The Ross-shire Massacre fiasco continues, with yet another claim that the 22 dead red kites and buzzards were ‘accidentally poisoned’ by contaminated meat put out at the Tollie Red Kite Feeding Station.
This latest claim was made by a local farmer (who wishes to remain anonymous) who believes the birds were fed sheep carcasses containing legal treatments used to prevent fluke, which can be toxic to birds.
The claim has been strongly denied by RSPB Scotland (see here).
It’s not the first time this claim has been made. Jamie McGrigor MSP gave credence to it when he mentioned it during a parliamentary debate last month (see here), although he did admit it was based purely on rumour.
We think the claim is as plausible as the ‘mystery virus spoof‘ we wrote in response to Conon Bridge farmer Ewan MacDonald’s suggestion that the birds had been killed by a ‘mystery virus’. Incredibly, there were some people who actually believed the spoof, and thus it follows that there will be some who are gullible enough to believe the ‘accidental poisoning’ claim, just as there are those who believe the ridiculous claims that gamekeepers don’t put out poison baits – they’re just the victims of an elaborate set-up designed to blacken their reputations; set-ups that apparently include planting poisoned carcasses as well as planting jars of poison in gamekeepers’ vehicles, game bags, out-buildings and even in their homes.
Far more plausible is the suggestion put forward by the RSPB’s Red Kite Officer, Brian Etheridge, that the Ross-shire Massacre was caused by “somebody who knew what they were doing” when they placed small poisoned baits in various locations around Conon Bridge (see here). It has previously been reported that poisoned bait had been found at the crime scene, and, given the small area of farmland in which the majority of the birds were discovered, the poison was obviously fast-acting and highly toxic. Hmm, whatever could it be?
Meanwhile, as speculation rages, Police Scotland remain tight-lipped about their ‘investigation’. Two weeks ago they managed to say that 14 of the 22 dead raptors were now confirmed to have been “illegally poisoned” (11 red kites and three buzzards) but they were still apparently waiting for post mortem results on the remaining eight victims – see here. They are still refusing to name the poisons discovered by SASA scientists during their toxicology analyses, because the investigation is apparently ‘ongoing’.
Two and a half months down the line, nobody has been charged.
Previous blogs on the Ross-shire Massacre here.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Sign should now read Tollie Dead Kites…..?
It would be nice to believe that this ‘investigation’ is getting the priority it deserves.
What a load of bull! I am a regular visitor to Tollie and can assure the anonymous farmer that the usual kites that turn up at feeding times are alive and well. Bearing in mind Tollie is a good few miles away from the poisoning site, we don’t normally get 22 birds at this time of year apart from winter. To the anonymous farmer don’t try diverting the blame until the tox reports are available. It will probably show the source closer to home
The poisonous substance used to massacre all these birds was fast acting, how can it be explained how the birds managed to fly off in several directions for more than 2 miles before dying, why were no corpses found in and around the feeding station? Maybe this and other similar questions should be put to the anonymous local farmer for his answers, perhaps the blame is coming too close to home and it’s his way of pointing it elsewhere !!!
As a Tollie volunteer I can confirm that our two regular pairs of kites that nest nearby are indeed alive and well as was said above, and I agree that Tollie is outside of the ‘killzone’ by two or three miles. The birds which died had managed to fly up to two miles from the bait because simply they flew with the meat in their beaks and as soon as they landed on a tree to begin eating they dropped dead. Many of the birds and indeed the buzzard that I found still had meat and bone in their beaks…the poison was that fast-acting.
To suggest that the birds were accidentally poisoned is rediculous, as the police have already confirmed illegal poisoning was the cause of death.
Personally, I’m getting a bit sick of all this rumour-mongoring and wish the police would just get on and arrest the guy….as practically the whole town knows who did it and why!
You will find that anyone suggesting accidental poisoning in this incident, is an imbecilic, moronic, dimwit, and will have connections to the shooting or farming industries, or both.
We, on the other hand, will continue to use logic, common sense and science.
Yes, no doubt it must be deliberate, accidental poisonings never happen, do they? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10618344
Did I, at any time, suggest that accidental poisonings do not occur? Indeed, if you had bothered to read an earlier post, I did make comment on the issue of secondary poisoning.
However, when you consider that news reports mention the finding of poisoned baits in this case, then it is quite clear that we have witnessed the deliberate and illegal targeting of protected birds of prey.
And, from a recently issued Police Scotland statement, confirmation that a banned poison was used.
So it is looking highly unlikely that these deaths were accidental. Unless someone “accidentally” had in their possession a considerable quantity of a banned substance, and they “accidentally” opened the container holding the poison, then “accidentally” put some poison onto small pieces of meat, then “accidentally” scattered these small pieces of meat (we shall call them baits) in an area near Conon Bridge.
Natural England is considering an application to shoot 10 Common Buzzards, because “they are a threat to young pheasants”.Last year that organisation granted permission for Buzzard nests to be interfered with at two locations.
