An initiative has been launched to combat wildlife crime in Tayside.
Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham visited Montrose Basin visitor centre to officially unveil a Tayside partnership against wildlife crime on Thursday.
The group is made up of Tayside Police wildlife crime officers, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Scottish Gamekeepers’ Association and local landowners.
It aims to crack down on crimes like the poisoning of game birds and the killing and torture of animals.
Deputy divisional commander in Angus, Superintendent Ewen West, said, “We will continue developing effective partnerships, promoting preventative strategies and encouraging educational initiatives that improve the understanding of wildlife crime issues in Tayside and beyond.”
Superintendent West added that wildlife crime involved anything from poisoning a golden eagle to cracking open freshwater pearl mussels.
“Wildlife crime threatens a far greater range of creatures and plants than people imagine, even damaging the environment on which they depend.”
Ms Cunningham said, “I firmly believe this type of collaborative working is necessary to help eradicate the illegal killing of some of our most iconic species.”
Three weeks ago an RSPB report claimed more birds of prey were illegally poisoned last year than at any time in the last 20 years.
The RSPB said it was apparent that a significant number of people who own, manage or are employed on some upland sporting estates in particular, had no qualms about flouting the law and illegally killing some of Scotland’s most magnificent birds.
Over a quarter of confirmed poison abuse incidents last year were in Angus and Perthshire.
RSPB Scotland head of species and land management, Duncan Orr-Ewing, said, “The litany of incidents in certain parts of the Angus glens should justify the deployment of all possible resources to identify those responsible and then consider the full range of sanction to tackle the perpetrators.”