Raptor persecution and vicarious liability in Scotland
Criminal offences relating to raptor persecution in Scotland, including the unique vicarious liability provision under the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 s.24 which can make landowners and land managers criminally liable for wildlife offences committed by their employees.
Scotland has the strongest legislative provisions in the UK to combat raptor persecution. The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 (WANE Act) introduced vicarious liability — a provision unique to Scotland — meaning that landowners and land managers can be held criminally responsible for certain wildlife offences committed by their employees, even if they did not directly participate in or know about the offence.
- Vicarious liability provision
- WANE Act 2011, Section 24
- Who is liable
- Any person (including a company or partnership) who is the owner or occupier of land, or who has the right to kill or take game on land, where a relevant wildlife offence is committed by an employee or agent
- Relevant offences
- Killing, injuring, or taking any wild bird (WCA 1981 s.1); taking, damaging, or destroying nests or eggs (WCA 1981 s.1); using prohibited methods such as traps, poisons, or snares to kill or take wild birds (WCA 1981 s.5)
- Key raptor species targeted
- Golden eagle, hen harrier, peregrine falcon, red kite, white-tailed eagle, buzzard, goshawk
- Due diligence defence
- Defence available if the accused proves they did not know and had no reason to suspect the offence was being committed, and they exercised all due diligence to prevent it
- Penalty (summary conviction)
- Up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000 per offence
- Penalty (conviction on indictment)
- Unlimited fine and/or imprisonment
- Wildlife crime officers
- Police Scotland has a dedicated network of wildlife crime officers across all divisions
- COPFS priority
- The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service treats wildlife crime as a priority for prosecution
- RSPB investigations
- RSPB Scotland works with Police Scotland to investigate and report suspected raptor persecution
Due diligence steps for land managers and estates
To establish the due diligence defence, landowners and sporting estate managers should:
- Implement a written wildlife crime prevention policy
- Train all gamekeepers and land workers on protected species law
- Conduct regular unannounced audits of traps, snares, and game management activities
- Keep records of all wildlife management activities carried out under general or specific licences
- Report any suspected wildlife crime to Police Scotland immediately
- Participate in the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW Scotland) initiatives