British Birds: Raptor Persecution & Social Media
By Guy Shorrock The illegal taking of this Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis and related offences in Scotland led to the first jailing of a gamekeeper. RSPB-images.com In recent years it appears that there has been an increasing public interest and involvement in environmental matters, including wildlife crime, and that social media has played a pivotal role in this trend. As a plethora of internet-based sharing sites have continued to develop, websites and bloggers have taken full advantage of this communication network. The power of social media was graphically illustrated by the recent campaign to challenge the European Commission's 'Fitness Check' of the Birds and Habitats Directives, legislation that has underpinned EU environmental protection. In May 2015, around 100 UK organisations published a position statement warning that this was the single biggest threat to biodiversity in a generation. That view was shared across Europe with collaboration...
