North Yorkshire Police are appealing for information following the discovery of a shot buzzard found injured on 29 March 2020.

North Yorkshire Police press release (8 April 2020):

Appeal for information after buzzard found shot near Shipton, York.

Injured buzzard x-rayed and found to contain pieces of shot

[Photos via North Yorkshire Police]

North Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA are appealing for information after a buzzard was found injured near Shipton Grange close to Shipton-by-Beningbrough, York on 29 March 2020.

The buzzard, a male, was found by a local farmer who called the RSPCA and the charity’s Inspector Claire Mitchell collected the bird.

Claire said: “The farmer didn’t know the bird had been shot, but he wasn’t flying so the farmer knew there was something seriously wrong with him.

“He was a big healthy bird otherwise, and still quite feisty.

“I took him to a local vet for treatment and x-rays, and that’s when they discovered the shot.”

X-rays showed the bird contained five pieces of shot, two in a foot, one in a leg and two in a wing. The bird is now recovering well in the care of a local wildlife rehabilitator and will be released into the wild once ready.

North Yorkshire Police Rural Task Force Inspector, Matt Hagen, said:

“This is yet another despicable act of someone deliberately injuring a bird of prey in our county. I would urge anyone who has any information about this incident or might have seen anything which could help our investigation to please get in touch with us on 101.

“North Yorkshire should be a haven for wildlife and we will do everything in our power to ensure we deal with the individuals who target our birds of prey in this way.”

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting reference number: 12200052238 or the RSPCA appeal line 0300 1238018 and ask to leave a message for Claire.

ENDS

Well done, North Yorkshire Police. This is a fast and detailed response with good illustrative photographs, and it needs to be. The illegal persecution of birds of prey in North Yorkshire is relentless.

Recently North Yorkshire Police have recorded reports of a shot kestrel (here), a shot buzzard (here), another shot buzzard (here), a shot hen harrier (here), another shot kestrel (here), a poisoned red kite (here), a shot marsh harrier (here), another shot hen harrier (here), another shot buzzard (here), another shot hen harrier (here), another poisoned red kite (here), another shot hen harrier (here) and another red kite that was both poisoned and shot (here). This list isn’t exhaustive, it’s just the ones remembered off the top of the head and of course there are records of similar crimes in this country going back years and years.

Meanwhile, the game-shooting industry feigns ‘zero tolerance’ for crimes against birds of prey and the Westminster Government, with all its vested interests, refuses to acknowledge there’s even a problem, let alone a systemic culture of wildlife crime.

UPDATE 9 April 2020: Shot buzzard in North Yorkshire ‘more than just a statistic’ (here)