Press release from Police Scotland (5th November 2024):
INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER GOLDEN EAGLE FOUND IN A BAG NEAR PORT OF MONTEITH
An investigation is under way after a dead golden eagle was found on a forestry track off A81 near Loch Rusky, north east of Port of Monteith.
The eagle was discovered around 11am on Tuesday, 30 July, 2024, wrapped in a plastic bag and body parts had been removed.
Enquiries have been ongoing and now officers are appealing for help to find out how it came to be there.
Golden eagles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1166 of 30/07/24 or make a call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
ENDS
It’s not clear why it has taken Police Scotland this long to issue an appeal for information.
There also aren’t any indications about which body parts were missing – although I can understand why they wouldn’t divulge that level of detail for operational reasons.
There are reasons why some body parts might have been removed – e.g. legs, either to remove an identifying leg ring, or to disguise spring trap injuries; head, as some sort of ‘trophy’.
It’s unusual to find a dismembered corpse inside a bag. Why do that?Presumably the eagle was killed and dismembered elsewhere and was put inside the bag to make it easier to transport and dump.
The only other similar incident I can recall was the discovery of nine shot raptors found in bags outside two gamekeepers’ houses on Millden Estate and on the riverbank of a neighbouring estate in the notorious Angus Glens (see here).
Without a tip off from someone, backed up with photographic evidence and/or DNA work, I very much doubt the police will be able to solve this one.
Raptor Persecution UK 
OH NO – WHY O WHY – after another disturbing act of such monstrous cruelty and another failed police investigation why is it that 4 months on they distribute the fatalities/news to the public domain with a plea for any information.
With such a poor history in such investigations and convictions isn’t it about time to change processes and procedures with such cohort ‘Closed Shop’ operations which are clearly failing time and again.
Surely involving the public and seeking information from the immediate aftermath of such tragic events must be more beneficial than seeking information months after when potential fresh information goes underground and lost too visiting tourists.
Another victim and the likelihood of no accountability really is disturbing.
Could it have had a tag harness on it? Hence wings maybe chopped off to get that off? Could it even have been a captive / falconry bird? Very strange.
If golden eagles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, I doubt very much that the perpetrator(s) who callously murdered that golden eagle would suffer the full weight of the law, which I doubt very much now that they will be caught, the information being released so long after its discovery, and receive the appropriate punishment. Which should be a hefty fine to cover all costs of the investigation by all the various agencies as well as a lengthy prison term for each and every one of them. Hopefully to possibly help stop further atrocities such as this against our valuable raptors; it seems like every week, if not more often, there is news of another raptor’s murder.
Why so long to release the information by Police Scotland? I doubt those who may have been in the area at the time of the eagle’s murder could fully recollect exactly that far back what they were doing or saw on that date, and would be easy targets for the defence lawyers
If there was a murder of a person, would the police wait 3+ months to then make an appeal? I don’t understand why they wouldn’t ask for info IMMEDIATELY – are they part of the raptor persecution cover-up??? What can they possibly be waiting for? A fox hasn’t put it in a plastic bag, has it, so it’s a definite crime.
I suggest someone with influence asks Police Scotland to explain the long delay. Meanwhile interested folk will be questioning their competance.
I shall send a request under the Freedom of Information Act to Police Scotland.
4 months should be long enough for any tracks to have been covered…
Performative [olicing at its finest.
Why the 4 month delay on appealing for information? The perpetrator will never be caught, why is the UK so backward on investigating wildlife crime and prosecuting wildlife criminals and on the rare occasions a case comes to court, the offender is let off with a slap on the wrist. Contrast this with that American wildlife criminal, who got a sentence of three years and 10 months in federal prison, AND was ordered to pay $777,250 in restitution. Mind you, he and his mates killed 3,600 birds, but even so, the difference is stark.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/31/us/eagle-killer-sentenced-four-years.html
I concur with the other people posting about the delay on the part of Police Scotland. In any crime they say the first 24 hours is the most important time to gather evidence, speak to witnesses etc. How on earth can they justify a wait of 4 months to appeal for information? I think this needs to be queried and investigated.
I think the problem Police Scotland have is that the real experts in detecting and solving crime are too busy posting comments on the internet to do the job for them.
Remains of a bird are found in a plastic back in a remote location. It’s clear the bird was killed elsewhere. What would be gained by immediately going public and asking for information? Nothing. No one will have seen the bag being dumped. The only thing you’d achieve is to alert the culprit to the fact the bird had been found and that a police investigation was underway. It should be fairly obvious why that would not be helpful.
Then perhaps ScotPol could explain that with the intent of maintaining the confidence of the wider public?
They could have / should have finger printed the bag though I doubt very much they care enough about wildlife crime to do so. They can identify prints on bags by evaporating superglue onto them but rain or morning dew can damage prints.
With regards to s””tonbytories I agree there is little chance that anyone saw the bag being dumped but the point of an immediate appeal is to gather any information whilst people’s memories are fresh. As ‘Frances’ pointed out they say the first 24 hrs after a crime is committed are the most crucial. Someone may have seen the person getting out of a vehicle with the bag and so be able to identify a vehicle or seen them walking with the bag, not everyone goes for a walk with a plastic bag most have a rucksack.
Again I’m speechless you’ve all said it for me I can only add FFS what is going on with society why do we have to keep reading this stuff . I hope it stops before I die .
There was a murder of a person cyclist dumped in a stink pit one of the saddest things I ever read so this tells you the sort of sociopath and psychopaths that’s are amongst us frightening for man and beast .
What puzzles me is why it was left on a forestry track where there was, at least, a possibility that it would be found. Why go to the trouble of carting it there when it could have been readily disposed of or hidden. It strikes me that this is a case of someone doing this to send a message, though why and who to is a mystery.
What you say is right ‘Quercus,’ it could easily even have been put in a bin or not left in the bag and then tossed into the side of the track instead if it’s in a forrest, and it may not have been as easily discovered. Maybe they were waiting for a fox to come along and scavenge it to hide it – possibly, if they were aware that foxes frequented the area but I appreciate that’s a bit of a long shot and doesn’t explain it being left in a bag.
The response to the request under FOIA has been received. This isn’t helpful and continues to conceal the facts etc surrounding this case. What have they go to hide?
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/dismembered_golden_eagle_found_i?nocache=incoming-2850441#incoming-2850441
Frances, you really can’t expect any police force to reveal the level of detail you requested during an active investigation. I doubt it’s because they’re trying to ‘hide’ anything – more likely they are trying to maintain the integrity of the evidence/investigation in case anyone is interviewed/charged.