Police Scotland and the Scottish SPCA have appealed for information in relation to the discovery of a critically-injured red kite in Dumfries & Galloway.
According to the BBC News website (here), the authorities are keen to trace the man who found the injured kite near Closeburn at around midday on 5th June 2023. It’s reported that the kite’s injuries were so severe the bird had to be euthanised.
The man is described white, 50 to 60 years old, about 5ft 10in tall, of medium build with short white hair.
The Police and SSPCA want to speak to him and have appealed for witnesses.
No further details are available at the moment.
UPDATE 4th July 2023: Red kite found injured in Dumfries & Galloway had gunshot wounds (see here)
Raptor Persecution UK 
Would the person who injured the bird brought it in to be helped I’d rather doubt it but these crimes will carry on untill those doing it are brought to justice
Every time I go on to the RPUK site, I feel I am reading the daily news journal of some country in an internecine war in which the forces of compassionate progress is being challenged by those of deliberate cruelty and vile lawless acts against the natural world, and aided and abetted by people of inordinate influence in the governance and legal processes of that land.
Like many people who wish a peaceful and kinder world, I feel the real battle for Life to survive as we know it on Earth, humanity will have to suppress those who are responsible for the relentless destruction of the planet, and its loss of biodiversity. Moreover, indigenous communities have suffered, and are still experiencing, the nightmarish genocide of hundreds of years, as their respective traditional environments are being ransacked. Here in the UK, we have experienced our own version of that process, and we are now witnessing the contemptuous destruction of our Birds of Prey, and any creatures classed as vermin that get in the way of driven grouse shooting, plus the impact of millions of game birds onto the habitats of wildlife species, along with the pollution of lead shot. The wonderful architecture we have in the form of cathedrals and other buildings, along with the paintings, sculpture and other forms of art, delight the appreciative people who help fund their preservation. Our wildlife should be sacrosanct like human created beauty, and those who exterminate it should be seen as vandals and philistines, and not be given the latitude they seem to have, when caught in the act of poisoning, snaring, shooting or whatever is inimical to creatures that have a right to live.
This will never stop until grouse & pheasant shooting is stopped & there is no such thing as a gamekeeper, no other type of people are to blame for this!!!!
Absolute and utter rubbish
[Ed: Comment deleted as defamatory]
?!
Some of your comments about that person were libellous. I’ll happily post your comment if you remove the libellous (and derogatory) commentary about him, because otherwise you made a good point!
I’m sorry, RP, I really don’t know which bits were libellous: he was convicted of killing raptors using poison; he was, according to the court account, guilty of reckless use of those poisons which endangered others, including children at the nearby primary school where some poisoned birds fell; he had xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx to take up ‘exotic wildfowl’ in Dumfriesshire. He is,quite probably from his actions, a xxxxx xxxxx All of this came out in the reports (including on this blog). If I express the opinion that he’s the sort of person that xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxxx
Hi Pamela,
It’s factual to say the vast majority of raptor persecution crimes take place on land managed for gamebird shooting (see link below), but it isn’t accurate to say that nobody other than gamekeepers kill raptors. There are small numbers of farmers, taxidermists, bird egg collectors who are involved, although nowhere near the level of involvement as gamekeepers. See most recent data here:
Aww green Hart that a wonderful email couldn’t have put it any better 👏 wee need to stop and think before it’s to late
Indeed wise and apt words Greer.
It is so galling to receive replies to emails I send to my MP and MSP s on similar subjects, their replies stating the UK is a country of animal and nature lovers, or such like. It certainly seems very far far from it
I have to also wonder ,and I know this doesn’t include you Greer, at those who justly protest against barbaric cruelty to raptors , foxes etc, but still eat meat .
I couldn’t have said it any better! Well done.
Quite right, on all you’ve said. This country needs to put wildlife and domestic animals before sport and money.
Amyone who abuses their trust with animals or who inflict cruelty should get bigger fines, prison sentances and to be named and shamed. Easy.
