The news that white-tailed eagles are being poisoned in southern England is still making the headlines, and rightly so.
The Telegraph included a feature article on Saturday and, considering the paper’s typical demographic, it was pretty good, even though the deaths of these eagles on game-shooting estates in Dorset and Sussex is anything but ‘mysterious’. The article was well-researched although it didn’t provide us with any new information about either incident.
This news story just won’t go away.
Tomorrow is the deadline for Dorset Police to respond to my challenge of their refusal to provide the details of correspondence between them and Conservative MP Chris Loder, which I’d asked for as part of a Freedom of Information request back in March. As you may recall, they tried to fob me off by claiming my request would exceed the statutory 18 hours they’re permitted to pull together such information, because they’d need to ask all 2,500 staff members (that would include mechanics, accountants, personal safety trainers etc!) to check their emails for correspondence with Mr Loder. It was a ludicrous excuse, made, in my opinion, to avoid revealing any potentially compromising correspondence.
I look forward to hearing from them tomorrow.
Raptor Persecution UK 
Great that the case of the poisoned eagles in southern England has been taken up by the Daily Telegraph. The more mainstream coverage the better. Well done on continuing to pursue Dorset Police to release their correspondence with Conservative MP Chris Loder. Your tenacity is amazing.
I have also submitted an FOI request – deadline 30 May. I did this because Dorset police refused to answer my questions about the WTE and the investigation. Apparently I didn’t fit the criteria for people who are permitted to ask the questions. I’m a very concerned member of the public and IMO this permits me to ask questions
That is a remarkably decent article. I think it could have done with some real data on lamp predation rather than the subjective speculation, but it did mention that White-tailed Eagles feed on carrion and fish.
So there’s hope for the Daily Telegraph yet:-) Actually, I know there are more than a few in the Tory Party who are strongly pro-wildlife… but the old guard often have loud, ill-informed, voices.
‘lamp’ – mental typo(!) lamb!
I am an animal welfare person first and foremost, and bemoan the news that these white-tailed eagles were destroyed by some malicious misguided person. I also have my heart in my mouth when I hear of plans to introduce some species long absent from some area, no matter where in this hazardous world. Literal battles exist all over the Earth to conserve species and their beleaguered habitats. Captive breeding programmes have lead to reintroductions, only to have such iconic species come under attack for their body parts to satisfy some immature rich person wishing to prolong his or her life and virility. The epicureans demand the fins of sharks to make expensive soup, leading to the massive drop in their numbers we are now witnessing of this wolf and big cat of the oceans, essential for the health of coral reefs. In the USA, news came that a famous wolf from the Yellowstone National Park had been shot by the governor of a nearby State, who also was responsible for having encouraged his dogs to chase a cougar up a tree, and from there be shot by the same assassin of the wolf. The Maasi of Tanzania are under pressure to be leave their traditional pasture lands, so that a Middle Eastern trophy shooting group can be given free rein to pillage the wildlife, with which the Maasi had co-existed for many generations. Here we have our present Government refusing to enforce wildlife protection laws on a range of animal welfare and conservation issues, which were won after dedicated efforts by the humane part of our population. Why? Because narrow vested interests really control our supposed democracy, as we have seen with the power of those who own shooting estates and other crucial areas, where birds of prey and other creatures are being exterminated by hirelings left to do as they please contrary to massive public opinion, and hard fought for laws.
My concern is that we should really hammer home the need to ensure that our politicians are not allowing those in their respective parties who command obedience, and a threat to political careers if they do not acquiesce to their whim, which has originated from those who really, behind-the-scenes, control this country. Every country has this hierarchical power base, as we can see with the rate of environmental and species destruction taking place all over the world. The same brutality is being experienced by the human population with slavery, exploitation, massacre, trafficking and wars, taking their toll. Here in the UK, the supposed bastion of freedom and a developed morality that has given birth to wonderful charities and individuals, representing compassion on a large scale taking in the laboratory mouse to the suffering of all who suffer and pain in the human population of the Earth. Here we are allowing paranoid crackpots get away with slaying majestic eagles so they can perpetuate an anachronistic “management” of the landscape, which, when extended to the whole planet, will create a vast desert devoid of life. The writing is on the wall. Please let us think carefully on the welfare of the species to be reintroduced, and be certain the bullet or the poison will not await them.