Police apparently fail to attend suspected multiple buzzard poisoning

Late last week, three dead buzzards were found next to a suspected poisoned rabbit carcass in an area with a long track record of raptor poisoning incidents. The person who found the dead birds took some photographs before returning home to alert the police. The police allegedly informed him later that night that they couldn’t attend, and instead they asked him to collect the evidence(!). When he returned to the scene, unsurprisingly the three dead buzzards and the suspected rabbit bait had vanished. A dead magpie, perhaps missed by the suspected poisoners, was recovered from the scene and has been sent for toxicology testing.

Clear cut evidence, if it was needed, that the ‘official’ annual poisoning figures released each year are indeed just the tip of the iceberg. These three buzzards will not be included because they’re unavailable for analysis.

The location where they were discovered was in the Drumbanagher/Poyntzpass area of Northern Ireland, an area known for commercial game-shooting interests. The following birds have all been confirmed poisoned in this area in recent years:

2006 – 1 x buzzard confirmed poisoned.

2008 – 4 x buzzards confirmed poisoned (alphachloralose).

2009 – 2 x red kites confirmed poisoned (alphachloralose). One survived, the second bird died.

2011 – 1 x buzzard found under a hedge, too badly decomposed for analysis. 3 x buzzards suspected poisoning – carcasses removed before police investigate. Dead magpie sent for analysis.

Thank you to the contributor who sent us this information.

UPDATE: The magpie tested positive for Alphachloralose.