A peregrine falcon that suffered injury after colliding with a window was found to have previously been shot.
In a shoddy piece of reporting on the LeicestershireLive website, the RSPCA has apparently claimed the peregrine ‘died after it was shot with an airgun and the pellet became embedded in its wing’ and that they are now appealing for information about the ‘airgun thug’ responsible (see here).
However, if you look at the accompanying x-ray released by the RSPCA, there is what appears to be a pellet embedded in the bird’s right ulna but it doesn’t have the shape of an air gun pellet – it looks more like the spherical shape of a shotgun pellet (see red circle, added by RPUK).
The examining vet thought it was an old injury and you can see there aren’t any associated bone breaks with the pellet, whereas the peregrine has clearly fractured its left radius and there was damage to its neck, presumably caused by the window collision (see the yellow circles, added by RPUK).
The peregrine didn’t survive its injuries.
In what must be the most optimistic appeal for information ever, given that nobody knows when or where the peregrine had previously been shot, the RSPCA is appealing for information!
Raptor Persecution UK 
As is the status quo, nothing weill be discovered and no charges will occur.
Wrong size and shape for an airgun pellet and the chances of finding a culprit are immeasurably close to zero, its bad enough on a recently shot bird.
Very important to be positive ; keep pressing hard for charges, prioritisation of policing this organised wildlife crime – in most instances the “culprit group” is quite obvious… Keep highlighting this illegal killing of our very valued wildlife & remember, we are MANY, they are the callous few … also, please read “Snared” by Bob Berzins, “Killing by Proxy” Alan Stewart, “Inglorious” by Mark Avery &, of course all the excellent Gill Lewis books for younger readers (ensure they’re in your kid’s school library)
Support Moorland Monitors, Wild Justice, Hunt Saboteurs Assoc., OneKind, Revive Coalition et al – Together, we’ll beat the callous, criminal killers…
There may be no prosecution for this crime but the more these incidents are reported and brought to the attention of the general public ,the nearer to an end of these shootings,more so if they get onto mainstream media.
Fair comment, Tonyb, although it does need to be accurate.
Where has share to facebook gone?