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Two Red Kites found poisoned! (1 Viewer)

squidge

squidge

Wha Whassssat
Two Red kites have been found poisoned in County Wicklow, They were discovered by members of the public. One was found on the side of the road the other was found floating in the sea. The birds were released last july in a project run by the Golden Eagle trust to reintroduce the birds after they became extinct two hundred years ago. A spokesperson for the Irish cattle and sheep farmers association told its members to be "Cautious" putting out bait. I say STOP PUTTING THE BAIT OUT ALTOGETHER. Its archaic,vile and indiscriminatory. I've already sent emails to the government coalition from the last poisoning, I recieved a response from the Greens but None from the other shower. I feel sorry for the people who put so much effort into tring to reintroduce these wonderful Birds only for it to be knocked back by a few neanderthal farmers. Sometimes I just despair. I dont think i'd be aloud post how I really feel about this! Ger.
 
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quite agree squidge. Its sheer bloomin ignorance on the part of farmers and game keepers etc.
Baiting is so indiscriminatory too and can effect any wild bird or animal.
Personaly I think its about time we banned all blood sports in the UK. If the Cons get back in we'll see a surge in the shooting and hunting of wild animals for sure
 
Banning all bloodsports will really cock things up if it is not one set of extremists it is another, re-introduction schemes foisted upon locals who are opposed to them will always result in a certain amount of tragedy.These people need to be involved in some way and alienating them will only make matters worse. if they were made to feel a part of things you might win some of them round but you are not going to change the habits of many lifetimes by coming up with unenforceable laws.
 
Sorry but this thread is not about bloodsports it is about another indiscriminate case of poisoning of two reintroduced birds of prey. The website is www.goldeneagle.ie. This is just sheer ignorance on the part of some farmers and I make no apologies for saying that. As regards re-introduction schemes foisted upon locals, The farming associations have been informed and are happy with the reintroduction after reassurances from scottish farmers. It is in national parks that these reintroductions are taking place. Once again I say STOP THE POISONING OF BOP!
 
It absoutely sickens anything like this,seeing a Red Kite in the wild is as good as it gets and I don't get how anyone would want to harm one.I wish they'd introduce Red Kite's in suitable areas where I live.
 
squidge said:
Two Red kites have been found poisoned in County Wicklow, They were discovered by members of the public. One was found on the side of the road the other was found floating in the sea. The birds were released last july in a project run by the Golden Eagle trust to reintroduce the birds after they became extinct two hundred years ago. A spokesperson for the Irish cattle and sheep farmers association told its members to be "Cautious" putting out bait. I say STOP PUTTING THE BAIT OUT ALTOGETHER. Its archaic,vile and indiscriminatory. I've already sent emails to the government coalition from the last poisoning, I recieved a response from the Greens but None from the other shower. I feel sorry for the people who put so much effort into tring to reintroduce these wonderful Birds only for it to be knocked back by a few neanderthal farmers. Sometimes I just despair. I dont think i'd be aloud post how I really feel about this! Ger.
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Extremely sad and sickening. As you pointed out, these birds are being reintroduced after they became extinct and due to few people who fail to realize the need for them, they just might disappear again. Sad and hopefully a strong action will be put forward to put a stop to this.
 
Very bad news. There have been other threads recently on this forum in relation to the poisoning of raptors in Ireland.
I agree the use of poisons on farms should be banned. However the weak political will of the people that run this nation and the stubborn mindset of some [not all] farmers and landowners means this terrible problem is going to be around for a long time to come.

Si.
 
Monahawk said:
Very bad news. There have been other threads recently on this forum in relation to the poisoning of raptors in Ireland.
I agree the use of poisons on farms should be banned. However the weak political will of the people that run this nation and the stubborn mindset of some [not all] farmers and landowners means this terrible problem is going to be around for a long time to come.

Si.
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Most of the poisons used for this purpose are already banned in England i would have thought the situation was the same in Ireland unfortunately catching the culprits can be very difficult.
 
z-ben said:
Most of the poisons used for this purpose are already banned in England i would have thought the situation was the same in Ireland unfortunately catching the culprits can be very difficult.
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Many poisons and pesticides in Northern Ireland were taken 'off the shelf' just as in the rest of the UK recently. However in the Republic things are a bit lax to say the least even though so called efforts have been made to limit the use of them.
Unwanted stockpiles in the north find their way into the south. I even heard recently of farmers concocting their own poisons out of every day use detergents and cosmetic liquids!
Sadly whether a raptor is the intended victim or not, it is as I say a problem that is going to be around for a good deal of time yet.:-C

Si.
 
That´s two White-Tailed Eagles (Kerry) and two Red Kites (Wicklow) done for inside a week, with poisoned bait. It´s time that either the authorities got serious about banning poisoning, or the re-introduction programmes were cancelled. A tragedy for those who´ve worked so hard on the programmes, but a greater tragedy for the birds that are exported to this country to be slaughtered by barbarians.

P.S. - Does the lambing season have anything to do with this?
 
