West Yorkshire Police have published a statement on Twitter this afternoon about a kestrel that was shot dead ‘at some point last week’.
The Leeds Wildlife & Rural Crime team say the bird was shot at the junction of Leeds Road and Park Lane, Allerton Bywater. There isn’t any further information about the type of weapon used (e.g. shotgun, airgun).
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on Tel 101 and quote crime reference #13210148679.
[A hovering kestrel, photographer unknown]
This kestrel is at least the fourth to be shot in West Yorkshire this year alone – in January 2021 it was reported that three kestrels had been shot dead in the first two weeks of the New Year (see here).
Last October another kestrel was found shot dead in West Yorkshire (see here).
Raptor Persecution UK 
why would you shoot a Kestrel ffs
A lowlife on the psychopath path.
What a needless and heartless thing to do. Why could anyone possibly want to shoot a kestrel? This is wanton destruction of nature, we need more kestrels, not idiots with guns killing them, whoever did it should be ashamed of themselves. Disgraceful!!
Shooting a Kestrel! Pathetic….
Why ?
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Quite simply, it’s a target and something a bit different. This is the same county in which two Red Kites have been shot off their nests – no great distance from where this latest Kestrel died. These are cowardly acts, but I seriously doubt that the perpetrators will have given their illegal and immoral actions a second thought. I hope that someone knows who did this and will inform the Police.
Time to ban all guns and air rifles. This is a sick world
I swear to god i’d be locked up if I had caught this bastard in the act.
What a pathetic git that done this, Kestrels no harm to anyone,beautiful birds,the UK is terrible for killing its wildlife..A very sad place!
Several commentators here have referred to the Kestrels as harmless or words to that effect, really it matters not whether this was the most rapacious bird or a Kestrel killing it is a crime for which there can be no excuse or acceptable reason for committing it. In the rare event that the criminal is reading this and our esteemed moderator doesn’t X it out, can I suggest next time you clean your gun, load it, look down the barrel and pull the trigger to make sure its working!
Those thoughts come easy. ACW.