asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions have been brought under section 5 of the Protection of Birds Acts 1954 and 1967 in the last five years for offences involving the deliberate misuse of poisons and poisoned baits to kill wild birds.
Information collected centrally does not distinguish offences involving the deliberate misuse of poisons or poisonous baits from other offences against section 5 of the Protection of Birds Acts 1954 and 1967. Records available to me show that there were 37 prosecutions in England and Wales during the period 1974 to 1978—the latest year for which the information is available—for all offences against section 5 of the Protection of Birds Acts 1954 and 1967. However, because such prosecutions may be brought other than by the police, this information may be incomplete.