FOI Falcon Breeding (1051-2023/24)

Request

My request for information is about North Yorkshire Police searches on peregrine falcon breeding facilities, or individuals believed to be involved in acquiring, keeping or selling peregrine falcons. I would like the following data for the period from now going back until the year 2015 inclusive.

The date of the search
Location of  the search and name of business/individual that was the target of it Reason for searching the house/premises of that individual/business Organisations that were partnered on the search Evidence seized from that search Any further actions taken as a result of the search, including items seized, further police investigation, or any convictions/restrictions imposed on the business/individual as a result of it.

Additional question -

I would also like to know if North Yorkshire Police has been in communications with authorities or individuals in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia regarding concerns about possible illegality within the legal trade of peregrine falcons. I would like to have that information for all years since, and including, 2015.

Response

Extent of Searches to Locate Information

Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police to locate relevant information. 

Decision

Your request for information below has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) we can neither confirm nor deny if North Yorkshire Police does or does not hold the information you have requested. It is estimated that the cost of complying with your request for information would exceed the “appropriate costs limit” under Section 12(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Section 12 (2) allows a public authority to refuse a request where it estimates that it would exceed to appropriate limit to either comply with the request in its entirety or confirm or deny whether the requested information is held.

In order to retrieve the information you have requested, it would be necessary to conduct a search across the whole force for any correspondence, including that which is written, relating to communications with authorities or individuals in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia regarding concerns about possible illegality within the legal trade of peregrine falcons. A manual read would then be required to determine if it related to your request, exceeding the time limit allowed under the Act.

Pursuant to Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

Pursuant to Section 16 of the Act I am required to offer you advice and assistance with regarding to refining your request to within the ‘appropriate limit’ (time/cost limit). However, due to the information provided above I am unable to suggest how you may refine your request and still receive the information within the cost threshold.  If you wish to discuss this please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.