Police probe reports of wild birds being trapped and shot at in Doncaster street

Officers have been investigating the allegations following claims that magpies were being trapped in cages then shot dead at a property in St Mary’s Road, Wheatley.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman has confirmed the force has been investigating the incident.

A spokesman said: “It was looked into by our specialist wildlife crime team who found that the trap was being used legally and no offences were found to have been committed.”

The incident is also understood to have been reported to the RSPCA and RSPB.

According to the RSPB’s website, so-called Larsen traps are designed to catch birds alive and unharmed.

They can be baited with food, or with a live decoy magpie, provided all welfare regulations are met. Gun laws prevent shooting of magpies close to public roads and houses.

A spokesman said: “We are not opposed to legal, site-specific control of magpies, nor to the legal use of Larsen or other cage traps, as long as the general licence conditions are strictly adhered to.

“We do oppose illegal magpie control, including poisoning, which has a high risk of accidentally poisoning other birds, including rare birds of prey.

“Many people wish to control magpies in gardens because they take eggs and chicks of other birds. Since research indicates that magpies do not pose a conservation problem to garden birds, the use of general licence in this context is at best debatable.”

“It must be remembered that if challenged, anyone killing magpies in their garden may have to prove to a court of law that they had acted lawfully. This may be difficult given the lack of scientific evidence that magpies affect the conservation of garden bird species.”

Anyone wanting to reports wildlife crimes to the RSPB can do so via its website HERE

You can report anti-social behaviour to South Yorkshire Police on 101, 999 in an emergency or alternatively, you can report crimes to indpendent charity CrimeStoppers anonymously through their UK call centre on 0800 555 111.