Scotland to fine and jail landowners that allow illegal killings of birds of prey

Scotland to fine and jail landowners that allow illegal killings of birds of prey

New powers would make landowners liable for wildlife crimes committed on their estates following upsurge in bird deaths

Scottish lairds and grouse moor owners face £5,000 fines or jail terms if they allow their gamekeepers to illegally kill birds of prey, under tough new measures tabled today.

The powers would, for the first time in the UK, make landowners directly liable for wildlife crimes committed by their employees, after an upsurge in cases where rare birds of prey have been deliberately killed to protect grouse stocks on shooting estates.

The proposals, first revealed by the Guardian in September, were welcomed by conservation charities and political leaders at Holyrood, but condemned by estate owners as unnecessary and potentially damaging to the rural economy.

The Scottish rural property and business association (SRPBA), which represents many of the country's largest landowners, will lobby ministers tomorrow and warn it could cut investment in grouse moors, a sector worth £23m a year.

The new measures, known as "vicarious liability", would mean that grouse moor owners in Scotland could be jailed for up six months or fined up to £5,000 for either allowing or failing to prevent their employees from persecuting birds of prey.

Roseanna Cunningham, the environment minister, said the new measures would be added to a wildlife bill currently going through Holyrood.

"We have robust legislation in place to tackle this sort of crime, but tougher action has to be taken to deter those who think that they can get away with persecuting our wildlife," she said.

"We have a duty to protect our birds of prey as they are an integral part of our national identity. They also help our economy by attracting tourists from across the world and we cannot afford to have our international reputation tarnished by the few who continue to target them illegally."

The Scottish Labour party and Scottish Liberal Democrats indicated they are likely to support the measures. But Doug McAdam, chief executive of the SRPBA, said these laws "are unnecessary and won't work. They are potentially going to damage investment in the sport in Scotland." The Scottish parliament is expected to pass the amendment.

The RSPB urged ministers in London to introduce similar powers in England, because existing wildlife laws were not effectively enforced by the police and the courts, and were being widely flouted by shooting estates.

The charity said hen harriers were on the brink of extinction in England because of systematic persecution on grouse moors in the Pennines, Peak District and north-east.

One recent study estimated that the UK's grouse moors ought to support 499 breeding pairs of hen harriers; a survey found only five breeding pairs.

Scottish ministers have become increasingly irritated that bird-of-prey persecution has continued unabated despite high-profile wildlife crime initiatives supported by the police and prosecution authorities.

More than 250 members of the SRPBA and the Scottish estates business group (SEBG), which represents senior peers and major Highland landowners, have signed an open letter condemning wildlife crime.

Even so, the latest figures for 2010 show that 16 birds of prey were poisoned in Scotland, including four golden eagles – the highest number for 20 years – five red kites, two peregrine falcons, one sparrowhawk and one sea eagle. Last year was the second worst on record, the RSPB said.

An RSPB spokesman said: "These proposals have clear relevance elsewhere in the UK, where birds of prey are persecuted. We are on the verge of losing hen harriers as a breeding species from England for a second time, and we urge the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to follow the Scottish lead. The innocent have nothing to fear from such legislation."