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Death Toll from Ross-shire poisoning rises to 16! (1 Viewer)

The location for the poisoining is interesting. Hard to understand what the removal of the birds is for given the mainly agricultural use fo the land in that area - i.e. no Grouse moors that close. I has assumed maybe a Fox trap gone wrong, but so many birds over such a wide area?? Whatever it was they were all feeding on it?

This is isn't the normal case of gamekeepers taking the law into their own hands. There's something odd about the whole thing.
 
Even if those responsible are identified and caught, the courts won't do much with them, so the whole thing is pretty much a waste of time.

Society needs to change so that acts like these are not tolerated. I'm afraid your average Joe just isn't concerned enough, and until they are it will continue.

Some will be caught, there'll be a fine and a clip round the ear and off we go again.
 
Marcus Conway - ebirder said:
The location for the poisoining is interesting. Hard to understand what the removal of the birds is for given the mainly agricultural use fo the land in that area - i.e. no Grouse moors that close. I has assumed maybe a Fox trap gone wrong, but so many birds over such a wide area?? Whatever it was they were all feeding on it?

This is isn't the normal case of gamekeepers taking the law into their own hands. There's something odd about the whole thing.
Click to expand...

I suspect one big carcass that could be found - or maybe someone has poisoned one of those 4WD sized heaps of shot Mountain Hares that are the fashion in the Highlands these days.

Plot the corpses, plot the shortest routes inside the ring to a common point and search it thoroughly.

John
 
Marcus Conway - ebirder said:
The location for the poisoining is interesting. Hard to understand what the removal of the birds is for given the mainly agricultural use fo the land in that area - i.e. no Grouse moors that close. I has assumed maybe a Fox trap gone wrong, but so many birds over such a wide area?? Whatever it was they were all feeding on it?

This is isn't the normal case of gamekeepers taking the law into their own hands. There's something odd about the whole thing.
Click to expand...

I agree. This is one of the shooting estates in the area:

http://brahan.com/?p=116

Keepers tend to know what's happening on other neighbouring estates, I find it hard to imagine Brahan Estate's keepers and owners would be happy about something like this happening on their doorstep. The majority of raptor persecution occurs on grouse moors rather than pheasant shoots, the surrounding area doesn't lend itself to grouse shooting as far as I can see? This doesn't mean it isn't a keeper that has carried out these horrific poisonings but, as Marcus says, there seems to be something odd about the whole thing.

BTW, thanks for that link Stonefaction, PC Stewart seems to be an eminently sensible and practical bloke, many of the other posts are well worth reading too.

Cheers
Jonathan
 
Farnboro John said:
I suspect one big carcass that could be found - or maybe someone has poisoned one of those 4WD sized heaps of shot Mountain Hares that are the fashion in the Highlands these days.

Plot the corpses, plot the shortest routes inside the ring to a common point and search it thoroughly.

John
Click to expand...

I think its more something that has got into the fields and been spread. The kites and buzzards in that area predominantly follow the tractors looking for worms and rodents mushed up. Not saying they wouldn't touch a carcass.

Who knows. No dead corvids reported, or gulls which does suggest its a carcass. But 14 Red Kites is astonishing. You're lucky to see 5 coming in to Tollie on some days!
 
Anonymous donor increases reward to £10,000

Reward for information about poisonings doubled to £10,000

3 April 2014

An anonymous donor deeply concerned about the illegal killing of 16 birds of prey in Ross-shire has come forward to increase the reward for information leading to a successful prosecution.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management for RSPB Scotland, said: “This appalling incident highlights the very real threat illegal poisoning poses to fantastic species like red kites. The vulnerable Black Isle population in particular has been repeatedly hit by deaths due to illegal poison use. The Chilterns population in Southern England is nearly ten times bigger, yet both projects started at the same time in 1989 with the same number of birds released into the wild. That is a shocking indictment on behaviour of some in this part of rural Scotland.

“An anonymous donor deeply concerned at the illegal killing of the red kites has come forward to increase our reward for information leading to a prosecution to £10,000. We urge anyone with information to contact Police Scotland as soon as possible.”
 
June Atkinson said:
Reward for information about poisonings doubled to £10,000

3 April 2014

An anonymous donor deeply concerned about the illegal killing of 16 birds of prey in Ross-shire has come forward to increase the reward for information leading to a successful prosecution.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management for RSPB Scotland, said: “This appalling incident highlights the very real threat illegal poisoning poses to fantastic species like red kites. The vulnerable Black Isle population in particular has been repeatedly hit by deaths due to illegal poison use. The Chilterns population in Southern England is nearly ten times bigger, yet both projects started at the same time in 1989 with the same number of birds released into the wild. That is a shocking indictment on behaviour of some in this part of rural Scotland.

“An anonymous donor deeply concerned at the illegal killing of the red kites has come forward to increase our reward for information leading to a prosecution to £10,000. We urge anyone with information to contact Police Scotland as soon as possible.”
Click to expand...

Its pretty sad that the donor feels the need to be anonymous. One wonders why.... or perhaps one doesn't.

John
 
BBC Breakfast TV reporting on BOP deaths in Scotland at the moment! Only 2 minutes airtime but better than nothing!


