For Argyll reported recently on two cases of deliberate poisoning of raptors – at the Glenquiech and Glenogil estates in Angus – seeing one of Mull’s home-bred young sea eagles dead from deliberate poisoning at Glenquiech. These incidents hrow a sharp light on current EU plans to remove the current link between payments to landowners and farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds and any breaches of Wildlife laws they may commit.

At the moment, landowners guilty of breaches of wildlife protection legislation are penalised by having their CAP payments reduced.

And there’s a tight relationship between these two stories. John Dodd, multi-millionaire owner of the Glenogil Estate has just had a record penalty imposed on him. The Scottish Governemnt withheld £107,650 in CAP payments after police found poisoned baits and illegal pesticides on the estate in 2006.

Yet the Glenogil Estate was one of the two involved in the recent and flagrant breaches. Thirty cubes of poisoned venison were found there, placed on fence posts to attract raptors.

The landowner of the Glenquiech Estate, drew the attention of the Police himself to the presence on his land of the dead birds – the young sea eagle from Mull and a buzzard – and the poisoned meat that had done for them. An interesting move.

This week, the Council of Ministers is to consider cutting away parts of the CAP policy thought to be unnecessary or irrelevant. The linking of CAP payments to conforming with environmental law (known as ‘cross-compliance) – is under close scrutiny as part of this exercise. The European Commission has recommended dropping the link to CAP payments of compliance with Article 8 of the Birds Directive. This bans the use of random methods of capture or killing of birds.

The RSPB, with logic and realism on its side, says that a change in the rules will be a blow to Scottish wildlife protection. It has called on the Scottish and UK Governments to fight for the link to be retained. Apart from the ethical questions involved, wildlife tourism is a crucial part of Scotland’s – and Argyll’s – strengths. Richness of biodiversity is in the nature of this place.

A hit on the pocket is one of the most powerful deterrents in the issue of landowners’ conforming to wildlife protection laws. And this is what the EU proposes to abandon.

Head of investigations at RSPB Scotland, Bob Elliot, describes the loss of this deterrent as: ‘… a blow for wildlife protection in the UK. It is a major deterrent in the armoury of the authorities. Deliberate poisoning is a major threat to birds of prey. We had 37 reports confirmed by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency of raptors being poisoned last year. In Scotland a mixture of illegal pesticides killed a white-tailed eagle found on a Scottish estate (Glenquiech) this May’.

Mandy Gloyer, head of RSPB Scotland’s land use policy, says: ‘All land managers receiving public money must be required to ensure legal requirements are met on their land. Over half a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money is paid to Scottish land managers every year, and it seems reasonable to ask them to meet their obligations to conservation and obey laws on wildlife crime in return’.

The landowning lobby is a powerful one. This issue is crucial to Argyll. It will require both the Scottish and the UK Governments to compel the retention of the link between payments to landowners and their observance of wildlife protection laws.

It would be worth letting Alan Reid MP and Jim Mather MSP (who is also Minister for Tourism) know your feelings on this, whatever they may be.

The photograph above of a white-tailed sea eagle coming in to land is issued under a Creative Commons licence.