A member of the public witnessed the shooting of a red kite on the Lochindorb Estate yesterday morning. It was recovered by the Scottish SPCA but unfortunately its injuries were so severe it had to be euthanised.
Police Scotland has issued the following appeal for information:
APPEAL FOLLOWING BIRD OF PREY SHOT NEAR GRANTOWN-ON-SPEY
Officers are appealing for information after a protected bird of prey was shot near Grantown-on-Spey.
We received a report of a red kite being shot around 11.15am on Monday, 27 March, on the Lochindorb Estate, Grantown-on-Spey.
It was recovered with the assistance of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) but had to be euthanized as its injuries were not recoverable.
Community Police Inspector Craig Johnstone said: “The red kite is a protected species and under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is illegal to kill them.
“I am asking anyone in the local community who may be able to help with our enquiries to come forward. If you were walking in the area on Monday then please let us know if you saw anything.
“In particular, if you saw quad bikes in the area or off road vehicles, then get in touch as even the smallest bit of information could assist with our investigation.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1760 of Monday, 27 March, or make a call anonymously to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
I applaud this very fast public appeal for information by Police Scotland. It’s in stark contrast to their 19-month silence about a poisoned red kite that was found in the same region in 2021 (see here) and for which they received much deserved criticism.
All credit to them for responding so quickly this time and for naming the estate on which the shooting was witnessed. Bravo.
UPDATE 29th March 2023: Game-shooting industry’s response to news that red kite was shot on grouse moor (Lochindorb Estate) here
UPDATE 1st April 2023: Arrest made in relation to red kite shooting on Lochindorb Estate grouse moor (here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
The Shooting Industry, nailing their colours to the mast. Again.
Am I right thinking that Lochindorb is managed as a grouse shooting estate?
Yep, it is. Go onto Google maps, use satellite image layer, see all those ugly tell-tale ‘strips’ of muirburn.
https://raptorpersecutionuk.org/tag/lochindorb-estate/page/2/
https://www.galbraithgroup.com/insights-news/news-and-events/traditional-sporting-estates-remain-hot-property/
Totally depressing, I spent 2 separate weeks in this moorland area birdwatching last spring and summer. Great views of Red Kite every day, sorry to say it is managed for shooting. Loads of money spent on estate tracks. Also came across ‘vermin’ traps. Sickening. I really hope the licence is revoked.
The fact that this crime was witnessed being committed is highly significant.
I hope the full facts of what has taken place are sent personally to Màiri McAllan, the Scottish Minister for the Environment, as I am sure she is perfectly capable of making her own mind up as to why this crime was most probably committed, and who was most probably behind it.
Hopefully it will only heighten the Scottish governments resolve to be extremely robust with their proposed grouse moor licensing scheme.
My concern is that there could be many more such incidents before the introduction of the proposed licencing scheme, as the vile criminals responsible for raptor persecution could seek to decimate raptor populations before such actions are made more accountable under the new licensing scheme.
Should there be a spike in reported raptor persecution incidents before the introduction of licensing, I can only hope that the Scottish government take this into account with the proposed new legislation.
I also hope those with information as to who is committing these crimes have the moral courage to come forward and help the police, as these criminals are a scourge on the countryside and deserve no place in it.
As from today McAllan is no longer in environment. I was hoping she would remain as I rated her but that’s politics for you.
The SLE statement is pathetic and I expected no better.
The police investigation will probably falter but I hope I’m proved wrong.
Another sad day for our wildlife
Waiting for a comment by BASC and CA…
I thought that red kites only scavenged dead animals? or maybe some sick animals though I may be wrong, if that is the case though why would it be shot. I saw a red kite once sitting 2 metres away from a rabbit that was alive bt couldn’t move, it was just watching it.
Tim, you`re not wrong about red kite behaviour, I`ve recently watched two in a field with sheep and lambs, they are feeding on the after births. I once had an elderly neighbour who was genuinely interested in wild birds, he would often chat to me about what was using our bird feeders, however most of his life he was a game keeper and till the day he died he would happily tell you, if it`s got a hook beak and claws it needs exterminating. I could not fault him as a neighbour, but that is the mind set we are up against, it`s just ingrained in them.
Thank you Philip
Hi Tim, the keepers I knew well didn’t consider them to be as bad as buzzards regards directly predating on grouse. So they’re only in the low/medium category there. But they are actually hated for their disturbance (which is why no serious Estate will let them get a breeding population established). In the next few weeks keepers like to see their grouse able to settle down “stress-free” as critical laying time is just around the corner. Stress of the grouse hens is a big factor relating to clutch sizes.
If you sit quietly on a very densely grouse-populated fell side made up of typical short heather, you will hear the chain reaction of communication among the grouse, from anxious muttering to alarm signalling to scattering among the grouse – working it’s way across the moor as a kite approaches – even if the kite is only minding its own business. To me, you don’t seem to get the same amount of anxiety in them when a buzzard flies over. It may be about size, style of flight or silhouette – true bird experts (certainly not me) might explain this better.
Oh, and on shoot days when there is big money and hard-won reputations on the line, a drive or number of drives can be totally ruined by a kite knocking about.
So the above are the two main reasons (that I know of) for most grousekeepers hating red kites.
Thank you Spaghnum Morose
Why should games keepers or the land & gentry have automatic access to firearms? These narracists should be xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx. The police aren’t interested, in their opinion toffs should be well left alone. There worried about future promotion/s or loss of job, that an estate owner could bring & there’s the money aspect that comes from shooting game birds & of course the bloodlust of the unhinged that unfortunately can’t lay mantraps for the lowerclasses anymore, well not at the moment, but that could change anyday now, what with that idiot Charles soon to become king
1/10
Press releases are easy..real investigation and enforcement action not so easy.
Another well known location with a long history and very little in the way of enforcement action.
It is not even surprising to hear of these endless incidents anymore, just completely depressing that people have so little regard for our national wild life and just seek to destroy, rather than admire them. I hope they can find those who are responsible and bring it to a swift conclusion.
Well done to Police Scotland for naming the estate and for the prompt request for information. Good luck with the investigation.
I have been staying in Wiltshire for a while and have noticed how abundant the numbers of Red Kite are round here compared to the south of Scotland. This is despite them attempting to reintroduce Red Kite to Dumfries and Galloway in recent years.
Sick sad xxxxx xxxxx with big guns to play with. Those idiots that take care of the law are so [Ed: rest of comment deleted as libellous]