Police swab falcon chicks in trafficking crackdown

Police officers have taken DNA swabs from peregrine falcon chicks as part of an anti-wildlife crime project.

Data from the samples will be added to a national database used to identify trafficked peregrine falcons.

Peregrines are highly prized in the illegal wildlife trade, and two clutches of eggs were stolen in the county last year, Surrey Police says.

Rural crime officers took swabs from three chicks which recently hatched in the county on Thursday.

Police can use the national database to identify stolen existing and future siblings of the swabbed chicks, the force said.

Surrey Police's rural crime team was assisted by the British Trust for Ornithology

Surrey Police said officers were assisted by ringers from the British Trust for Ornithology during the swabbing exercise.

The chicks were returned to their nest after being swabbed and tagged.

A spokesperson said: "We ask that anyone who lives in or recognises the area around the nest site does not disclose its location so we can continue to protect these birds and keep them in the wild where they belong."