Thank you so much for this…
You have spoken up for all of us who truly care about this subject,
And I too wish something will change…
The UK Courts, and the whole justice system should make ALL Animal crime a serious offence !
Agreed
Why hand out guns to idiots like their sweets?
Raptor persecution, is a daily occurrence, being reported frequently, but nothing changes. Yes, a few idiots are caught, but mostly, these are either clever or well connected induviduals. Sadly, money talks, so species will go on being targeted that affect income streams. We need a twenty year plan that eventually bans game shooting.
Again, not enough details about what had happened to this kite, or where exactly, but from what has been said we can deduce that this poor bird of prey is no more.
The comments so far have been a little loose, the specific crime against any bird of prey is criminal, the laws are in place but are never taken seriously, too many people who have been found guilty of killing and injuring birds of prey have been given a slap on the wrist, a suspended sentence, Or a measly fine, and most still keep their gun licence, and their jobs, this tells me only one thing, and that is the game industry has too much say in the court proceedings, and has more power than the birds which are being killed.
The game bird industry has proven over and over that it has absolutely no respect for the laws, and have no interest in the protection of birds of prey, and they have far to much influence over what happens when someone Is caught committing crimes against birds of prey.
Now in this latest report we don’t know who is responsible for the injuries sustained by the kite, and we don’t know if this is another game bird related death, or injury, but this area of Scotland is notorious for birds of prey being persecuted, and killed.
Perhaps it’s time we educated these places about what they are doing, and why it is against the law, and make the estates liable to prosecution if a bird of prey is murdered on or near their land, I believe this will make the shooting industry sit up and take note, I also believe they might even start to get involved more in protecting the birds of prey, as their livelihood could be effected by having their licence revoked, or removed.
When birds of prey are killed on the shooting estates, they have in the past tried to hide evidence, and certainly don’t get involved in stopping it from happening, that needs to change, and anyone found to be responsible should be punished to the full extent of the law, especially if they are part of the game industry, as they more than most will be fully aware of the laws, and consequences of committing these crimes.
The barbarian act of releasing game birds to be hunted down for fun is just not Normal behaviour, it is abhorrent to think these people then go back to normal everyday life without a care in the world after chasing these birds to their death, or just waiting for someone else to chase them up so they can kill them, it does not make any sense that people can enjoy this pastime, and to protect the game birds which are bread in captivity to be shot from birds of prey is bonkers.
The other replies , one in particular the waterfowl farmer who was just killing birds of prey to protect his ducks , again he has absolutely no rights to do these things, and is also bound by the laws to protect birds of prey, not kill them for the sake of it, if his farm is under attack from birds of prey , he is in the wrong place, he should take up a different hobby, or just understand birds of prey are out there, and they will kill to eat, same as humans do, but if he loses the odd duck to a bird of prey, that is life, and is something which would happen In the wild, and there is absolutely nothing he can do legally to stop it, he just needs to factor this into his breading program. He also did not receive the full force of the law, and didn’t really get a sentence relative to his crimes.
A chap was found guilty of killing xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx he also didn’t get the full force of the law, another slap on the wrist, “don’t do it again naughty boy..”. [Ed: no, a man has been charged and is yet to face trial].
We need a more independent body responsible for the protection of wildlife, like the rural police, but without ties to wealthy people, and without the possibility of any judgement being tampered with, and this body should have the full force of the law behind it, so when someone has committed a crime against wildlife they can actually be punished correctly, and it should have massive impact on their lives, like jail time, and a fine which will make them never want to commit a crime ever again, this in turn would filter down to the other criminals, and shooting estates, and they too would learn not to persecute birds of prey, and they would want to make sure nothing happened on their land, or near it, this in turn would help stamp out crimes against birds of prey, and wildlife in general, job done.
I very much believe we also need to make the estates responsible for any birds of prey killed on their land, and punish them too, this could be by revoking their shooting licence for a season for first offence, and permanently for any further offences.
