Raising awareness of illegal attacks on birds of prey

THE Sheffield Central and North West Neighbourhood Policing Team were at Langsett Barn on Saturday September 21 as part of Operation Owl.

Operation Owl is an initiative implemented originally by North Yorkshire Police to reduce the number of illegal attacks on birds of prey.

The team were in the area working alongside the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Peak Park ranger volunteers to raise awareness of illegal attacks on birds of prey and how we can protect them.

The purpose of Operation Owl is to increase public awareness of bird of prey persecution and to seek support in tackling it head on.

​As part of the Operation, police will carry out checks on known persecution hot-spots at random times to disrupt offender activity. Birds like peregrines, red kites and hen harriers are deliberately and relentlessly shot, trapped and poisoned in our countryside.

This initiative, supported and governed by the National Police Chiefs Council Wildlife Crime & Rural Affairs portfolio, builds on the successful blueprint introduced by North Yorkshire Police, the RSPB and the RSPCA, working together with the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales National Parks in 2017.

Operation Owl is an ongoing joint initiative currently led by the Chair of the Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group Superintendent Nick Lyall and the North Yorkshire Police Rural Task Force.

The campaign will include a network of volunteers being trained to spot poisoned bait and illegal traps across the UK and the police are also calling on the wider public to be their eyes and ears when out in the countryside.

Sergeant Kieran Frain said: “Our birds of prey in South Yorkshire are subject to trapping, shooting, poisoning and nest disturbance. We want to educate the public with the signs to look out for, and encourage them to be vigilant for any signs of crime helping us to reduce the number of illegal attacks on our birds of prey.”

To learn more about Operation Owl, please visit operationowl.com