Episode 3 Rhys Jones's Wildlife Patrol

'Welsh wildlife is under attack...'

Oh!

'..and I'm on the frontline trying to protect it.'

Oh, wow.

'Our 5,000 native species of birds, mammals, and reptiles...'

This is fresh.

'..are threatened daily by illegal activity...'

Black swan.

'..vandals...'

That was a slow worm, cooked right through.

'..and alien invaders.'

It's not happy, that is not happy.

'I'm Dr Rhys Jones,

'and from my laboratory at Cardiff University, I work

'to save our animals from humans...

'..and humans from animals.

'And in this episode...a mystery bird opens a wildlife crime

'can of worms...

'Who's the lodger lurking in a Gwent garden shed?'

Another snake skin.

'And when an egg thief hits town,

'we seize our window of opportunity to try and nab him.'

Hello!

Since the dark days of the '60s and '70s, when pesticides,

pollution and invasive vermin caused populations to plummet,

Welsh bird numbers have been struggling to recover.

And the latest statistics suggest it's still mixed news.

There's good news for our sea birds, whose numbers remain buoyant.

But it's bad news for our garden birds, where once-common breeds

like the house sparrow and starling are in alarming decline.

And there is one perennial problem that just refuses to go away -

the persecution of birds of prey.

'A subject that was about to lead me into my most unexpected

'and surreal wildlife crime mystery.'

Do you know, I get emergency call-outs from everywhere,

whether it be the police, the fire brigade,

wildlife organisations, or just concerned individuals.

But today I've had a call-out from my mum.

'And, being a good son, I'm in Fairwater, Cardiff,

'seeing what's up.'

Hello. Are you all right?

Hello! Come on in, yes.

-Do you want to show me what you've got?

-This is mad!

Do you know what it is?

No! I think it's a sparrow hawk, but I'm not sure.

-All right, we'll have a look.

-What do you think?

Ah, I think it's a kestrel, Mum!

Is it?!

Yeah, it's a male kestrel. He's got jesses on, hasn't he?

Yes!

Leather straps that the falconer has to control him in the hand.

Right, tell me the story of exactly how you found him.

Right...well, it was half past six this morning, and we were

walking the dog, and we got to the corner, turning the corner,

and he was stood on the wall, which wasn't more than a foot high, and

he didn't move, so I took a few steps closer, and he still didn't move

so I walked up to him and put my arm by him gently and he stepped on,

so I held onto the jess, and brought him back, before a cat got him,

because he was only a foot off the floor, anything could have got him!

I'm a bit mystified by this bird.

The jesses indicate that it's a captive-bred, kept bird.

But a captive-bred kestrel is totally reliant

on humans for its food, and on seeing my mum,

the first thing I would've expected it to do is cry out to be fed.

It didn't, and nor is it crying out now.

So the alternative option is

that somebody has illegally taken it from the wild.

'But there is no way a wild kestrel would allow a human

'to pick it up, unless it is in shock, injured or seriously ill.'

-Can I move him into the kitchen, Mum?

-Of course you can.

'It's time I took a closer look.'

Let's have a look here. Right, the good thing straight away,

there's a strong grip on my thumb, all right?

Which tells me that he hasn't broken his legs,

he's holding on really well there, so there's a nice, firm grip.

Now, what I want to test, is if he's broken any of his wings.

Was he on the ground because he broke a wing?

Now, you can grab his wings

and you can pull them, but there is a much easier way to do it,

and that is to just slightly off-balance him,

so if I come underneath and slightly off-balance him,

he should... There we go, he's spread his wings, that was fine.

Let's have a look. Get him to do that.

Lovely strong wings, they're brilliant. Now, this guy is hungry.

In a little yellow bag that I've brought with me

I've got some grubs in a box.

Now, these are beetle larvae.

These are full of vitamins and good fats,

so we could just to see if he'll eat these first, let's have a look.

Oh, look at that. There we go, straight away. Excellent!

'Having happily guzzled on some grubs, I reached into my

'wildlife emergency backpack to try him on a succulent dead mouse.

'Good choice.'

