Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Wildlife Crime Reporting

To All

With reference to the entry by Mike Henshaw on the 20th March 2010 concerning the dead Heron at EGP and report of a Police investigation. The only Police log around that date is on the 15th March following a report of youths throwing bricks at a baby swan (not my words – just quoting!). Police did attend this report.

Following from the last CBCG meeting at which Police representatives attend and after discussion with Nick Carter & Tim Walker. My suggestion is that a central log is kept of all reports made to West Yorkshire Police Calderdale Division involving Wildlife Crimes and other problems such as use of Off Road Vehicles on Bridle Paths, Footpaths, Moorland etc.

I am sure you are all aware that reports other than emergency/immediate response are to be made to Police on 0845 6060606. The person taking the report will give a log number to which you add the date. Once a report has been made brief details, log number plus date are passed to a CBCG member by email who will then keep a record.

The next stage will be to write periodically to the Police asking for update/actions taken if no feed back is received. This it is hoped will help concentrate minds and show that CBCG are organised in their approach towards wildlife/habitat. At the moment it would appear to be very much on the back burner as far as the Calderdale Divisional Commander is concerned.

I have volunteered to keep the records if this proposal is accepted.

Look forward to feedback.
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8 comments:

Jeff Cox said...

This is a great idea Howard and hopefully will meet with everyone's approval. I have reported incidents in the past and been frustrated when they just disappear into some admin black hole, so it will be good to have an organised way of following up on these.

1:03 pm
Matt Bell said...

I think there's a role that the Courier could play in this co-ordinated approach. On the face of it, highlighting the problem, and encouraging the public to be vigilant and immediately feel they can report incidents to the police, but with a strong secondary 'hidden' message to the criminals (we are getting serious about this, and we're onto you) and the police (we're not going to let this get de-prioritised). Any thoughts?

3:40 pm
Goldon Gordon said...

Great idea Howard. As others have mentioned is all very frustrating when you report something to the police and nothing appears to be done about the incident. I got so fed up of a lack of any response at Cromwell Bottom that on many occasions I ended up risking life and limb and tackling the culprits myself which is not a sensible policy.

I found that two things got a quick response from local police attending the scene. I stopped using the term Air-Rifle and instead used “high powered rifle" which might or might not be using bullets. When we had problems with fox/ badger baiters on the site, a quick call suggesting that men with dogs and spades were on the site and Badgers are recorded on site and that might well be badger baiting drew an immediate response where fox alone did not.

Now everyone carries mobile phones with cameras it pays to take the details and car number plate on any cars nearby. I also used to stand in full view of who ever was committing an offence and show I was obviously talking into my mobile whilst watching them. This quite often made they stop what they were doing and move on. I also took photos of them as well if possible and simply pointing the phone or camera usually worked in getting them to stop and move on.

Calderdale have a list of known badger baiter’s car numbers and would be happy to check out any numbers for people against their list.

Ironically I now live a very rural area with much shooting of game but seemingly very little wanton slaughter of wildlife by air gun poppers. Badger baiting is frowned upon by local farmers as usually the same thugs also nick anything not tied down or leave gates open for livestock to wander out. One local farmer picked up a baiters car with his tractor spike and dropped it top of a wall and then got his mates out with guns to remove them from his land. It’s not exactly the Wild West here in rural North Wales but they do tend to take direct action rather than wait for the local police!

4:42 pm
Mike Henshaw said...

Great idea to also try and involve the Courier.I posted the alleged Heron shooting the day it was relayed to myself and David Tattersley 5 days after the event and as I was away I wondered if any other member knew about it,but I do have a photo of a dead Heron.I would like to know also the exact law point on the distance a firearm can be discharged from a public highway or footpath as this may have implications in another area I visit nearly every day and if I see anything I will ring the police there and then,no problem

6:51 pm
Steve Cummings said...

I'm confused! The original report suggested that a member of the public phoned the police in response to the alleged shooting. Each and every phone call to the police should generate an incident number that appears on the call log for that day. Such calls also produce an audio recording which will be kept for a certain length of time. Are we now saying that the member of the public never made the call or that the police "can't find" such a record?

8:22 pm
Steve Cummings said...

The more one looks at this, the more it seems like a really bad case of Chinese whispers.
Swans? There were two reported on the fishing lake in early February...not since.
Baby Swans? Not in March... adult Canada Geese perhaps?
One Dead Heron = Two Shot Herons? There is no evidence to say there were two, nor that one was shot. Perhaps this Heron had died naturally and that what actually occurred was what is written in the police report regarding the youths stoning Canada Geese (baby Swans)??????? The dead Heron maybe co-incidental to the event. The police report is dated Monday but is it a retrospective report of an event that happened on Sunday? I assume that "the dog walker" was not the person who reported the incident but was a witness to events that transpired later....i.e. the police looking for miscreants.
The truth is out there......somewhere.

9:06 pm
Goldon Gordon said...

Baby Swans? Not in March... adult Canada Geese perhaps?


Steve, My wife tells me that locals were feeding a "cygnet" on the canal near the Colliers Arms pub on Park Rd near Elland over the cold spell in February/ March. This Cygnet (immature plumage swan ?) was around for several weeks but I have no idea if its still on the canal or perhaps the bird in the report ?

A couple of years back before I left Calderdale we had TWO herons found dead from air rifles at river end of North Bank Loop. It does happen on a regular basis at CB as I have witnessed myself and been shot at when tackling the big white hunters doing it. There are regular groups of air gun poppers who use CB as their private hunting ground or at least there were for the 20 years I walked and tried to protect the site.

The police can only do so much and its up locals to phone in when they spot something happening. We at one time had a huge problem with fox diggers but by taking car numbers, photographing the baiters and passing on details to Badger Watch and the police we vitually eliminated the problem. The same can be done with guns if enough reports go in to the police

2:37 pm
Steve Cummings said...

There is an immature - plumaged Mute Swan on the Canal. I stumbled upon it today opposite Exley Crematorium, grazing the lawn by the bus stop. Perhaps this is the "baby swan".

7:45 pm

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