Chris Packham's sniff of goshawk chick on BBC show reviewed by police

When Chris Packham appeared on The One Show with three goshawk chicks, the naturalist took great pride in showing how a bird of prey once near extinction in Britain is at last thriving.

But, that BBC recording is now at the centre of a police investigation over whether a wildlife crime – including the somewhat unusual practice of bird sniffing – was committed before the nation’s very eyes.

In the four minute and 30-second clip, Mr Packham, 62, took part in biometric tests on the woodland predators in the New Forest.

The Springwatch presenter sniffed one of three goshawks to detect their “characteristic scent or perfume” once they were weighed, sexed and ringed in line with a licence issued by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

The clip, broadcast in June following a morning of filming, prompted a complaint to police that a filming licence may not have been obtained.

It was also suggested the time the birds were out of the nest and the “sniffing incident” amounted to a “disturbance” of a protected species.

Mr Packham has insisted no laws were broken, adding that those concerned about “goshawk welfare should worry less about a naturalist having an occasional sniff” and more about “widespread persecution” by some gamekeepers who have illegally killed goshawks.

‘There is absolutely no excuse’

The man who complained – a shooting enthusiast who does not want to be named for fear of reprisals – said: “I watched the programme and was struck by the way Mr Packham was handling and sniffing the birds. These birds are Schedule 1 protected and it is a crime to ‘intentionally or recklessly disturb at, on or near an active nest’.”

When the man contacted Natural England about a filming licence he was told: “I have checked our various systems and contacted potentially relevant groups within Natural England and have not been able to locate any relevant licences.”

Jemima Parry-Jones, a leading authority on birds of prey and conservation, said handling any wild bird must be done quickly, with the minimum of noise, numbers of people and interference to minimise the risk of harm.

“When the face of a human, effectively their only natural predator, appears over the edge of a nest it will cause them huge distress.

“There is absolutely no excuse for spending half a day filming like this.”

A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “We received a report on July 2 relating to an alleged offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is currently being reviewed by our Countrywatch team.”

Mr Packham told The Telegraph: “Raptor persecution is illegal yet every year a huge number of goshawks are killed by gamekeepers … not by scientists or people in the media. All three of these birds fledged the nest – let’s hope they survive.”

A BBC spokesman said: “The One Show had permission to film and followed all protocols around filming wildlife.”