What’s your role?
I’m a Senior Investigations Officer in the RSPB’s Investigations team. RSPB Investigations is the only team in the UK dedicated to tackling bird of prey persecution. As a member of the field team, I spend a lot of time in remote areas of the countryside trying to detect these crimes. The surveillance work that my team does has assisted in a number of police investigations which have led to convictions and is also crucial in raising public awareness.
Howard Jones of the RSPB Investigations team. Photo: Howard Jones
What’s the most difficult part of your job?
Although I’ve been doing this job for over 12 years and assisted in dozens of incidents involving the shooting, trapping and poisoning of birds of prey, it doesn’t get any easier, as these crimes aren’t going away. Between 2009 and 2023, the RSPB Investigations team recorded 1,344 birds of prey as confirmed victims of illegal persecution in the UK. This figure is only the tip of the iceberg, as many incidents go unseen and unreported. We’re barely scraping the surface when it comes to the true scale of these crimes.
Discover the reason raptor persecution is such an issue in the UK.
How can the public support your work?
We play a key role in challenging bird of prey persecution in the UK, shining a light on the scale of this issue and the urgent need for legislative change. Find out how you can help us, or report a crime against a bird of prey.
Get the full story
Read the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report to get the full picture of the issue of raptor persecution in the UK.
The RSPB Investigations team at work. Photo: Anastasia Taylor-Lind (rspb-images.com)
