Welcoming the North Yorkshire Police online day of action (15th May 2020) Amanda Anderson, Director of the Moorland Association, said: The Moorland Association is a partner in the national Operation Owl and fully supports its virtual day of action to raise awareness of raptor persecution. Our members have been actively working with police authorities for 3-4 years to help promote and share the initiative since it was launched in Yorkshire.
“We condemn any illegal activity and Moorland Association members have signed up to a cross-sector zero tolerance approach to wildlife crime, and we encourage reporting of any information about incidents. Estates and gamekeepers have been the eyes and ears on the ground during the coronavirus lockdown, reporting suspicious activity.
“There has been significant progress in recent years and our members report that in the uplands this year many birds of prey are in fact benefiting from the lock-down restrictions and the subsequent reduction in disturbance from members of the public. Estates across the country have reported a number of nests in new locations including peregrine, merlin and hen harriers nesting and living on those landscapes.”
Operation Owl is a national partnership which is led by the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group.
Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group
The purpose of a UK Priority Delivery Group is to progress the priority in relation to prevention, intelligence and enforcement, including:
Setting of SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely)
Awareness raising (across law enforcement agencies, partners, stakeholder communities and the public)
Raising the profile via media exposure
Increase of information sharing
Coordination of enforcement activity
The England & Wales Raptor Persecution PDG is made up of representatives from several organisations and meets quarterly to progress actions against the Tactical Delivery Plan and contributing to the NPCC Wildlife Crime Policing Strategy