There also needs to be a better monitoring system in place around shooting estates, and a way of monitoring birds of prey activities near or on grouse moors, we could then determine if the birds are actually inflicting any loses to the game bird industry, and if so how much, because I believe the reality is far less serious than the industry would have us believe, and so what if they loose the odd bird to a bird of prey, what do they expect, you would not raise dear in the same enclosure as lions, or tigers, you have to understand if a bird of prey is hungry, and its normal food source has been depleted by over managed land, and land that has been modified to suit game birds , you don’t leave the birds any real choice, either stop raping the land, or raising game birds and let the birds of prey live their lives, in their natural environment, eating their natural prey, or just accept the birds will take the odd game bird to live.
If that is not acceptable to you, then change your way of making money, stop raising food for the birds of prey, and turn the land over to conservationists, or let it revert back to wild land, but for the sake of the natural world stop killing wildlife,and stop killing birds of prey.
I know birds of prey are wildlife before anyone comments, but they are apparently protected by laws, where some other wildlife isn’t, the law is not fit foe purpose anymore, and needs an overhaul, or a replacement system that actually works, one which will hold the victim higher than the money behind the grouse shooting estates, and bot be swayed by those connected to the industry, be that gamekeepers, estate owners, Or members of the shooting industry, those who kill the birds for fun.
I heard an argument that shooing estates bring a lot of money into an area, what twaddle, most spend their money on the estate, and stay on the estate, and only travel through the area to and from the estate, I don’t believe they make any difference to the locals, or any local businesses, just more traffic to put up with on shoot days.
The money spent on these shooting estates stays on the estate, and is the reason we still have shooting estates, they will not use local sources to supply food, or products, it will be shipped in from elsewhere, in bulk, if these estates were turned into rspb, or wildlife centers it would bring money to the areas and would have a positive input to the surroundings, unlike shooting estates which pollute the area with noise, and lead shot, and have no positive affect, OK, so they may employ a couple of people, but a nature reserve would employ more, and would have a positive impact on the local area, and would encourage more people to visit the areas.
We need to be careful with guns in this country, we currently don’t have a very strict criteria for having a gun licence, it seems anyone can get one, and they don’t loose it if convicted of crimes against wildlife, how is this strict, how does this protect my safety, or the safety of others?, and how does this deter others from committing crimes against wildlife.?
Again we need a full and determined look at the wildlife protection laws, and the systems in place to safeguard the abuse of firearms, and the flaunting of laws regarding birds of prey, and of course the use of poisons , why is this still happening?, snares and poison are indiscriminately being used, and are responsible for killing many different species, and with no care at all, again it is a crime which is being overlooked, it seems to be another story of “oh well don’t do it again, naughty boy”, it is not good enough, we should be protecting our wildlife, and its future, not putting it in jeopardy.
Simply ban all hunting, and ban all from owning and using a gun, and only allow gun licence to be held by a select few, and not to be used to shoot birds, or other protected species.
A gun licence is a privilege, not a right, and should be treated with respect, and also removed if laws are being broken, otherwise why have a licence in the first place, many gamekeepers have been allowed to keep their licence because it is how they earn a living, but that is wrong, they have already proved they can not be trusted with a gun, remove the licence, and the guns..
If I drove my car drunk and had a crash, I would be convicted of a crime, and most likely loose my licence, these gun licence holders are no different, they commit a crime using the gun, remove it, I however don’t drink alcohol because I have a driving licence, so will never drink drive, but that is my point, take away the licence, and the guns, they don’t have the ability to follow the law, and the rules of ownership of a gun, it is not difficult to keep the the law, so don’t bend or break it.
Anyway, I hope they find this person responsible for injuries to the kite, and I can only prey that a punishment will be handed out which is suitable for the crime committed , but I sadly can’t hold my breath that long, and don’t expect anything will change any time soon.