SLE statement on Wildlife Crime in Scotland 2021-2022 report

Press Release

Scottish Land & Estates has issued the following statement following the publication of the Wildlife Crime in Scotland Annual Report for 2021-2022.

Ross Ewing, Director of Moorland at Scottish Land & Estates, said: 

"Rural businesses and communities are playing a vital role in combatting the nature and biodiversity crises and working together to drive down wildlife crime is a collective aim for everyone.

“This wildlife crime report illustrates the ongoing progress in many areas and demonstrates where effective policing, such as that conducted through Operation Tantallon, which targeted offences against peregrine falcons, is so important.

“The decrease in offences related to fish poaching, hare coarsing and hunting with dogs is welcome and there has been an increased effort by stakeholders to raise public awareness of these incidents. The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act came into force in October and we are waiting to see how this impacts on trends in future statistics.

“Crimes against birds of prey continue to be a key priority for government and police and whilst offences rose this year, we are pleased that the effectiveness of Operation Tantallon is highlighted which accounted for 15 of the 24 recorded offences. With just nine other offences recorded, incidents remain at very low levels and we are hugely supportive of Police Scotland in their work to bring perpetrators to justice. Raptor crime is wholly unacceptable, and our members are committed to assisting government and the police in this area.

“While the publication of this report is undoubtedly helpful in targeting resources towards key trends in the data, the lag between the period to which this data relates (2021-22) and the publication of the report (2024) makes it challenging for Police Scotland to respond in a timeous manner. It would be helpful if the lag could be minimised as far as possible in future years.”