While he's eating his food there,

I wanted to check if he had a ring on his leg.

Ah, there's no ring at all.

And that...that upsets me

because any responsible falconer

should always have a ring on their bird,

and that way it would be quite easy for me to read a reference number

off that ring, and I'd be able to reunite it with its owner.

The fact it isn't rung, really...makes me uncomfortable,

because then I want to know why isn't it rung?

I think the best thing to do is to contact PC Mark Goulding.

'Having weighed the available evidence, I'm still not sure

'if this bird is captive-bred or wild-caught,

'which means I need to speak to PC Goulding because if it has been

'taken from the wild, then a criminal offence has been committed.'

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, it is an offence

to kill, injure, disturb or take any wild bird, its eggs, or its nest.

But in the wild, European kestrels are our most common birds of prey.

They're very different and easy to spot

as they are the only birds of prey that truly hover when hunting.

You'll often see them at the sides of dual carriageways

and motorways, hunting for voles and other small mammals.

And, like all birds of prey, they're eagle-eyed.

And lightning-fast.

-I'll let you know how he gets on.

-Yes.

But little did I realise,

as I took the kestrel back to my aviary for the night,

that this was just the beginning of the story,

and that by the next morning it would have taken a dark twist.

'In the meantime, I had an emergency call-out to attend.'

I like a bit of rain. Normally, it means no snake call-outs whatsoever.

Too wet and cold for them to come out.

I've been called up by John, who's just seen a snake in his garden shed.

John recovered a very large snake skin from the shed,

to back up his claims.

So we're on our way.

There's no gold at the bottom of this rainbow,

but if you live in Newport, apparently you get the occasional snake incident.

There's the shed. OK.

How did you come across this snake?

It was Stephen, really, he was cutting the grass...

I was cutting the grass,

and then ran out of petrol so I went to the shed to get some more,

then I just saw it on the tarpaulin slipping away down the back.

Describe the animal to me, even including its movement.

Kind of an olivey-green colour, with a black line going down the back.

OK, how close were you to the animal when you saw it?

About 5-6 foot.

OK, quite close, then.

We opened the shed door to have a look in,

and the first thing we noticed was the skin.

Well, the good news is it looks very much like a grass snake.

We've had a lot of rain recently.

If this little snake was caught out in all that rain,

you can imagine, when rain falls on a snake,

it cools the snake and it hasn't got the opportunity to warm up again,

so it will shelter away,

but that certainly looks like a grass snake head,

but the thing to do is to get out there and have a look.

Can you just keep an eye just down there for me, OK?

Nice and dry in here, eh?

Good place for a snake to take refuge.

Hopefully we won't need that, eh?

I thought I just heard movement.

Trying to listen if we get a response.

Another snake skin. This looks like grass snake.

And a snake.

Have a whiff of that.

I think this little girl could be gravid.

There she is, and she's feigning death,

straight into feigning death, look at that, "Don't come near me,

"I've died." She's not being aggressive, she's feigning death.

And also... Goodness me, my eyes are watering.

She's exuded this really disgusting, very potent smell

from her anal glad,

and if you were a fox or any other animal, you would think

this animal was dead. But look at that, she'll open her mouth,

and look how limp she is, she's just pretending she's dead.

There's nothing wrong with this snake at all, it's a ploy.

She's just hoping that I'll think that she's dead,

from the smell of it, "Whoa, she's been dead for weeks,"

in the hope I'll put her down and that she'll live to see another day.

Who'd want to eat carrion that's been dead for that long? Whoa!

Is this what you saw, John?

No, it was much darker and thicker than that.

Much darker and thicker?

She's just shed her skin now, so she will look a lot lighter,

and before she shed her skin, she'll look darker,

and she's gravid. She's about to lay a couple of eggs.

The thing is, John, she's using the side of your shed at the moment,

because its warmer in your shed, but what this snake will be doing

in your garden is hunting down all the slugs and other pests that

will be around your garden. It's doing your garden a lot of good.

But I've noticed what you've got is a fantastic compost heap

right behind this shed. And that would be a wonderful place for

her to lay her eggs, and she will be able to bring up her young there.

