A male peregrine falcon has been shot and badly injured on the banks of the River Eden near Armathwaite in Cumbria. 
A cyclist found the bird flapping in a field, bundled him up in a towel and put him in his rucksack before cycling to Carlisle to seek veterinary assistance.
Vet Edda Pohlandt, of Falcon Vets, London Road, Carlisle said: “The man who brought him in was cycling from Penrith to Carlisle for a physio appointment when he came across the bird. “He brought him straight in and I took a look at him. I did an x-ray and saw the pellet and the shattered bones. I put him under anaesthetic and then operated on him”
The injured wing must be kept in a sling for four weeks before Edda can carry out another x-ray. She said: “Birds tend to heal faster than humans. I’ll make a decision in a few weeks whether or not to take the pins out and see how he goes.
We have no further information at this stage as to any possible police enquiry
More on this story – http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk/news/cumbria-vet-saves-life-of-shot-peregrine-falcon-1.761740?referrerPath=2.1825/2.1825
Raptor Persecution UK 
The autumn “sport” shooting season has begun….
Another depressing read. I used to struggle to understand the mindset of people who persecute raptors and for a time I was inclined to believe that they were purely motivated by a belief that they would increase the numbers of game birds etc. However, that does not come near to fully explaining the poisoning, trapping and shooting. The perpetrators probably prefer to believe that they are merely carrying out their duties as gamekeepers or whatever they do. Perhaps that is how they live with their conscience and avoid facing up to the kind of person they really are.
Put plain and simply, they are criminals – all of them. People of low morals who have knowingly opted to cross the and become part of the criminal fraternity.