Title is not the same as the original Guardian article. The original title was: ‘It’s soul destroying to find nests have failed’: inside the battle against Scotland’s falcon thieves
My TL;DR:
High-status racing falcons can sell for up to £250,000 in the Middle East, according to the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). The UK exports more live raptors than any other country, and the United Arab Emirates is the largest importer.
Legally, captive-bred peregrine falcons can be traded, but the birds cannot be taken from the wild. They are strictly protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
For racers, however, wild birds are more desirable: considered stronger, fiercer and faster. UK birds, particularly Scottish specimens, are prized in the Middle East.
Between 2007 and 2022 there was a 4,500% increase in export permits for UK peregrines, according to Police Scotland, and it is not known how many were illegally caught.
Despite being one of the highest value areas of crime globally, it is falling down the list of policing priorities, according to research led by Nottingham Trent University. In the UK, campaigners say there has been a weakening of legislation which means this illegal trade is easier to get away with.
People used to have to register a peregrine in the same way they would register a vehicle, says Tom Grose, investigations officer at the RSPB, but that changed in 2008, when the government weakened the Wildlife and Countryside Act’s registration controls. “Now, if you want to sell a peregrine falcon you need to fill out a certificate but you don’t need to send it out anywhere – you just need to fill out this piece of paper.”
I had to do a double take on the article title- I thought falcons were raiding “chick” nests for eggs, and then those chicken eggs were being sold abroad as falcons… But no it’s just those miserable oil merchants fucking up another market sector / section of biology.
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Still, good article. Thanks for sharing!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In early 2021, Police Scotland had begun an investigation of its own, after reports of a man bragging to friends about how much money he was making from taking wild peregrine falcon chicks.
House raids, seizure of live chicks and extensive forensic testing are helping police uncover a multimillion-pound international trade plagued by illegality.
In May 2021, one month after the trip to the quarry, the police and the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals raided the home of a part-time gamekeeper, Timothy Hall, 48, and his 23-year-old son, Lewis, in Berwickshire.
Irvine – who is on a secondment with NWCU – had no expertise in wildlife crime before this case fell on to his desk four years ago, and says it wasn’t an industry that was talked about much.
Timothy and Lewis Hall pleaded guilty to charges under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) for buying and selling peregrine falcons, which are highly protected Cites-listed birds.
On her computer, Dr Lucy Webster draws up a map of the UK covered in hundreds of red dots, each showing a site from which falcon DNA has been gathered.
The original article contains 1,690 words, the summary contains 191 words. Saved 89%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!