Further to the news on Thursday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Dyfed-Powys Police has issued a separate public appeal for information which includes a bit more detail about the Welsh case.
I’ve added some commentary below the police press release.
Dyfed-Powys Press Release:
Dyfed-Powys Police are appealing for information regarding the suspicious disappearance of a satellite tagged white-tailed eagle in the Newtown area of mid Wales.
Dyfed-Powys Police and the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) are jointly investigating the disappearance of a white-tailed eagle and the theft and disposal of its satellite tag and harness.
The satellite tag has been recovered from remote moorland in this area and shows that it has been removed from the bird with a sharp instrument, most likely a knife, before being hidden in an attempt to dispose of it.
Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful.
Police are appealing for anyone who was in the following areas at the specified times to contact police.
- Between 11am and 1pm on Saturday 13th September 2025 at or around the Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon (W3W///visa.hoped.assess)
- Between midday and 3pm on Saturday 13th September 2025 on access land near Bryn y Fawnog (W3W///portfolio.newsprint.eyelash)
Dyfed-Powys Police can be contacted either online by emailing 101@dyfed-powys.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting police Ref. 25000766626.
Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org.
All potential lines of enquiry, including detailed forensics such as DNA and fingerprints, are being pursued. Dyfed-Powys Police and NWCU are working closely with the tag owners, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England, to analyse the data, and progress this investigation.
ENDS
My commentary:
This isn’t the first raptor persecution incident in this pheasant-shooting area.
In April 2020, a member of the public found the corpses of two Red Kites, which she thought was suspicious. She photographed them and posted the images on social media, intending to return the next day.
Wildlife TV presenter Iolo Williams saw the post and headed out to the location that evening. The two bodies had ‘disappeared’ but Iolo found the body of a third Red Kite, which was later x-rayed and found to contain shotgun pellets (see here).
A police investigation was launched but didn’t result in anyone being charged or prosecuted.
This area was also in the news in November 2018 when the League Against Cruel Sports revealed that 57,000 Pheasants had been released over a five-year period at Gregynog Hall, owned at the time by the University of Wales, with shooting reportedly leased to Bettws Hall Estates. The League launched a campaign to stop gamebird shooting on the estate.
In response, a spokesperson for the University of Wales told BBC News, “The University of Wales has received the correspondence from the League Against Cruel Sports regarding this matter, and is currently in the process of reviewing the structure and arrangements for Gregynog Hall” (see here).
The shooting lease for 2019 was not renewed whilst the review was undertaken (see here).
However, my research suggests that a Pheasant-shooting lease is still in operation, no longer run by Bettws Hall Estates, but apparently by the Ian Coley Sporting Agency, whose website lists the shoot as “beautiful valleys teeming with pheasants and partridge“.
However, according to a Trustees report (2022) of The Gregynog Trust, the new landowners, shooting leases have been terminated.
There’s no suggestion that anyone connected with the shoot was involved with the disappearance of the young White-tailed Eagle at Gwgia Reservoir (part of the Gregynog Estate) or the removal of his satellite tag, probably with a sharp knife, before a crude attempt to hide it on a nearby hillside, and I’m sure they’ll have been keen to assist the police with its investigation.
Since 2019, Gregynog Hall and estate has been run by a charitable trust (The Gregynog Trust) and I’m sure the Trustees are appalled that this young White-tailed Eagle was apparently targeted on its estate.
UPDATE 16.00hrs: I’ve received communication from a representative of The Gregynog Trust who says the incident is not on their land, and “We do not condone or allow any form of hunting or blood sports on our estate, this is not negotiable“. This information conflicts with the published information I’ve found during my research, but until I can clarify that, please do not contact The Gregynog Trust about this incident.
Raptor Persecution UK 
I have been watching Sea Eagles since the re introduction of these birds On the Isle Of Rhum in the late 70s where I first saw these magnificent birds as they were released. I have seen them breeding on Canna every year and now cannot wait to see them here on Exmoor as they are being re introduced on the Severn Estuary in 2026.
What a terrible crime to kill these birds for selfish motives. If there is ANYTHING I can do to HELP please let me know. Peter Waller. Weston Super Mare.
I am also closely watching Goshawks in the New Forest and again if there is anything I can do help monitor them I would be glad to help.
looks like the Welsh gamekeepers are need of some professional training from their Scottish counterparts, I mean leaving a a tag so it can be found, is a schoolboy error. They need to be trained in the use of roofing lead.
No doubt expertise sharing seminars will be arranged.
“looks like the Welsh gamekeepers….”
Keep an open mind: this incident might be associated with the prolific hill sheep farming community surrounding Newtown.
“NFU Cymru rural affairs board chairman Hedd Pugh said: “Wales has evolved greatly over the centuries, not least in population terms. There are no longer any truly wild areas in Wales; all of the land is a managed landscape – created, shaped and maintained by farmers over generations. We would therefore question the suitability of the country to the reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle.”
“There is a real concern that any reintroduction of this species would cause risk to animal health and welfare and have an impact on livestock production, with newborn lambs particularly at risk. There is also the unknown effect the white-tailed eagle could have on other birds, wildlife and protected species. Many farmers are participants in agri-environment schemes which are specifically designed to enhance wildlife on their farms and having a predator like a white-tailed eagle could seriously compromise agri-environment and indeed SSSI objectives.”
Echoing the alarmist opinions voiced vociferously by Tim Farron:-(
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/eagles-set-return-skies-wales-30903058
Typical biased view from NFU Cymru who have no clue about how the natural world works. Apex predators are an important part of the food chain controlling populations of other species when they are allowed to do so and not persecuted by man.
[Ed: Thanks, Falco. Not publishing further comments on this until several issues have been clarified]