I really would love to appeal to your kind side to see

if you would allow her remain living here with you,

now that you know she won't cause you any problem. Is that something you'd consider?

-Yeah, certainly.

-Oh, that's wonderful, that is brilliant!

OK, come with me, come with me.

Now it's been raining outside quite heavily,

it's cold just about to get dark, so we will pop her back exactly

where we found her, and she'll be happy, we'll leave her in peace.

Happy ending!

'It was a happy ending for the grass snake,

'but the following morning, I went to see

'South Wales Police Wildlife Crime Officer PC Mark Goulding.

'Overnight, the kestrel's story had taken a distressing turn.'

That, unfortunately, is our kestrel. I got up this morning

and it's just died overnight, it had come off the perch

and had just curled up in the corner and died.

I have to say I am absolutely devastated

and hugely upset about the situation.

Obviously, when we chatted, the bird was alive and well.

There was no problem with it. Have you found anything that would

lend itself to something I would be interested in?

Indeed, if I can just show you... Obviously, at this time of year,

we'd be expecting kestrels to be in moult.

When I looked at the state of the tail feathers,

I immediately presumed it was down to moult,

but when we look at the primary feathers here,

they're all in pretty good nick, but when I turn this bird over,

I think it tells a different story.

When we look underneath, not only are they in very bad condition...

They look like they've been cut.

They've been cut, Mark, there is no doubt, they have been cut.

Just here, look. I mean, this should be that long.

Both of these should be that long, and of course, if you don't have

those tail feathers in place,

it's like being without the rudder of a plane,

you just spin uncontrollably as you try to take off.

In my opinion, this tail has been deliberately cut,

so that this bird can't fly off.

The thing that bothers me is that you've got a set of jesses,

and falconers like to fly their birds,

so I'm a bit confused why those tail feathers would be intentionally cut,

reducing its ability to fly.

I'm wondering whether this bird was a display bird.

When I say "display bird", I'm talking about a perch.

If this is a display bird, Rhys,

the individual that owned the bird would need

a Performing Animals Licence,

so that you could consider is a line of enquiry.

However, you can get a Performing Animals Licence

from your local authority where you live,

but you can use that Performing Animals Licence anywhere.

I'm afraid we have to be wholly realistic on what we can achieve.

And say we identify an individual who has a Performing Animals Licence

who's utilised kestrels, you go to him, "Have you lost a kestrel?"

"No." And that's it, Rhys.

We need something stronger.

If it had a ring, that would have been a really good start

but I would suggest that if the bird had a ring,

we were liable to find a lawful professional falconer.

Having reached this impasse, I am full of anger and frustration

that there's no identifying ring, no microchip,

so PC Goulding and myself can't take this any further,

and when it comes to British birds of prey,

that's a state of affairs which occurs all too regularly.

'Here in Wales, we're fortunate enough to have a dozen native

'bird of prey species.

'These birds of prey, or "raptors", as they're also known,

'range from the relatively abundant kestrel,

'to the extremely rare osprey,

'of which there are just two breeding pairs, both in North Wales.

'But raptor persecution is so prevalent throughout Wales

'that for Welsh police forces, it's become a wildlife crime priority.'

Shootings, poisonings,

the black-market trade in live wild chicks and adults.

All are happening under our noses in Wales.

But the most common form of persecution of all bird types,

not just raptors, is the stealing of wild bird eggs.

And on the same morning I showed the dead kestrel to PC Goulding,

he brought my attention to an illegal egg collection

that was to have extraordinary repercussions.

I've currently got a case ongoing at the moment,

and it's in relation to the possession of bird eggs.

It is an offence to be in possession

of wild bird eggs. This case contains quite a few.

The circumstances are,

a drugs warrant was sworn out against a property, where there was

a known offender. They went in and they searched the house.

They didn't find any drugs,

but they did find these eggs under a double bed.

If I show you...

'In three separate boxes, there were almost 30 different species

'of wild bird eggs.'

Duck, yeah? We've got quail, two song thrushes.

This is unusual.

