Two men charged in relation to illegal killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park

Police Scotland has today issued a short statement as follows:

MEN ARRESTED AND CHARGED FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF RED KITES IN ABERDEENSHIRE

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with wildlife offences following enquiries into the death of red kites in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire in February, 2025.

The men, aged 39 and 42, will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

ENDS

You may remember that Police Scotland issued an appeal for information on 28 February 2025 (here) following the discovery of a dead Red Kite that was found shot near the Glenbuchat area of Strathdon, Aberdeenshire, a grouse moor-dominated area on the north-east side of the Cairngorms National Park that has long been recognised as a raptor persecution hotspot.

This is a map I published in 2020 following the discovery of a poisoned White-tailed eagle on an unnamed grouse moor in the area (here).

The black dots on the map represent raptor persecution incidents recorded between 2005-2020, based on data from the RSPB, the 2017 golden eagle satellite tag review, and other data in the public domain. The Strathdon area is circled. For more details about some of the previous incidents in the Strathdon area please see this earlier blog here.

It seems apparent that today’s statement from Police Scotland is in relation to their Feb 2025 appeal for information about the shot Red Kite, but note that today’s statement mentions ‘the death of Red Kites‘ (plural), not just one.

Definitely a case to watch closely.

NB: As charges have been laid proceedings are now considered to be live so comments have been turned off.

One thought on “Two men charged in relation to illegal killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park”

  1. Pingback: Two Scottish gamekeepers on trial today in relation to alleged killing of Red Kites in Cairngorms National Park – Raptor Persecution UK

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