Shane
 
poisoning

Marcus Conway - ebirder said:
I think its more something that has got into the fields and been spread. The kites and buzzards in that area predominantly follow the tractors looking for worms and rodents mushed up. Not saying they wouldn't touch a carcass.

Who knows. No dead corvids reported, or gulls which does suggest its a carcass. But 14 Red Kites is astonishing. You're lucky to see 5 coming in to Tollie on some days!
Click to expand...
For me personally and i,m sure of others to it seems to get harder reading these post,s because of what we are dealing with If these are deliberate poisonings Along with the fact that we have slipped back in
time to the high levels of bird of prey persecution we had in the 19th century and early 20th century whatever,s said birds of prey are dieing in big numbers
something our generations have never witnessed apart from when ddt was around and that was unintentional but what is happening now is altogether different the guys behind this persecution have most certainly in my eyes taken their gloves off and are blantantly willing to take on people who,s interests are in protecting these birds, to score victorys against these
characters would give me Immense satisfaction because they really are the enemy of conservation as we know it but again its just a moan at these characters and we don,t have the real power or if we have will we ever use it
meanwhile more misery from these posts will be witnessed....churning up more hatred for those concerned not sure where it will go in the end but i,m sure there will after be a diffuse to ease things but even then afterwards longterm would we see any big changes again haveing taken these b******s on.
 
The angry response of the public is growing

Friends of Red Kites in the north east of England send sympathy to Brian Etheridge, who has worked tirelessly in the Black Isle, as we have here in the Derwent Valley.
The public needs to appreciate the value of having the raptors in the countryside. During 2004 and 2009, our red kites brought in £2.1 million to the local economy. GoNorthEast painted nine of their buses with wonderful images of the kite and saw their profits rise dramatically; people love these buses as they ply up and down the valley.
Recently one of Brian’s kites flew from the Black Isle and joined some of our kites on Muggleswick Moor. Sadly it was found dead – the corpse was too decomposed to be sent for forensic examination. 2014 is our tenth anniversary of the release of our kites and the fifth of the inauguration of Friends of Red Kites. We know and appreciate how Brian, with all the hard graft and care he has exercised over 19 years, must be feeling. Ignorance and the violation of these majestic raptors must be reigned in. We sincerely hope the perpetrators of this heinous crime will be brought to justice and given meaningful punishment.


Friends of Red Kites in the north east of England have today agreed to make a donation via the justgiving site which stands at over £3,000 already!

Go to our website for all the coverage of this carnage of majestic birds of prey: http://www.friendsofredkites.org.uk/page3.htm
 
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Here is your chance to help the Raptors

Ross-shire Massacre: death toll rises to 19.

Public protest in Inverness this Saturday.

Tim Watson, one of our members, will attend this Rally on behalf of Friends of Red Kites.

The number of dead raptors found in the Conon Bridge area of Ross-shire has risen to 19. These include 14 red kites and five buzzards.

Toxicology tests so far have determined that 12 of them (9 kites and 3 buzzards) had been poisoned. Tests have not yet been completed on all the corpses.

In response to one of the worst mass poisoning incidents in recent times, RSPB Scotland is organising a public protest in Inverness town centre this Saturday. The key aim of this protest is to let the Scottish Government know that we all want action to prevent this criminal persecution of our raptors from happening again.

Protest Date: Saturday 12th April at 2pm.

Meet at the top end of the pedestrianised High Street, Inverness (near Marks & Spencer & Santander).

All welcome (including children) and protesters are encouraged to make their own banners.

If you can't attend the protest, please consider showing your support by donating to the reward fund HERE.

http://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/

This is the moment that history of persecution could be changed .

All the details of this sad course of events is followed on our website:
www.friendsofredkites.org.uk

Please forward to any other supportive parties.
 
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I first heard about this on the BBC Radio Scotland Outdoor podcast from last Sunday. They have a really good interview about it. Worth checking out. They also said they would be following up with further news this weekend.

I was baffled as to why someone would do this and I thought it was akin to kids lighting fires in the dry season or something but reading the posts above I have a better idea who might be responsible. Unless it was of course some kind of unusual sequence of events that led to a poisoned animal from a trap being exposed to the birds.

I hope it's the latter and it leads to new regulations. If it's the former... well... an eye for an eye say I.

Ollie
 
Raptor Protest Rally

Two of us from Friends of Red Kites went north to show solidarity with those who have suffered a tragic loss of red kites in the Black Isle. A reward of over £26,000 for information leading to a conviction is on offer; maybe it will loosen someone's tongue.

We met Brian Etheridge, who raised and released all the chicks, whose corpses he gathered nineteen years later. Brian is on the extreme left in the photo below.

We also met David Johnstone who photographed our red kite E4 in his garden some years ago.

Let's hope that this Rally will be a turning poiint in the fight against the slaughter not only of Red Kites, but of many other Raptors.

All the coverage of this series of events can be found here: http://www.friendsofredkites.org.uk/page3.htm

Boro Birder said:
You have to feel for this poor man, all the years of hardwork, I'd be absolutely heartbroken. So sad and angry.
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Even the Maltese hunters (cretins) are aware of this and telling us to concentrate on our problems and leave them alone.
 
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