild then he or she may be euthanised, providing there is no appropriate long-term captive or semi-captive accommodation or when treatment would involve undue suffering or distress.

If we come across a wildlife crime scene or a dead bird/object that may be related to a wildlife crime every piece of information is – or might be – important, but it needs to be recorded properly and accurately for the authorities to have a chance of prosecuting an offender.

• Before we do anything else it is very important that we do NOT approach anyone we suspect of committing a crime – they may be violent and/or aggressive. This is especially true of badger baiters and hare coursers who are typically extremely violent. This must be a first priority!

 If we see a wildlife crime taking place (or someone is at risk of getting injured or is being threatened) call 999 immediately.

They will want to know what we can see happening:

• What sort of crime is being committed
• Are any firearms involved
• Could we or the public be in danger

To report a historic crime – that is, a crime that is no longer taking place – use 101 or a local organisation instead.

• If calling the police ask to speak to a Wildlife Crime Officer and make sure to get an Incident Report number.
• Please always follow any advice given and – if they are not available – insist that a Wildlife Crime Officer is made aware of your report.
•  Our options are wider if the event is over, and it may be preferable to talk first to a charity or NGO to get advice. Crimestoppers (an independent charity) can be contacted in complete confidence on 0800 555 111
• When thinking about reporting a crime it’s worth noting that only the police have statutory powers to make an arrest. RSPCA and RSPB investigation officers work with the police for successful prosecutions.

Reporting a wildlife crime (or even a suspected wildlife crime) is important for two reasons.

• If the event is still happening it may enable the authorities to catch the criminals ‘in the act’ (which means a higher chance of prosecution),
• and if the event is over a report can still help to build up a more accurate picture of what might be happening in a specific location or across the country as a whole.

No, there is no legal obligation to report finding a dead bird of prey, but ignoring a potential wildlife crime risks the criminal doing the same thing again (and some gamekeepers for example are serial offenders and continue illegally killing birds of prey until they are caught).

AVIAN FLU (2023): In the interests of monitoring and understanding the spread of avian influenza (bird flu), Defra ask that we report: One or more dead birds of prey (such as owl, hawk or buzzard); Three or more dead birds that include at least one gull, swan, goose or duck; or. Five or more dead wild birds of any species.

Our help is always welcomed

• Whoever we decide to contact we have been assured that our help is welcomed and that if we’re in any doubt that what we’re seeing is a crime we should report it anyway. Remember, if what we see ‘feels’ wrong, it probably is!

• Even if we’re not sure about what we’re seeing, we can take a photograph and email it to the police or an investigations officer – they are trained to quickly recognise for example when a snare is illegally placed, whether a trap is being used illegally, or whether a crime is being committed or not.
• We may help stop or solve future crimes by helping build up a pattern of behaviour in an area.