As part of its coverage of publication of the RSPB Birdcrime Report 2023, Channel 4 News broadcast footage allegedly showing a wildlife crime being committed on a shooting estate.
The Moorland Association is deeply concerned over the actions of the RSPB in providing such footage to a media organisation which could materially affect a police investigation.
The Moorland Association has written to the RSPB seeking immediate clarification on this matter.
We were told by Channel 4 that the covert filming was 60 minutes in duration and therefore we have raised the question as to why preventative action could not have been taken to avert a bird being killed, as the footage appears to show.
We are concerned about the risk of prejudice to the course of justice. Every citizen has a duty to inform the police if they have evidence of a crime and while the RSPB may have handed this footage to the Police their actions in providing footage to a media organisation at this stage looks more like prioritising publicity over dealing appropriately with a potentially criminal matter.
The Moorland Association is keen to work closely with the Police to address this issue, but our efforts are being hampered by the actions of the RSPB.