Raptor persecution is not just limited to Scotland. It is also prevalent in other parts of the UK and the Irish Republic. We will be highlighting these incidents on this blog in due course, beginning with the young golden eagle that was found poisoned in Ireland in February 2010.
Any golden eagle poisoning event is tragic, but this one particularly so. This 10 month old eagle hatched in the wild in Donegal in 2009 and became one of the first wild-bred golden eagles in Ireland for over 100 years. The Golden Eagle Trust has been working hard to re-establish a population of golden eagles in Ireland, after they were persecuted to extinction during the last century. Young golden eagle chicks have been donated from nests across Scotland (typically from nests containing two chicks where usually only one chick would survive naturally) and released and monitored throughout north-west Ireland.
This eagle had been poisoned by Nitroxynil, which had been poured over the fleece of a dead lamb.
For further detailed information, please see: http://www.goldeneagle.ie/news_viewnews.php?x=5&z=132&news_id=11&article=262
Raptor Persecution UK 