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Its no coincidence that all these poisonings happen around the lambing season yet the farming community say there is no proof that it is them. But you have the irish farmers journal giving instructions on how to use poisoned bait for the control of vermin. Its this irresponsible attitude that is killing indiscrimantory and giving the farming community bad press. I've come to the conclusion that the donor countries should stop sending their BOP for slaughter until this pathetic excuse of a government brings in laws and sanctions to deal with this menace. In other words its the end of the reintroduction scheme as nothing will be done by the failers. Even if the opposition get in I wont hold my breath as they are just as bad. Personally my family and I have stopped eating lamb. A small gesture but something just the same. Ger.
 
squidge said:
Its no coincidence that all these poisonings happen around the lambing season yet the farming community say there is no proof that it is them. But you have the irish farmers journal giving instructions on how to use poisoned bait for the control of vermin. Its this irresponsible attitude that is killing indiscrimantory and giving the farming community bad press. I've come to the conclusion that the donor countries should stop sending their BOP for slaughter until this pathetic excuse of a government brings in laws and sanctions to deal with this menace. In other words its the end of the reintroduction scheme as nothing will be done by the failers. Even if the opposition get in I wont hold my breath as they are just as bad. Personally my family and I have stopped eating lamb. A small gesture but something just the same. Ger.
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That bum rag the Irish Farmers Journal is the worst journal I've read in relation to anti raptor sentiments, innacurate reporting and promotion of chemicals and even poisons. It's certainly not all about tractors, prize bulls and ploughing competitions.

Si.
 
Bird's of Prey are being killed through use of poisoned baits in Great Britian. I'm not letting the Irish farmers off the hook here for one minute but despite what substances might be banned in the UK, be sure that birds are dying all the time.

I can vouch for seeing photographs taken of four dead Buzzards on a single laced Pheasant carcass taken in the last week. If we knew the true scale of what goes on in many parts of our nation then some might be very surprised.

In my mind there is a real case for EU legislation against the big companies that manufacture chemicals that are used for "control" purposes. Add to this the long list of pesticides that destroy food-chains to eek out that bit of extra profitability.

I would also like to see programmes like Spring watch or Autumn watch show a more balanced view of wildlife and how some species thrive and others are facing major threats from persecution. I get the feeling that broadcasters and presenters don't want to upset the viewers and just want to show the positive side of things which leaves folk thinking all is well and all the bunnies are nice and fluffy. Things will only change through better news and public outcry.
 
Robin Edwards said:
Bird's of Prey are being killed through use of poisoned baits in Great Britian. I'm not letting the Irish farmers off the hook here for one minute but despite what substances might be banned in the UK, be sure that birds are dying all the time.

I can vouch for seeing photographs taken of four dead Buzzards on a single laced Pheasant carcass taken in the last week. If we knew the true scale of what goes on in many parts of our nation then some might be very surprised.
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That's kind of depressing, Robin. I had thought it was only going on here, and I had a mental notion of landowners in the UK as gentleman farmers, conservationist guardians of the countryside, that kind of thing. I'm sure many are, but maybe I've imbibed a kind of overly-idealistic stereotypical image of farmers abroad, in order to vilify those here in S. Ireland. There are probably many "good" farmers here too.
 
I agree with some of your last points Robin in relation to TV coverage giving positive and negative information about wildlife on these islands. We had a programme here recently highlighting the the threat of poisons to raptors. I believe the BBC has a programme out called Animal 24/7 which may touch on such issues. As for showing poisoned raptors on the likes of Spring/Autumn Watch I think that could be too upsetting for some viewers, especially young children. They like to see things alive and thriving.
Here in Ireland, the TV companies are obviously aware as is everyone, that farmers have a hugh political say in matters. Politics is king here. Despite the noble and courageous efforts of the few conservation bodies and individuals which try to educate the masses to the potential threats to Irelands wildlife, I'm afraid upsetting farmer Pat is politically not the done thing. This is still a hugh agriculturally driven nation and to upset this Goliath with matters such as conservation whether they are right or not is sadly a big no no and one has to tread very carefully when raising such issues.

Si.
 
Si,

I understand the points you raise and am sure that these will be similar to some of our more remote areas of the UK as well, where land owners have a big hand in the local politics.

I also wouldn't say that all farmers or estate owners are alike, in fact in the grand scheme of things BoP in general are doing well across many areas of the UK. We have areas however where things are not as rosy as we all might think and hope. Dealing with raptor persecution is as big an issue as ever despite the overall good-news stories of Red Kite, Osprey, Peregrine and Common Buzzard.

My greatest concerns are that Golden and White-tailed Eagle are much more vulnerable through their slower reproduction and need for more open space.

Robin
 
Thanks for the reply Robin. I'm certainly not advocating all farmers are wildlife killers. I do a bit of farming myself when needed in our community. My father in law is a farmer and I have got to know quite a few of the local farmers. I've often spoken to them about wildlife issues. Apart from a couple who say they might take a pot shot at the odd crow or rabbit, none would put out poisons of the kind used in instances as in Co's Wicklow and Kerry,[however nearly all admit to putting out out rat poison which has over the years killed off the likes of barn owls around here]. The problem is with farming communities there is often a code of secrecy. Many may know the culprits behind the dreadful poisonings but there is a reluctantcy to own up about the perpatrators. As thick as thieves springs to mind here some what.

Si.
 
Most of the farmers up here are crap as far as environmental issues are concerned. However they by and large don't use poison. But it is ignorance in the first place to think poisoning helps farming. During lambing the afterbirth is the target but any still born lambs are hoovered up by the carrion eaters.
Farmer comes out in the morning & finds a lamb with it's eyes missing( hoodie)
He blames & targets every carrion eating species for the death(It was stillborn)
Same human failing. They think they know about the countryside(by virtue of being a FARMER). A few questions to them shows they know F all about nature.
The answer is education but it is not easy from my level.
Crucify the poisoners by heavy sentences( rare for any offence these day but that's another gripe.)
 
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