Norfolk Police are appealing for information after the discovery of a dead red kite in the Cockley Cley area of Norfolk on Friday 9th April 2021.
An x-ray shows the kite has broken bones in its leg and wing. The police believe the kite has been shot.
Anyone with information please contact Norfolk Police on 101 and quote reference 36/25060/21.
I couldn’t find a press release about this incident on the Norfolk Police website.
[The x-ray of the dead red kite. I have added the red circles to highlight the injuries]
UPDATE 23rd April 2021: Red kite believed to have been shot and hung from a tree (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
Where are the pellets if has been shot none whatsoever in any part of the body
Clearly the Kite was shot with environmentally lead & steel free pellets, by a gun toting loonie whom cares about the environment!
The undisputed heavyweight champion of gibberish seems unaware that projectiles are capable of passing straight through a victim.
👍
xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx
[Ed: this is your first and last warning. Try that again and you’ll be banned]
Yet again you str8in for the kill give it a rest conversation is a 2way street
[Ed: Paul, the rules of engagement are clear. If you don’t want to abide by them then go elsewhere]
Paul
The evidence that birds of prey are being illegally killed is compelling.
The Norfolk police tweet in this incident indicates that the police believe this bird was shot with “shot dust”. They must have some evidence on which to base this claim.
In law there is such a thing as a chain of causation.
If as a consequence of being shot with shot dust, the bird fell to the ground, suffered broken bones and died- then the killing would be just as unlawful as if the bird was filled with lead shot.
Do you not consider your position a little odd, when so many experts point to the illegal persecution of birds of prey as to the reason why so many of these birds die, and are not as prevalent in our countryside as they should be?
These birds face discrimination and persecution because a group of small minded individuals see them as a threat to the money they can make, and inhumane pleasure they get from shooting game birds on an unnatural and industrial scale.
This in turn leads some to engage in criminal activity. Criminals come from all walks of life, and will go to all sort of lengths to hide their activities.
It would be more helpful to condemn criminal activity and help eradicate it, rather than deny it’s happening.
Well said John L. The very fact that some in the shooting industry attempt to rubbish POLICE claims of anti raptor crime at almost every opportunity, attacking the messengers, or keep very quiet and fail to condemn individual incidents shows how false and hollow are their claims of total intolerance of such crimes. It seems in reality their intolerance is of these crimes coming to light, crimes being investigated and the guilty being found so in court.
Probably hit by a car
Hargreaves! Bring that phone up here, boy. Leave it on my desk, and collect it after school.
[Ed: Perdix, or should I call you Alec? You were banned from this site weeks ago. Do you seriously think if you rock up here and put ‘Shepherd’ as your username, I wouldn’t notice?]
If this bird had been shot there would be shot in the body which would be
in the middle of the pattern. Funny it’s only on the joints at opposite sides of the carcass. I would suggest this has been done by someone who doesn’t understand shotgun patterns to once again throw blame on the shooting fraternity.
In your hasty attempt at denial, you omit the fact that you have no idea what position the bird was in at the moment of impact.
For example: If the Kite had taken off just before the shot, it’s wings could easily have been at a low point in the downstroke, and the legs would still be lowered. Or, if the bird was banking with lowered legs, similar injuries could result. Therefore, it’s quite feasible that a wing and the opposite leg were hit without any shot entering the trunk.