An article published in the York Press today reports that a poisoned red kite has been found near Pickering in North Yorkshire.
It was reportedly found in woodland at Cawthorn Roman Camp, and was rescued by a dog walker. The bird is now being cared for at Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation.
PC Stewart Ashton of North Yorkshire Police said: “Despite it being illegal to harm birds of prey, we have intelligence that people are still actively killing them in areas of Ryedale“.
According to the article, North Yorks Police are appealing for help in catching the person(s) responsible for this latest poisoning incident, although it is not known when the bird was found, what it was poisoned with, and no details are provided about who should be contacted. There isn’t a press statement on the North Yorks Police website either.
According to RSPB statistics, North Yorkshire was identified as having the highest level of reported raptor persecution incidents in the UK in 2010 (see here).
York Press news article here
Raptor Persecution UK 