TAYSIDE OUTDOORS enthusiasts have been warned they face prosecution for interfering with legally set traps.

The police message comes in the wake of an incident in Angus at the weekend when a game-keeper discovered a crow cage that had been vandalised by having its door pulled off to release the crow that was trapped inside.

Legislation provides that a person controlling carrion crows can legally shoot them, catch them in cage traps or destroy their nests or eggs.

Tayside Police wildlife and environmental crime officer Alan Stewart said the force will take action against anyone found interfering with the legal efforts of landowners to properly run their estates.

“In a bid to ensure that gamekeepers and farmers use cage traps and Larsen traps responsibly, the Scottish Government—who issue a number of general licence annually—require the operators to conform to any conditions set out in the licences,” he said.

“It is seldom in Tayside now that the right to control birds in this way is abused by the operators.

“Conversely, I receive reports, all too often, that legally set traps are being damaged or interfered with.

“This interference is completely unfair on people who are carrying out their job in accordance with the conditions of the general licence that allows them to do so,” he added.

All operators of traps for pest species of birds are fitting signs to their cages displaying a code allocated by their local police wild-life crime officer and a police contact telephone number.

“This will allow anyone who has any doubts about the legality of the trap to make contact with the police and enquire about the method used,” said Mr Stewart.

“The public should make use of this facility and contact us if they have concerns, but please respect the right of the operator of the trap to control crows, or in some cases magpies.”

British Association for Shooting and Conservation spokesman James Scott said, “It is annoying that legal traps like this, which protect a wide variety of ground nesting birds and livestock from attack, are being illegally interfered with.

“The responsible shooting community will only conduct trapping within the law and with the best of intentions—people who interfere with these traps are misguided.”