The RSPB and the Peak District National Park have offered £5,000 each for information on the shooting of a peregrine falcon.
The bird was found in the Dove Stone Nature Reserve on the 4th April, and succumbed to its injuries at a local veterinary practice.
Dave Dickinson from Sheffield Environmental said: “The police need better funding to ensure they have the resources to carry out their duties to investigate and protect these birds.”
“For far too long, we’ve had to rely on the efforts of the RSPB and other organisations like Moorland Monitors to virtually do the police’s job for them.”
The shooting of peregrine falcons has been an ongoing issue in the Peak District. Incidents such as the theft of eggs and the poisoning of multiple birds of prey have increased calls for better protection.
Sheffield Environmental also claimed that the laws designed to protect these animals don’t go far enough. They believe that further law should be introduced to ensure that landowners are held responsible for the killing of birds of prey.
There have been several initiatives over the years to increase the population of peregrine falcons, as they are important to the ecosystem.
Phil Mulligan, Chief Executive of the Peak District National Park Authority, said: “It’s deeply concerning to see a species as iconic as the Peregrine shot within our National Park, and so much more distressing during the crucial breeding season for many of our birds of prey.
An autopsy of the bird showed that it had been shot in multiple places, and sustained injuries which prevented it from flying.
Peregrine falcons are also present in the city centre. In 2012 a webcam was set up for the peregrines nesting in St George’s Church, which is run by the University of Sheffield.
The Hen Harrier Day Movement has recently been brought to Sheffield to raise awareness of the issues birds of prey are currently facing. However, birds of prey are still a declining breed across the UK.
Derbyshire Police have urged anyone with information to call 101 and quote crime reference 24000198336. Alternatively, anyone can call the RSPB’s raptor crime hotline anonymously on 0300 999 0101.
