LANCASHIRE police are warning people could face fines of up to £5,000 if they fail to respect the county's wildlife.

The announcement comes as English Nature, the government's wildlife watchdog, said it has launched an investigation aimed at preventing a rare bird of prey found in East Lancashire from becoming extinct.

The only population of the hen harrier is at the Duke of Westminster's 27,000 acre Abbeystead estate at Bowland, in the Ribble Valley.

But they have dwindled down to just 10 breeding pairs because of illegal killings.

And now action is being taken to try and increase the numbers and prevent them from disappearing altogether.

A spokesman for English Nature said: "We will be starting the programme next spring, because of complications regarding foot and mouth.

"We suspect that there are less than ten breeding pairs of the hen harriers left in England.

"And the project is taking place to make recommendations to find ways of stopping the birds of prey vanishing." The RSPB blamed the disappearance of the birds on people who persecute them for attacking grouse.

But bosses on the Duke's estate said they manage the hen harriers as best they can.

Estate manager Ian Grindy said: "We cannot currently monitor the hen harriers because of the foot and mouth restrictions.

"But we are using the tagging system to help keep an eye on them.

"It is extremely successful for us, as it helps us to find out where the birds are going and how long they stay in one place. "We think that we have been successful in keeping the birds of prey because we have been backed by the co-operation of tenant farmers, shooting tenants and gamekeepers, which enables us to take a balanced approach to management on the estate."

Graham Elliott, head of investigations for the RSPB, said: "The hen harriers have a reputation for killing grouse throughout the year, which upsets gamekeepers.

"The hen harriers are protected by Bird Protection Legislation which is supposed to prevent the birds from being killed or shot, but this is not always the case."

Under current British legislation, a fine of anything up to £5,000 could follow if somebody was caught needlessly slaughtering the rare prey.

And police today said similar fines could be faced by people who destroy other forms of wildlife.

PC Maria Graham, Lancashire Constabulary's wildlife officer, said: "It is a criminal offence to damage or destroy nests, eggs or chicks.

"It is also illegal to put up any form of obstacle which would prevent a bird from accessing the nest either to incubate eggs or feed its young. What people do not always realise is that the nests often are full of eggs and young chicks."