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| Iolo - fierce enemy of wildlife crime |
ILLEGAL use of poisons is widespread all over the UK.
That was the disturbing claim of popular BBC TV broadcaster and former RSPB investigation officer Iolo Williams in a hard-hitting (and often amusing) presentation at Birdfair.
"A host of banned poisons are still used to this day,” he claimed
Many of the chemicals are retained, it is believed, for the purpose of killing birds of prey and certain mammals on grouse moors and game estates.
Continued Iolo: "Although not as bad as in Yorkshire or the Angus glens, the situation exists all over the UK.
"It’s dreadful."
Later in his talk, Iolo's focus switched to unlawful persecution of peregrines - for instance, in the valleys of South Wales, hotbed of pigeon racers whose birds are vulnerable to attack.
He recounted an instance where a pal of his fired an airgun at two fellows who were trying to raid an eyrie.
"He shot one in the buttocks and the other in one of his ears," said Iolo.
Neither was seriously injured but it certainly gave them a shock.
Another associate was so incensed when he caught an egg thief clambering down a to a cliff-edge eyrie that he grabbed the rope and held the terrified would-be thief some 300ft above a precipitous drop, all the while threatening to cut the rope.
The man, a notorious egg collector from the Midlands, was so gripped with terror that, when hauled up after the police arrived, that he dashed to the squad car and, still quaking, hid in the boot!
Iolo went on to emphasise his total disdain for egg collectors.
"What these selfish idiots do for their own personal greed is a disgrace,"he fumed. "This is an offence for which they should bring back the gallows!"
Iolo had many more entertaining tales about the people with whom he has worked - for instance, a former RSPB communications officer who once fell asleep after drinking too much beer, in defiance of instructions, while the pair were protecting an area surrounding the nest of a red kite, at that time a very rare bird.
It may just be that the lapse worked to the kites' favour.
Sure enough an egg thief turned up, only to be frightened away - apparently by the thunderous snoring of Iolo's colleague!
The most distressing experience in Iolo's career?
Probably the toll of birdlife when an oil tanker, the Sea Empress, became grounded on rocks and spilled 72,000 tonnes of crude off the Pembrokeshire coast on February 15, 1996.
Thousands of contaminated birds, dead or stricken, were picked up on the beaches.
Efforts to clean up the birds - mostly cormorants, shags gulls, waders, auk species, seaducks such as scoters - proved mostly to be in vain.
"Only one per cent survived a year,"said Iolo. "It would have been kinder to have euthanised them."
There was also a devastating impact on other marine life.
Subsequently, legislation was introduced to ensure such vessels were double-hulled to reduce the chances of a similar disaster recurring.
However, Iolo said he was far from certain that such an incident would never occur again.
* Quote of the Birdfair weekend:
Skomer Island is better than the Serengeti. It's in Wales. They play rugby there. (Iolo Williams)
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