This, and all the poisoning incidents that come to our notice (let alone the ones we never get to hear about), would indicate to me that commercial shooting and wildlife cannot exist side by side. Which one has to go?
Ah, the scumbag pheasant farmer is back again this year. Thanks for alerting us, John.
It will be interesting to read his applications this year, no doubt supported by the NGO, who will have again turned a blind eye to the farmer’s past conviction for possession of illegal poisons. Will this year’s applications be filled with prejudiced nonsense? Will this year’s applications be filled with lies? Will this year’s applications deliberately withhold information on his criminal past?
In reply to your question, it should be commercial shooting. These people (estate owners, gamekeepers, farmers and shooting organisations) could easily find non-lethal solutions, such as building smaller pens with a roof on them (yes, it’s that simple!), but their inbuilt hatred for predators, and a refusal to adopt to different management styles, means that they will deliberately seek conflict with conservation organisations. They are the scum of the earth.
This whole thing is beyond a joke now. When I heard my boss mouthing off about the article in the P&J this week I couldn’t take it anymore and had to say something. He, and several of the more outspoken among our clientele from the farming community, are very, very sure of themselves and their assertions that the poison has to have come from the Tollie feeding station because of the lack of other species of birds and animals to be found dead.
Trying to tell him that it’s not only buzzards and kites that have access to the meat at the feeding station, and that it’s already been reported that the poison was so fast acting that the meat was still in their beaks and gullets when they died, was like trying to explain it to a brick wall. They’ve made up their own minds, and to them these ‘rumours’ are now indisputable facts.
In my opinion the police are being negligent in allowing these rumours to persist, and are causing more harm than good in continuing to withhold the information about the poison used. What good is a reward if the public no longer believe a crime has been carried out?
lets address a few things here… illegal poisoning this is playing on words as any poisoning is illegal be it accidental or not…
Does anyone know how fast a kite can fly?? as i understand it the ‘kill zone’ is 2 SQUARE miles – that is not a distance of 2 miles from where they have consumed the toxin…
as for the above comments about how this can’t possibly be the RSPB can someone show me the reports of the testing of the meats that were fed to the kites… as i bet there are none as they were probably given in good faith…. and finally lets ask why the toxin has not been made public – like is usually the case when it is a banned pesticide…
You are mistaken, as not all forms of poisoning are considered illegal. You can legally kill rodents, and these dead rodents can then be consumed by raptors or other carrion specialists, and the cumulative effect of the poisons can lead to death – this is usually referred to as secondary poisoning. If you look at SASA reports, you will see many raptor autopsy reports with details of one or more poisons found. These never go down as abuse cases.
I’m a tad confused about your second sentence. Do you know for sure where the birds ate the poisoned baits? If so, you may have valuable information that could lead to an arrest, and a lovely wee bonus of more than £27,000.
I don’t know if any tests were carried out on the meat at the feeding station, so I can’t really help you there, but you just have to apply some common sense and you when you realise that no dead birds were found at the feeding station, or in any other direction from the site, a sensible approach would suggest that the killings were a deliberate act. Further evidence pointing to this is provided in this news report http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/09/record-reward-conviction-raptor-deaths-19-scotland where in paragraph four it mentions “Investigators are focusing on the baits and site where the attack occurred.” That all seems to be a clear-cut case of deliberate raptor persecution.
As for the police investigation and why they have not named the poison or poisons, then you are perfectly entitled to ask them yourself.
Note the most recent statement from Police Scotland ‘illegally-held poisonous substance’ http://www.handiprepared.gov.uk/multi-agency-news/police-scotland-highland-and-island-division-latest-news/police-scotland-highland-and-island-division-news-item/?solc_news_item_id=PR6815_2014&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
As for the feed used at Tollie It is leftovers cut from meat for human consumption. No reports of human deaths yet
All meats cut up at Lisenced game dealers and slaughter houses are inspected prior to release. You could probably get the copies of the reports from the dealers
Yes thanks for that but in fact it is you that is wrong, If you knowingly feed a poisoned bait to a bird of prey then it is illegal we are not talking about rats here we are talking about kites…..
as for the birds eating poisoned baits i think that it is very unlikely that they all died of old age in such a short space of time and small area so again fairly obvious there….
as for the poisons don’t panic as i know of someone who as asked for more details under the freedom of information act – strangely they are reluctant to give out details now i wonder why that would be.
Yes, if you target a protected species, then it is an illegal act. You did not make that clear in your post, and you did state that “as any poisoning is illegal be it accidental or not…”, hence my reason for pointing out the slight error.
As you say, it is highly unlikely that old age suddenly took its toll on all of these birds, and they all died in a relatively compact area of the countryside. All of the evidence does point to a deliberate targeting and killing campaign.
The police may have various reasons for not naming the poison or poisons. Why do you believe they are withholding this information?