Essex Police’s Rural, Wildlife & Heritage Crime Team is appealing for information after a red kite was reportedly found shot in Stapleford Abbots in the Epping Forest.
The kite was found on 3rd September 2022 and is currently undergoing veterinary treatment for what are believed to be shotgun injuries.
[Red kite photo by Javier Alonso Huerta]
No further details about this reported crime have been provided yet.
Anyone with any information that could assist the police investigation please call Essex Police on Tel. 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to provide information anonymously and in confidence. Please quote incident reference number: 42/232180/22.
Raptor Persecution UK 
I’m glad to hear that this red kite managed to survive the attack, and I hope he or she recovers. A family of red kites near my home ‘disappeared’ last year. They had been nesting on land that was used for pheasant shoots.