Large scale raid against poaching and cruelty to animals in North-Rhine Westphalia

Germany Police units comb hunting reserves - 28 illegal traps discovered

Düsseldorf. A large scale police operation, accompanied by bird conservationist teams, was mounted over the past five days in hunting reserves in the federal German state of North-Rhine Westphalia. Numerous offences against environmental and animal protection legislation came to light. Following tip offs from the public, activists from the Bonn-based Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) had located a large number of illegal wildlife traps, as well as poisoned, trapped and shot birds of protected species in the rural districts of Heinsberg, Euskirchen, Kleve, Wesel, Borken, Neuss and Düren. A total of 6 cases are to be prosecuted and 28 illegal bird and mammal traps were seized or handed in to the responsible hunting authority for charges to be laid. In addition 8 dead and one freshly-trapped bird of prey found, as well as two dead Herons with shotgun wounds.

"These offences represent an unbelievable dimension of illegality. Many hunters in the Rhineland evidently don’t care a toss for the law and kill protected species as a matter of habit” summarises Heinz Schwarze, President of CABS, on the finds. According to CABS, some 20 conservationists and more than 12 police officers from 7 different police stations have been on operations since Thursday.
Four illegal gin traps and two large traps for birds of prey and corvids were discovered set out in a pheasant run near the Barbarastein Estate (Rhein district, Neuss) on Sunday. Immediately next to the traps police found and seized the partly-buried corpses of 2 Goshawks and 2 Common Buzzards. A live Buzzard, which had been caught in one of the gin traps, was rushed to an animal clinic.
While the police officers were conducting scene of the crime procedures the hunting reserve leaseholder turned up and confirmed that he was the owner of the traps. The police have laid charges against the man with the public prosecutor on suspicion of offences against federal nature protection law and cruelty to animals. In respect of the incidents at the Barbarastein Estate, CABS have also filed an official complaint with the Düsseldorf public prosecutor’s office.

Also on Sunday an eye witness reported the find of three freshly-killed Common Buzzards to CABS, which had been found next to a suspected poisoned pigeon bait near Geilenkirchen (Heinsberg district). The corpse was handed over to the state veterinary laboratory in Krefeld for examination. The scene of the crime was a coppice in which poisoned birds of prey had been found two years previously. At a baited area for foxes and wild boar near Heinsberg the remains of two dead herons with shotgun wounds were found. In both cases official complaints against person or persons unknown were made to the Aachen public prosecutor’s office.

On Wednesday the CABS teams had already discovered two huge bird traps and three illegal mammal traps set out in a hunting reserve near Alpen (Wesel district). Police officers from Xanten documented the offences and subsequently arranged the removal of the traps by the local authority. The public prosecutor’s office in Kleve is preferring charges.

Near Issum (Wesel district) the conservationists freed a domestic cat which had been caught in an illegal tunnel trap. More of these traps were found near Großbüllesheim (Euskirchen district), Linnich (Düren district) and to the north of Heinsberg.

The setting of gin and bird traps is strictly forbidden in NRW and represents an offence against hunting legislation. Trapping and killing of birds of prey can be punished with a custodial sentence of up to 5 years.

	A Grey Heron was found on the edge of a rubbish tip near Hückelhoven (Heinsberg district) by a CABS team member .....
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	..... and the X-ray shows clearly that the Grey Heron die das a result of gunshot wounds, although the close season for the species is all the year round.
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	A hunter has erected huge bird traps for birds of prey and corvids between Sonsbeck and Alpen on the Lower Rhine (Wesel district). The police organised their removal.
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	Unbelievable cruelty to animals: The perpetrator in Wesel district did not shrink from baiting the trap with a live pigeon.
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	Another huge trap in the problem Wesel. This has also been removed to the local authority storage yard.
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	In the course of only three days in mid-January CABS teams found four dead Buzzards, presumed poisoned. This photo was taken in the Borken district.
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	One of the 16 live catch mammal traps found by CABS teams in the Rhineland. Since 1995 such traps must be covered over so that trapped animals cannot see out and therefore suffer less stress.