Black swan.

It is black swan.

The majority had already been identified for Mark

by my colleagues at the National Museum, Wales.

Listen to this... great spotted woodpecker.

Just unbelievable.

'But Mark was hoping

'I could help with the three eggs they were unable to identify,

'and of course, I wouldn't wish to disappoint him.'

Mark, could I just point out something that's really interesting to me?

That one looks like a raptor egg.

Yeah.

To be honest, Rhys, I felt one was a raptor egg.

This one here?

Yeah, if I say number one is unidentified.

Right, well, straight away the raptor egg,

normally, they're a lot rounder.

If that is a raptor egg, that is significant.

Oh, Mark, I would definitely say that is. Without a doubt.

-Do you honestly think that's a raptor egg?

-I definitely do.

Straight away, you can't miss that.

Fancy you seeing that.

Now you've come in and think it's a raptor egg,

I'll probably get a photograph done and send it off to RSPB.

-Thanks for coming in.

-Not at all.

-Well, you've just given me more work.

-RHYS LAUGHS I appreciate that(!)

-Sorry, Mark!

I've got enough to do.

'I've added to Mark's workload because if I am right,

'and the RSPB do identify this as a raptor egg,

'then the person who stole it could be in serious trouble.'

Since 1954, it has been illegal to take or destroy

the eggs of any British wild bird.

Additionally, the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act

offers further protection for seven of our 12 Welsh raptors.

And anyone caught in possession of a live bird or egg

from one of these species faces a fine of up to £5,000

and even a six-month prison sentence.

But our workload on this particular case had only just begun.

Earlier that morning, and unknown to me,

Mark had received a phone call about another wildlife crime with a direct

but totally bizarre link with the case of the illegal egg collection.

As we headed out to a secret location in South Wales,

Mark explained the next chapter in this strange story.

Just prior to you arriving, and when we were looking at the eggs,

I'd received a call from the chairman of a shooting club,

and they've reported that over the last week,

a number of their ducks that they have reared for the shoot,

have basically been taken.

What's interesting about this is that a phone has been left at scene,

and you're going to find this remarkable,

but the case I've got in relation to the eggs we've been looking at,

the person I suspect is responsible, his picture is on this phone.

-You are joking with me.

-No, absolutely genuine.

'Could this possibly be true?

'The suspected illegal egg collector has also been stealing

'ducks from a private shooting club,

'only to be dumb enough to drop their phone at the crime scene?

'Seriously, you just couldn't make it up!

'We rendezvous with the chairman of the shooting club

'to make further enquiries.'

Mark's just talking to the gentleman now. Unfortunately,

he doesn't want to be identified. I understand why, he runs his own

business, he's a little nervous about the repercussion of his face

being on camera. What he has said is he's going to allow is to jump

into his four-by-four, and go down and have a look at the pond.

More importantly,

he's given Mark a statement and he's handed over the mobile phone.

The chairman of the shoot leads Mark and I

to two gated enclosures surrounded by electric fencing.

These enclosures are a good couple of miles from the nearest main road,

in a secluded clearing surrounded by farmland and woodland.

In the first enclosure are 600 pheasant that are being

reared to be released for the shoot.

Inside the second enclosure are 25 mallards.

But this time last week, there were 50.

So where have all the mallards gone?

In any given season,

a third of the birds reared for the shoot will escape the enclosure

and live out their lives in the wild.

Another third will be killed, primarily by foxes,

and the final third will fall to the gun.

So what about our 25 mallards? Have they simply flown off?

Possibly, but why?

This place is a penthouse suite for ducks.

There's an automated feeding machine, an en-suite pond,

and an electrified fence to keep those pesky foxes at bay.

Now you might get the odd duck daft enough to flee this Shangri-La,

but not 25.

So how about a fox?

Well, if a fox had got in, they're messy eaters

and there would be bodies and feathers everywhere.

Which brings us to the one solid piece of evidence

found at the scene - a mobile phone.

How many foxes do you know with a pay-as-you-go deal(?)

Obviously, the main evidence we've got at the moment

is that we've got a mobile phone within the pen.

