A SENIOR police officer warned that the RSPB's "time was coming up" as a turf war broke out over who should investigate the illegal killing of birds of prey in Scotland.
Lothian & Borders Police Wildlife & Environmental Crime Officer (WCO) Charlie Everitt wrote that the conservation charity would "kick and scream"over being sidelined, but that procedures were changing and its involvement during investigations would be scaled back.
WCO Everitt, who was seconded to the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) as their Scottish Investigative Support Officer, said that RSPB officials had been already dropped from one investigation in Dumfries and Galloway because the Crown Office could not justify their presence.
The power struggle came to light in a conversation between the officer and the then head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, Detective Inspector Nevin Hunter, in 2013.
A Golden Eagle - pic RSPB
DI Hunter was becoming concerned about the RSPB's role in police investigations in Scotland and elsewhere, and WCO Everitt emailed him, saying: "...the RSPB thought they could cite Scotland as a place where they are still involved in investigations, their time is coming up here as well - they just haven't woken up to it yet!
"The RSPB will kick and scream as the transition takes place but ultimately they cannot change the demands of legal opinion.
"They are - and always will be - simply an NGO (Non-Governmental Organisation) and cannot expect to manage wildlife crime."
READ MORE: Cricket legend calls for gamekeepers to be put in charge of RSPB reserves
The comments came after DI Hunter claimed that the RSPB had kept police in the dark over the case of a details of a marsh harrier being poisoned for six months, before issuing a press release.
WCO Everitt added: "The threat to effectively withhold raptor persecution incidents will only result in severe criticism and credibility issues; the RSPB becoming the biggest obstruction in raptor persecution investigation?!
"As you know, Scotland awaits your [new] SOP [standard operating procedure] with interest."
A Golden Eagle found dead on grouse moor in 2013. Pic RSPB
The email conversation was revealed through a Freedom of Information request by the campaign group You Forgot The Birds (YFTB), which was set up in 2014 by grouse moor supporters to challenge the RSPB's conservation efforts.
YFTB director Ian Gregory said: "The RSPB’s arrogance, massive income and lack of accountability is a dangerous cocktail which politicians should address."
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland distanced the force from the row, stressing that WCO Everitt was seconded to the NWCU at the time the conversation took place. She added: "In that position, he does not speak for Police Scotland."
Inspector Lou Hubble, Head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit Chief , said: “My staff and I maintain a very good professional relationship with the RSPB."
Hidden camera footage obtained by the RSPB of George Mutch, jailed for killing a Goshawk with a trap in 2015.
READ MORE: Lasers to be used to stop sea eagles attacking lambs
Martin Harper, the RSPB’s conservation director called into question YFTB's decision to make the Freedom on Information request, and accused the organisation of trying to drive a wedge between the RSPB and wildlife crime officers
He said: “Our Investigations team does fantastic work to help tackle wildlife crime.
“We have numerous concerns about these internal police conversations from four years ago and it is clear that the framing of the question used to obtain these emails is designed to drive a wedge between the RSPB and the Police’s Wildlife Crime Unit and our current strong relationship.
"Anyone looking at the question will see that it is attempting take attention away from our important joint work in stopping the illegal killing of the UK’s birds. "
He added: “Stopping wildlife crime is one of the foundations upon which the RSPB is built. I believe that all those genuinely motivated to end this in the UK benefit from the proven experience of our Investigations team and so I urge everyone to continue to work together to do what really matters – end the illegal killing of birds of prey.
“The RSPB has a long track record in assisting the statutory agencies and the police, so we were deeply disappointed to find out that in 2013 and 2014 the then head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit was being so critical behind our backs, circulating false and misleading comments. These emails were sent at a time when we had been campaigning to secure the long-term future of the NWCU.
“I am pleased that we currently have a good working relationship both with police forces across the UK and the NWCU, and I have complete confidence in the systems and processes which underpin our investigations.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel