Owls shot in Holmfirth

Thursday, 6 December 2018 16:00

Police in Kirklees are appealing for witnesses following two incidents of owls being shot in moorland above Holmfirth.

In the first incident a Short Eared Owl was shot and killed on Wessenden Head Road at approximately 8.10pm on 11 September 2018.

Police are looking to speak with the driver of a dark coloured pick-up truck, described as having two dog cages on the rear with a thick wooden cover over the dog cages, which was seen in the area at the time of the offence.

The second shooting was of a Tawny Owl on the Kirklees Way footpath just off Greenfield Road sometime around 1 October 2018.

A post mortem shows that the bird had been shot, and had been stuffed into a dry stone wall.

PC Darren Parkinson, Rural Crime Officer for Kirklees, said: “We have been carrying out a number of enquiries into these shootings and have been liaising with the RSPB as we have progressed our investigations.

“We would like to speak with anyone who has information about either offence or may be able to identify the vehicle described in connection with the first shooting.

He added: “Owls, along with all wild birds, are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is a criminal offence to kill or injure any wild bird. The government has set persecution of birds of prey as one of their wildlife crime action priorities.”

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