A barn owl nesting box on Chosen Hill nature reserve, managed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, has been used as a shooting target.
Reserve Manager Jackie Birch discovered the damaged box whilst visiting the reserve with Vince Jones from The Barn Owl Centre in Gloucester. When they looked inside they found that it had been shot 7 times from a few different angles, leaving what appear to be air rifle pellets inside. Luckily, it seems that this particular box, which was positioned by the entrance to Stump Lane, was not in use at the time. If it had been, the barn owl - a legally protected species - would have been fatally wounded.
As the reserve is an ideal habitat for barn owls, they had intended to spend the day checking over the nest boxes and installing some new ones to encourage more barn owls to the site by providing shelter for them. Instead, they had to remove all of the boxes that have already been installed to dissuade the birds from using the site and protect them from any further harm. The police have been informed as barn owls are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside act and it is an offence to kill, injure or take a wild bird or their eggs. It is also illegal to disturb them during the breeding months of April - October.
The loss of suitable nesting sites is one of the main reasons that barn owls are in decline. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust work to re-establish and enhance these sites and to educate landowners and the public about these beautiful birds.
The Trust is now appealing for anyone in the area to keep a watchful eye on the reserve and to get in touch if they have any information that could help them to make this reserve safe for barn owls once again.