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Eighth red kite to die in scotland from poisoning in 2001

A red kite released in the summer of 2001 as part of a programme to reintroduce the species to Britain was found poisoned later the same year. The rare bird of prey was found in the Balmagie area, north of Castle Douglas in Dumfries & Galloway, and was the 8th red kite to be poisoned in Scotland during 2001. The bird was one of 33 radio-tagged kites released this summer in Dumfries & Galloway. It is the fifth bird of prey that has been found poisoned in the area after the bodies of two buzzards, a tawny owl and a sparrowhawk were found.

Also in 2001, a red kite was found poisoned in the Borders, and six red kites were found poisoned on or near shotting estates in Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Inverness-shire.

Red kites were persecuted to extinction north and south of the border and were reintroduced into Scotland in the late 1980s. In 2001, there were around 40 breeding pairs.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1360351/Eighth-red-kite-dies-in-Scotland-from-poisoning.html

poisoned buzzard and red kite found, cromdale, strathspey.

Two birds of prey found dead on a shooting estate were killed by poison, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

The RSPB says tests on a rare red kite and a buzzard revealed that they were killed illegally by the pesticide carbofuran.

The red kite had been tagged as a chick and was being tracked.

It was found in remote woodland near Cromdale in Strathspey by RSPB staff. They say no charges will be brought.

Carbofuran is a powerful insecticide which was once used to protect crops and is dangerous to any living creature. It is now totally illegal to use or store carbofuran in the UK .

Gamekeeper convicted for dead peregrine on Glenfiddich and Cabrach Estate

According to a report in the Scotland on Sunday newspaper, raids on the Glenfiddich & Cabrach Estate in NE Scotland in February and March 1998 revealed widespread poisoning across the 41,500-acre estate owned by London property tycoon, Christopher Moran. Ten rabbits, six pigeons, six grouse and two hares were reportedly laced with the lethal pesticide Carbofuran and left out on the hill. Three illegal pole traps and an owl whose legs had been smashed by a trap were also reportedly found, along with a dead peregrine inside an estate landrover. Tests revealed the peregrine had been poisoned with carbofuran.

The head gamekeeper was convicted at Elgin Sheriff Court in October 1998 and fined £700.

The estate is owned by multi-millionaire Christopher Moran, a businessman with an interesting past: see here and here.

8 buzzards & 1 red kite dead on Corrybrough Estate, Tomatin

8 buzzards and 1 red kite were found dead on the Corrybrough Estate, Tomatin, near Inverness in March 1998. One buzzard was found in a spring trap with its legs chewed up. Many of the dead birds were found on a rubbish dump and later tests showed they had been poisoned with Carbofuran.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_19990919/ai_n13941450/

At the time of the discovery, Corrybrough Estate was owned by former English magistrate, John Tinsley. It’s not the first time Tinsley has been in trouble with the police: http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/english-landowner-cleared-over-struggle-with-police-officers-at-his-highland-estate-laird-feared-kidnap-bid-1.349215

The Corrybrough Estate was sold in 2009. Let’s hope the new owner is a law-abiding one.

Scottish police accused of failing to tackle wildlife crime

POLICE forces in Scotland have been accused of failing to tackle wildlife crime after it was revealed that just 24 cases of illegal killing of birds of prey have been taken to court in five years.

Out of 157 cases involving killing the birds – including golden eagles, red kites and hen harriers – just 15 per cent have resulted in court action.

And the average penalty for a crime linked to persecution of birds of prey was just £240, despite the maximum available penalty being £10,000 or a year in jail.

Read more at: http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/news/System-39failing39-on-wildlife-crime.6130378.jp

Gamekeeper receives pitiful fine for poisoning offences on Fairnington Estate, Kelso

In August 2003, dead pheasant poults covered in blue granules were found on the Fairnington Estate, Kelso (owned by Mr Nigel Salvesen), close to a pen used to rear pheasants for shooting. Later tests showed the blue granules contained the banned pesticide, Carbofuran. Further searches revealed more carbofuran in a vehicle and in an unsecured shed, as well as alphachloralose and strychnine. The gamekeeper was charged with 48 offences under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA), and the Firearms Act.

At Jedburgh Sheriff Court in June 2005, after plea-bargaining, the keeper admitted just 4 offences under FEPA and the Firearms Act. His pitiful fine was £190, after reference was made to his poor health and that it was his first known offence.

http://campaignwithus.rspb.org.uk/Images/legaleagle46_tcm9-132969.pdf

2 peregrines poisoned at Findochty, Morayshire

Dead peregrine

Two dead peregrines were found in June 2003, lying together below cliffs on a beach in an area known locally as the Three Moothed Caves in Findochty, Morayshire. Forensic testing showed that both had been poisoned with Carbofuran, and police believe the birds had been thrown off the top of the cliffs and dumped, as there wasn’t a known peregrine nest at the site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2977512.stm

Peregrine poisoned at Strathaven, South Lanarkshire

A peregrine falcon found dead close to its nest in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire in July 2003 had been poisoned with Carbofuran. The male adult was part of a breeding pair. His female mate has not been since and their eggs ‘disappeared’ from the nest.

Peregrines face persecution from several sources. They are targeted by gamekeepers, especially on grouse moors, and also by egg collectors, falconers and pigeon fanciers.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1148376.ece

golden eagle found poisoned on glenfeshie estate, Cairngorms

RSPB investigator with the poisoned golden eagle on Glenfeshie Estate.

A golden eagle was found dead on the Glenfeshie Estate, Cairngorms, in June 2006. It was the second golden eagle found this year, after the eagle found poisoned a few months earlier on the Dinnet & Kinnord Estate in nearby Ballater. Both birds had ingested the illegal pesticide Carbofuran.

The RSPB put up a reward for information leading to the conviction of the people responsible for both eagle deaths. No arrests have been made.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/news-eaglereward.html#cr

At the time, local raptor workers thought that this eagle had been ‘dumped’ on the Glenfeshie Estate in retaliation for the Estate’s plans to reduce red deer numbers. In recent years, the Glenfeshie Estate has been closely involved with golden eagle conservation projects, in association with Roy Dennis and his eagle satellite-tagging efforts – which makes the theory about the Estate being ‘set up’ in 2006 quite plausible. It is clear that Glen Feshie actively supports golden eagle conservation.

Farr Estate gamekeeper’s conviction quashed

A gamekeeper on the Farr Estate, Tomatin, Inverness-shire was fined £1,500 for attempting to trap rare birds of prey. The keeper was found guilty of laying traps to catch peregrine falcons and goshawks. The 37-year-old was convicted at Inverness Sheriff Court in January 2005 at the end of a trial which lasted two years.

Sheriff Donald Booker-Milburn found the keeper, of  Strathdearn, Tomatin, guilty of two charges under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The first charge stated that he set a crow cage funnel trap in Kyllachy with the intention of trapping peregrine falcons and goshawks. He used the trap with the funnel open, the door wired shut and two live feral pigeons set within the trap as bait.

The second accused him of possessing nine illegal gin traps, which can be used to trap wild birds and mammals such as foxes and wild cats, for criminal purposes.

RSPB Species Protection Officer Keith Morton said at the time: “We are very encouraged that the sheriff imposed a substantial penalty, as this will highlight the seriousness of this offence”. He added: “It will be interesting to see the reaction of the estate, we suspect there is a great deal of support about this activity among some employers.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4217109.stm

The keeper’s conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal later in 2005.