WILDLIFE CRIME is still a problem in Scotland – but as the Scottish Government published its latest annual wildlife crime report, there was disagreement about which species are the main victims.

As an overall trend, recorded wildlife crimes dropped by 20% in the five-year period to 2015, according to the report, although there were 284 recorded in 2014-15, compared to 255 in 2013-14.

The report indicated that fish poaching remained the most commonly recorded type of wildlife crime, with a small increase in these offences from 90 in 2013-14 to 101 in 2014-15, reflecting an increase in the previous five year period of 19%.

Scottish Land and Estates chef executive Doug McAdam agreed that such poaching was now the main issue: “We are pleased that over a five year period wildlife crimes generally have dropped by 20%. We note that fish poaching, deer and hare coursing is still by far the largest wildlife crime category being tackled by Police Scotland and this type of crime remains an ongoing problem for our members. Fish poaching alone accounted for 36% of all incidents during the year.

"The second highest category is crimes against birds, including raptors, and we are pleased that the downward trend is continuing," said Mr McAdam. "Over the last five years there has been a very significant reduction and we believe this is due to a combination of efforts made by land managers on the ground as well as some of the toughest legislation in Europe."

These views were not shared by the RSPB, which responded to the latest figures by claiming that the issue of raptor poisoning was being under-reported. Its head of investigations, Ian Thomson, explained: “The report makes sobering reading, all the more so when you appreciate that the published figures of detected crimes only represent a fraction of what is actually going on in our countryside, given the very low chances of criminal activity being uncovered, the lack of potential witnesses in remote areas and the ease in which the perpetrators can conceal evidence of crimes.

“With regard to raptor persecution incidents, we recognise that a number of confirmed victims of crime are not included in the report as police investigations continue. However, the figures published again illustrate that criminals continue to target iconic species such as golden eagle, peregrine, hen harrier and red kite. The distribution of crime victims, many population studies and repeated scientific analyses of data clearly indicate that in those areas where intensive gamebird management takes place, criminal targeting of protected species remains a systemic problem.

"It is also apparent, that despite improved legislation, the lack of regulation of the gamebird shooting industry is failing to address this significant issue. We repeat our call on the Scottish Government to introduce a robust system of licensing for gamebird shooting, where the right to shoot is dependent on legal and sustainable management practices.”