That is significant and it was found

near to the body of a bird that the witness believed had been shot.

That, too, is also significant.

The witness here believes that it was

highly likely that the ducks were held to a lamp

and whilst they were in the beam of the lamp,

an air riffle was used - and shot each bird,

and then they simply climb over the fence, get in, get the bird.

Hence we don't have any feathers, we have nothing.

Someone has got a fridge or freezer full of these animals.

On the face of it, the owner of the dropped phone is now

potentially looking at two criminal charges. Firstly,

the taking of protected bird eggs from the wild, and secondly,

the theft of up to 25 mallards.

And after a little further investigation, the RSPB identified

the raptor egg as either that of a sparrow hawk, or of a little owl.

And whilst neither of these are Schedule 1 birds, it is

still a criminal offence to be in possession of their eggs, and

PC Goulding has now got sufficient evidence to pursue the individual

he believes is behind both crimes, a man named Craig Wheedon.

'And we are about to try tracking him down.'

OK, Rhys, your role is, if we get him on the property,

we're going to search the property, and what we're looking for is

any additional wildlife issues, any eggs. We want to check

the freezers and fridges to see if any of those mallards have

been rammed in the freezers. I just need you to be aware, OK,

if we get into any properties, this individual does have previous.

So, you need to be mindful of any syringes,

anything in the property, so just be very careful when we get in there.

'We head for Barry in search of the individual we're looking for,

'and to the first of two addresses he is believed to frequent.'

-Hello?

-Hello, South Wales Police. Could you buzz us in, please?

-Yeah.

-Thanks.

This is Dr Rhys Jones. We're looking for Craig.

-Craig? I don't know where he is.

-You don't know where he is?

-No.

Has he been staying here? No?

Haven't seen him for about 2½ month.

Right. Can we have a quick look around just to double check?

Yeah, go and have a look around.

Cheers, mate.

'The first address draws a blank,

'so we head off to the second, hoping we're not already too late.

'If word has got around the area that we're here, our suspect

'might have already fled.

'Five minutes later, when we do arrive at the second address,

'it's like we've walked onto the set of Goldilocks, The Movie.

'All the windows are open, but there appears to be no-one at home.'

Hello, South Wales Police!

No surprises, it's all open. Someone's...they've gone.

There's dogs and birdcages out the back, but do you normally go out

and leave all your windows open?

The music's on, everything's on, I think he's gone out the front.

'It would appear that the very trusting occupants have just

'popped out. Perhaps to a neighbourhood watch meeting(?)'

It is without doubt likely that the person at the last address

has given the heads up. We've come here and the house has

clearly been abandoned, all the windows are open, the television is on.

I heard some noises inside. He's not there,

but I am absolutely convinced he was there,

and this is interestingly where the warrant was done and the eggs

were recovered, but there's nothing in there and nobody there.

'We take a quick turn around the local estate,

'but in this cat-and-mouse game, today it was the mouse's day.

'Although, 24 hours later, Craig Wheedon contacted PC Goulding

'and arranged to voluntarily attend an interview under caution

'in the presence of his solicitor.'

At this interview, Wheedon admitted being in possession of British

wild bird eggs. He further accepted that the mobile phone

found at the bird pen was indeed his.

'And finally volunteered that he had also taken a number of the mallard.

'Craig Wheedon was then charged with theft of the mallards

'and possession of British wild bird eggs.'

Both charges carry a maximum fine of £5,000

and a six-month prison sentence.

'At Cardiff Magistrates Court

'Craig Wheedon pleaded guilty, and in consideration of this fact,

'he was given a one-year conditional discharge.

'The condition? If he commits any other criminal offences

'in the next 12 months, then both charges will be re-instated.'

So let's just hope, for the next calendar year anyway,

that Mr Wheedon can keep his hands off our wildlife.

'Next time I get a midnight call-out

'to an unwanted intruder.'

There's a snake on the stairs.

'I come over all unnecessary in the woods.

'And I aim to prove that by bringing back this big blighter,

'we can save our Welsh countryside from an invasion of these.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd