Tag: white-tailed eagle

Young White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ from grouse shooting estate in North York Moors National Park

Press statement from North Yorkshire Police (1st June 2026):

INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY AFTER DISAPPEARANCE OF EAGLE

We are appealing for information after the disappearance of a white-tailed eagle.

The satellite-tagged juvenile white-tailed eagle (G834) was born in the wild in Dorset in 2025 and travelled widely across England this spring. On 30 April 2026, it arrived in the western side of the North York Moors.

Overnight into 1 May, the tag device did not communicate. There have been no further transmissions since then.

Following analysis by the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the eagle’s disappearance is being treated as suspicious, and an investigation is underway by North Yorkshire Police.

Anyone with any information is asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference 12260086274.

ENDS

Young White-tailed Eagle (not the one that’s vanished). Photo by Pete Walkden

This press statement from North Yorkshire Police couldn’t be more vague.

Given the location, and the details of this young eagle’s final hours (as revealed by its satellite tag), there’s an awful lot of information that’s missing from this appeal.

I’ll be writing more about it shortly…

Statement from Natural England on decision to licence release of White-tailed Eagles in Exmoor National Park

Following the news that White-tailed Eagles will be released in Exmoor National Park later this year (see here), Natural England has published a blog to outline its ‘role in assessing the licensing application, how potential risks, including concerns from the farming sector, were carefully considered, and why Exmoor has been chosen as the next release site‘.

White-tailed Eagle. Photo by Pete Walkden

Natural England’s blog can be found on its website (here), but is reproduced below in case it ‘disappears’. I’ll add some commentary underneath it.

SUPPORTING THE RETURN OF WHITE-TAILED EAGLES TO EXMOOR

Natural England blog written by Roxanne Gardiner, Senior Officer, Natural England Wildlife Licensing Service and Olivia Beatty, Higher Officer, Wessex Area Team.

Natural England has issued a licence enabling the next phase of white-tailed eagle reintroductions in southern England, permitting the release of up to 20 birds in Exmoor National Park over three years. In this blog, Senior Officer Roxanne Gardiner and Higher Officer Olivia Beatty explain Natural England’s role in assessing the application, how potential risks, including concerns from the farming sector, were carefully considered, and why Exmoor has been chosen as the next release site.

Natural England has joined Forestry England, the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Exmoor National Park Authority in announcing the exciting next steps in reintroducing white‑tailed eagles to southern England.

Natural England has issued the licence that enables this next phase of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation- and Forestry England led project to move forward.  The licence permits the release of up to 20 white‑tailed eagles in Exmoor National Park over three years, and sits alongside the existing licence for the successful Isle of Wight project, which has resulted in the first breeding white tailed eagles in England for 240 years.

White‑tailed eagles are our largest native bird of prey. Once widespread throughout England’s coasts and wetlands, they were lost due to human persecution. Their return in recent years is a powerful symbol of nature recovery that has captured the public imagination; and shown how ambitious but well‑planned conservation projects can help restore nature.

As top predators and scavengers, white tailed eagles help to balance the ecology of our landscapes, regulating prey populations, recycling nutrients and driving higher biodiversity. By harassing and controlling intermediate predators like buzzards and magpies, they also help protect smaller birds and mammals from over-predation. On the Isle of Wight, there is already evidence that more lapwing chicks are fledging as a result.

The selection of Exmoor as a new release site reflects the wider shared ambitions that Natural England and Exmoor National Park Authority have long been working towards – a landscape where nature is recovering at scale. Detailed feasibility studies have been led by the Project and historical records confirm that white‑tailed eagles once bred along the Exmoor coastline.

Tracking data from birds released on the Isle of Wight shows that several have already visited the Exmoor area. Exmoor’s mix of coastal, woodland and wetland habitats provide excellent conditions for the species as it continues to re‑establish in southern England.

Natural England’s role in enabling responsible reintroductions

Natural England’s role in this project is as the statutory wildlife licensing authority. Our responsibility is to assess applications for conservation translocations carefully and transparently, ensuring they meet the high standards set out in Defra’s Reintroductions and other conservation translocations: code and guidance for England.

Staff from Natural England’s Wildlife Licensing Service led the detailed, evidence‑led assessment of the application submitted by the Project. The assessment considered the contribution of the project nationally to white‑tailed eagle recovery.  We also considered:

  • The likely success of the project in terms of white-tailed eagle recovery
  • Experience of the project partners
  • Governance and long‑term funding arrangements
  • Disease and biosecurity risks
  • Ecological risks and opportunities
  • Socio‑economic risks and opportunities including the potential to affect farm businesses
  • Monitoring and management proposals

Natural England’s Wessex Area Team played a leading role in assessing the potential impacts of the Project on protected sites and led the Habitats Regulations Assessment. This work was done in collaboration with Natural England’s Chief Scientist Directorate, bringing together local knowledge and national scientific expertise.  They focused on how the released eagles are most likely to use the landscape.

Evidence shows that young birds may spend several years exploring areas across the UK and into northern Europe, but when they settle and establish breeding territories it is usually within 60km of the release site.  Basing the assessment on this well‑understood behaviour, the team was able to look carefully at realistic ways the released birds might interact with nearby protected sites and key species within those sites in the years following release.

We are aware that some stakeholders have raised concerns about the project, especially around livestock predation. Our team have joined meetings with farming sector representatives and read the local consultation responses. These concerns have been fully considered by both the project and Natural England. We understand that there are genuine fears but have also reflected on evidence from six years of monitoring the 45 birds released by the Isle of Wight project, and their offspring, which shows no recorded feeding on lambs or other livestock. These birds have only been observed to take natural prey, preferring fish and coastal birds, which is in line with comparable areas in Europe.

The project management plan and licence conditions include some key measures that we are confident should mitigate the concerns that have been raised:

  • There will be a project steering group that includes farming sector representatives.
  • There is a commitment to long‑term monitoring of the eagles’ activities, both through GPS tracking and through activity reporting forms.
  • The licence duration is for 11 years, by which time released birds will hopefully have settled and begun breeding.
  • There will be a communications plan and project officer, with the aim of raising awareness, supporting monitoring, and ensuring that emerging concerns are investigated and, where appropriate, addressed.
  • The project partners have shared a letter of commitment with farming sector representatives and the wider steering group, setting out that they will continue monitoring and engagement beyond the 11-year licence period.

In assessing the project, Natural England has taken a balanced and evidence‑led approach, applying the principles of the Code and Guidance in a way that supports ambition for nature recovery, while remaining proportionate, transparent and impartial, and consistent with our statutory duties. We hope this gives confidence that risks have been carefully considered and appropriately managed.

A flagship project for nature recovery

This project forms part of a wider effort to support the recovery of white‑tailed eagles across England, alongside projects and proposals in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Natural England continues to work closely with other regulators to share learning and promote best practice for responsible species reintroductions.

We are pleased to support this next phase of a landmark conservation programme and look forward to continuing to work with the project team as releases begin this summer. 

ENDS

My commentary:

Natural England’s decision to approve the licence application to release up to 20 White-tailed Eagles into Exmoor National Park over the next three years was always going to be an easy decision, to be honest.

The eagles are already there, albeit in small numbers, as can be seen in this map showing the widespread dispersal of 45 young satellite-tracked WTEs that have been released on the Isle of Wight since 2019 (map dated to January 2024, copyright Dr Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation):

It would be quite difficult, then, for Natural England to refuse the licence application, as the releases will simply be bolstering and speeding up the spread of the eagles into the south-west, their former, historical breeding range.

And every time I read anything from Natural England, or Defra, or the Government, about the ‘careful consideration of species conservation releases and their potential impacts’ I can’t help but laugh at the hypocrisy. Over 60 million non-native gamebirds (Pheasants and Red-legged Partridges) are released in to the UK countryside every year, for shooting, and nobody bats an eyelid (unless forced to after a successful legal challenge by Wild Justice).

Anyway… Natural England acknowledges the inevitable ‘concerns’ raised about the release of 20 White-tailed Eagles (note, twenty, not 60 million!) Those concerns are from the usual suspects, as shown quite neatly in this graphic produced in a briefing note in September 2025 by The Exmoor Society, a charity that undertook an ‘evidence review’ into species reintroduction programmes in Exmoor National Park, specifically focusing on the Pine Marten and the White-tailed Eagle:

I find it hard to comprehend how ‘threats to gamebirds’ and ‘livestock predation’ should ever be taken seriously when considering the restoration of native species to what is supposed to be a National Park. Regressive doesn’t even begin to describe it.

You can read the charity’s evidence review here:

Exmoor Society-Species-Reintroduction-Report Sept2025Download

Natural England’s blog focuses on addressing the concerns of the farming sector, whose representatives are predicting some kind of lamb-aggedon, but interestingly, there’s little, actually, no mention in Natural England’s blog of the perceived ‘threat’ to (non-native) gamebirds.

Some of you may remember nine years ago when Natural England and Defra were pushing the ridiculous notion of reintroducing Hen Harriers to southern England (a tactic many of us argued was simply a distraction technique to take the focus off the widespread illegal killing of this species on grouse moors in the north).

Exmoor National Park was identified as a potentially suitable location to release Hen Harriers, but Exmoor is infested with gamebird shoots and members of the gamebird shooting industry there were dead set against the release of Hen Harriers, because:

“The fears raised were that a reintroduction would lead to increased scrutiny of their legal activities and if the project was unsuccessful the shoots would be blamed” (see here).

As a result, Exmoor National Park was quietly dropped as a potential release location.

If those Exmoor gamebird shoots were fearful of Hen Harriers being released, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be thrilled at the prospect of White-tailed Eagles…

White-tailed Eagles to be released in Exmoor National Park this year

Press release from Forestry England and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation (13 May 2026):

BOOST TO LANDMARK CONSERVATION PROJECT RETURNING WHITE-TAILED EAGLES TO ENGLAND

  • Additional releases to take place this summer in Exmoor National Park
  • Conservation project is returning iconic birds to the south of England

The return of Britain’s largest bird of prey, white-tailed eagles, to the South of England is to be boosted this year following approval today by Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority, for more of these iconic birds to be released.

White-tailed Eagle. Photo by Ronnie Gilbert

White-tailed eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.5 metres and were once widespread across England. Human persecution caused their extinction, with the last pair breeding in southern England in 1780.

The reintroduction project, led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, will add to its existing programme of releases on the Isle of Wight which began in 2019 by working with Exmoor National Park Authority to release up to 20 young eagles from this additional location over the course of three years. Releases will take place at both locations this summer.

The additional releases will help to boost the number of birds already in the wild and expand their breeding range into South West England. Exmoor was chosen as an additional location after tracking data from the released birds showed the area had been frequently visited by several of them and provided suitable habitat. It is known that the species formerly bred along the Exmoor coastline.

To date, 45 young white-tailed eagles have been released from the project’s base on the Isle of Wight. Four pairs of birds have bonded and successfully formed territories along the south coast. The first pair to successfully breed did so in 2023, fledging the first chick to be born in the wild in England for over 240 years. Since then, a further 5 chicks have been born in the wild.

Also known as sea eagles, the species is typically found along coastlines and large bodies of open water.

Roy Dennis OBE, Founder of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation, said:

“White-tailed eagles were once a common sight in England but were lost centuries ago. This project is reversing that situation, and I am delighted that we will be able to release additional birds this year and boost their numbers in the wild.

“It is exciting to be able to play a part in restoring these birds back to their former home, and to see how well they are fitting into the English landscape. We will continue to work closely with a range of organisations as we enter this next phase of this exciting project“.

Stephen Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Manager, at Forestry England, said:

“Returning lost species like the white-tailed eagle is a key part of restoring biodiversity and supporting nature recovery.

“Seven years on from the start of this project these birds have begun to successfully return to the English landscape – forming pairs, establishing territories and breeding.

“Adding additional releases at Exmoor will help to boost their numbers and continue their spread across southern England. We hope that in years to come these iconic birds will become a much more common sight“.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said:

“The return of white‑tailed eagles to Exmoor is a powerful example of this government’s commitment to reversing the decline of nature and protecting it for generations to come.

“As part of our new ‘Wild Again’ campaign, we are investing £90 million into species recovery, marking the largest ever government investment to directly support threatened wildlife“.

Natural England National Delivery Director Matthew Heard said:

“Bringing white‑tailed eagles back to this part of the country is a hugely exciting step in restoring England’s natural landscapes. This licence supports a carefully planned reintroduction, grounded in strong evidence and built on collaboration with local communities and land managers.

“This moment has been a long time in the planning and shows what can be achieved when ambitious partnerships, good science and positive engagement come together“.

Ali Hawkins, Senior Ecologist with Exmoor National Park Authority, said:

“Exmoor, with its long expanse of coastal woodland, provides some amazing habitat for White-tailed Eagles, otherwise known as Sea Eagles. Their reintroduction to the National Park is an exciting next step in delivering more for nature recovery and we’d like to thank everyone connected to the project.

“We are committed to continuing to work with farmers and other stakeholders, to support them in adapting to this species fledging on Exmoor once again. We hope that people will be lucky enough to see one of these incredible birds in the coming years“.

The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles is conducted under licence from Natural England. Birds for release are collected from wild nests in Scotland under licence from NatureScot.

All of the released birds are fitted with satellite tags so that the project team can track their location and study their progress.

Reintroducing white-tailed eagles is a priority in the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, and the latest licence announcement follows the Environment Secretary committing £90 million of funding for species recovery across England and exploring the reintroduction of golden eagles.

Implementation of the licence will be closely monitored by Natural England.

ENDS

UPDATE 18.30hrs: Statement from Natural England on decision to licence release of White-tailed Eagles in Exmoor National Park (here)

Golden Eagle found shot in Scottish Borders – Police Scotland appeals for information

Press release from Police Scotland (9 February 2026)

APPEAL AFTER GOLDEN EAGLE SHOT IN THE SCOTTISH BORDERS

Wildlife officers are appealing to the public for information after a four-year-old golden eagle was shot in the Scottish Borders.

Golden Eagle photo by Pete Walkden

On Tuesday, 20 January, 2026, police were made aware a gamekeeper from an estate in Stanhope had discovered an injured golden eagle on Thursday, 15 January, 2026.

The bird was wearing a satellite tracking device and was identified as Hamlet, a four-year-old golden eagle that had been relocated from the Outer Hebrides to the Scottish Borders in 2023.

Hamlet was examined by a vet, who confirmed shotgun pellet injuries to his wing. He received treatment and made a full recovery. Hamlet has since been returned to the wild.

X-ray showing shotgun damage to the eagle’s right wing. Photo by SSPCA via Police Scotland

Officers investigating the crime have reviewed Hamlet’s tracking data and following consultation with raptor and veterinary experts, it’s believed Hamlet was shot during the first week of January 2026 in an area between Stanhope and Glenbreck, off the A701 Broughton to Moffat Road.

Detective Sergeant David Lynn, National Wildlife Crime Coordinator, said: “It is extremely disappointing that we are investigating another golden eagle persecution crime. Very few people would have the means, opportunity and motive to commit this crime and I would urge anyone with any information to contact us so we can identify whoever is responsible for shooting Hamlet.”

Police Scotland, with the support of the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit, is conducting a thorough enquiry in the local area to identify the culprit. Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland via 101, quoting incident number 1221 of 3 February, 2026. Alternatively, you can pass on your information anonymously to Crimestoppers using 800 555 111.

ENDS

‘Hamlet’ is the sixth victim of eagle persecution in the Scottish Borders in recent years:

Golden Eagle ‘Fred’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting in the Pentland Hills in January 2018 (his satellite tag transmitted from the North Sea a few days later – here).

Golden Eagle ‘Merrick’ was shot whilst she was sleeping in a tree next to a grouse moor in the Moorfoot Hills in October 2023 (we’re STILL waiting for NatureScot to make a decision about whether a General Licence restriction will be imposed as a consequence – see here).

Golden Eagles ‘Tarras’ and ‘Wren’ disappeared in an area managed for gamebird shooting near Langholm in August 2025 (see here).

A White-tailed Eagle ‘disappeared’ in the Moorfoot Hills area in November 2025 (here).

All six of these eagles were satellite-tagged. Nobody has been prosecuted in relation to any of these incidents.

Fourth White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ & RSPB offers £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction

Following the appalling news over the last couple of days about the highly suspicious, and almost certainly criminal, disappearance of three satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles here, here and here, there has, as usual, been complete silence from the land management sector, with the exception of Scottish Land & Estates, who commented that, “land managers in Moorfoots have been helping police with the search and will continue to provide whatever help they can as the investigation progresses“.

As for the other shooting organisations, who so often claim to have a zero tolerance stance against raptor persecution, there’s been no comment and no condemnation. Nix. Nada.

As a reminder, all of those organisations (except the Moorland Association, whose CEO was booted off for spreading misinformation) are members of the police-led Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group (RPPDG) – a so-called ‘partnership’ whose function includes ‘awareness raising‘ and ‘raising the profile [of illegal raptor persecution] via media exposure‘. Not a single word.

In contrast, the often very reserved RSPB has not only expressed its disgust, but it has put its money where its mouth is and is offering a reward of £10,000 for information leading to a conviction of those involved. This is welcome news for all of us who have not only enjoyed seeing these birds occupying their rightful place in UK skies, but also for those of us who are sick to the back teeth of the relentless killing of protected birds of prey across our countryside.

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

However, it turns out that it hasn’t just been the three White-tailed Eagles from the England re-introduction project that have disappeared in recent months. The bottom of the RSPB article, linked above, reveals some new information:

‘Further to the suspicious disappearance of these three White-tailed Eagles, a fourth bird, fledged from a nest in Perthshire in 2024, disappeared on a grouse moor in Nairnshire in May this year. A police search took place but neither bird nor tag were found.

This was the latest of nine tagged birds of prey, including two other White-tailed Eagles, whose tags were functioning as expected, to suddenly disappear in the northern Monadhlaith area of Inverness-shire and Nairnshire since 2018. These disappearances have occurred in an area where multiple confirmed incidents of poisoning, shooting and illegal trap use have been recorded’.

FFS.

I can’t see why it’s taken seven months for this news to emerge, but it doesn’t make it any less appalling.

As the RSPB article suggests, this area of Inverness-shire and Nairnshire is horrific for bird of prey killings and for the suspicious disappearances of tagged raptors.

This latest White-tailed Eagle to vanish is the third in the area since 2019 (e.g. see here), adding to a long history of tagged Golden Eagle disappearances here dating back 15 years (and leading to the Scottish Government commissioning its review of the fates of satellite-tagged Golden Eagles back in 2016).

Numerous other incidents have been uncovered in this same area in recent years, close to the NW boundary of the Cairngorms National Park. These have included the shooting of a Sparrowhawk on Moy Estate (for which a gamekeeper was later convicted, here), the discovery of a poisoned Red Kite in the Moy area, here, and the discovery of a shot Red Kite on Lochindorb Estate, here.

Needless to say, the vast majority of those incidents, including the disappearance of the White-tailed Eagle in May, were on grouse moors.

Perhaps the local wildlife criminals were emboldened by NatureScot’s watering-down of the new grouse shoot licence last autumn?

At least that issue appears to have been sorted by a Government amendment to close the loophole, which recently passed Stage 2 of the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill…but I’ll write about that in another blog.

For now, we have four missing White-tailed Eagles (all vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting, whether that be lowland Pheasant & Partridge shooting or upland Grouse shooting), two missing Golden Eagles (also vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting), and I’ve lost count of the number of missing Hen Harriers, also vanishing from areas managed for gamebird shooting.

I’ll be updating the Hen Harrier Missing/Dead List over the Xmas period when I’ll have some time…there are still some more to add to the 143 Hen Harriers we already know about.

More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales

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

Juvenile White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

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.

More detail on the ‘missing’ White-tailed Eagle in south Scotland

Further to the news yesterday (here) that three White-tailed Eagles have ‘disappeared’ in suspicious circumstances, one in England, one in Wales and one in Scotland, Police Scotland has issued a separate public appeal for information which includes a bit more detail about the Scottish case:

Police Scotland are appealing for information after a satellite-tagged white-tailed eagle disappeared in the vicinity of the Moorfoot hills.

The bird was four years old and had been translocated as a chick from Scotland to the Isle of White as part of a licenced reintroduction programme run by the Roy Dennis Foundation.

In March 2025 the bird flew back to Scotland and held a territory in the Moorfoot Hills spending most of its time in the hills between Peebles and Heriot.

In early November it expanded its range and spent the majority of its time on the lower ground to the North of the Moorfoots by Gladhouse Reservoir but after four days its satellite tag then suddenly stopped working in circumstances that give rise to suspicion.

A full search of the area where the tag last transmitted and the areas it had been frequenting has been carried out by Police Scotland Wildlife Crime officers accompanied by colleagues from the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit and a bird ecology expert however neither the bird nor the satellite tag have been recovered.

Police Constable Ali Whitby, Wildlife Crime Officer for the Lothian and Scottish Borders division said:

“This is a huge iconic bird of prey that chose to fly hundreds of miles north and settle in the Moorfoot Hills. Being so big its presence was known to people working and living in the area and it thrived for 8 months; the fact it has now gone missing in suspicious circumstances is extremely disappointing.

“I would urge anyone with any information that may assist to contact us.”

Anyone with any information should call 101, quoting reference number PS-20251215-1347. Alternatively, please contact Crimestoppers though 0800 555 111, where anonymity can be maintained.

ENDS

White-tailed Eagle, photo by Pete Walkden

Three satellite-tagged White-tailed Eagles disappear in suspicious circumstances in England, Wales & Scotland – two tags had been cut off

Press release from Forestry England (17 December 2025)

THREE WHITE-TAILED EAGLES DISAPPEAR IN SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

The public are being asked to help the police investigate the suspicious disappearance of three white-tailed eagles. The cases include a chick born in the wild earlier this year in Sussex, one of the first white-tailed eagles to fledge in England for hundreds of years.

White-tailed Eagle G842 on the nest with its sibling in Sussex prior to fledging earlier this year (Photo: Forestry England)

The missing birds are part of a project led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation to reintroduce this lost species to England. Their disappearance is being investigated by several police forces and the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

The return of white-tailed eagles to England is one of the country’s key conservation successes over recent years. Since 2019, 45 white- tailed eagles have been released. Several breeding pairs have formed with six chicks being born in the wild for the first time since the 1780’s. Any targeting of the birds will potentially impact the long-term success of the project.

All of the released birds are tagged with satellite trackers allowing the team to closely follow their location and movements. In September the trackers of two eagles were found dumped close to the birds’ last recorded location. Both had been cut off the birds using a sharp instrument. In the case of another eagle, its tag has stopped sending data. The last message received from the device was on 8 November and no sightings of the bird have been recorded since then.

 Tim Mackrill from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: “We monitor the satellite data, showing the bird’s minute-by-minute movements, on a daily basis and always investigate any suspicious or unusual data. It was devastating to find the stolen and dumped tags, particularly for the chick in Sussex who fledged this summer and had only just begun its life. So many people in the area had shared the joy of seeing these birds breed again after hundreds of years and our ongoing monitoring has shown how well they were fitting into the landscape. To have that destroyed just a few months later is deeply shocking“.

Steve Egerton-Read, White-Tailed Eagle Project Officer for Forestry England, said: “We are returning this lost species to the English landscape and have had so much support from the public. These special birds are helping people connect with natural world and showing how with a little bit of help nature can thrive. We are asking the public to show this support again by encouraging anyone who has information that may help the police investigation to come forward“.

There was tremendous public support and local pride this summer when two white-tailed eagle chicks fledged from a nest in Sussex. Both were the offspring of eagles released by the project in 2020 and the first pair to successfully breed in England for over 240 years. The two chicks had spent the first few months of their lives exploring the local West Sussex area.

On 26 September, a satellite tag belonging to one of the chicks (G842) was recovered from the River Rother, near Petersfield. It had been removed from the bird using a sharp instrument. Searches in the area to try and locate the body of the bird have so far been unsuccessful.

Sussex Police are appealing for information from anyone who was in or around Harting Down and Petersfield on the evening of 20 September 2025. Any members of the public who may have seen the bird or any suspicious behaviour can contact them on 101 or 0800 555 111 quoting incident number 769.

Dyfed Powys Police are investigating a similar incident on 13 September, where a satellite tag belonging to white-tailed eagle G615 was recovered in remote moorland. The tag had been removed with a sharp instrument 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.

The force is interested in hearing from anyone who was at or around the Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon between 11am and 1pm or on access land near Bryn y Fawnog between 12 noon and 3pm on 13 September. Callers should quote crime reference number 137.

In a third incident, concerns are growing for G819 after its tag, which usually transmits the data daily, has stopped working. The last transmission was sent on 8 November in the Moorfoot Hills area. Police Scotland are treating the disappearance as suspicious and asking anyone with information to contact them on 101 or 0800 555 111 quoting incident number PS-20251215-1347.

The reintroduction of white-tailed eagles is conducted under licence from Natural England, the Government’s wildlife licensing authority. White-tailed eagles are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981). Disturbing, destroying or interfering with them and their nests are criminal offences.

ENDS

My commentary:

Hands up, who’s surprised?

No, me neither.

These reports are so depressingly familiar these days, we’ve pretty much come to expect them. Although there’s something particularly sickening about killing a White-tailed Eagle. It’s no lesser crime, in the eyes of the law, than killing a more common species like a Buzzard or a Sparrowhawk – the offence is the same and the available penalty is the same. But these eagles, the UK’s largest raptor, have been brought back from the brink through intensive conservation efforts by many people over many decades. Progress has been hard-won, because these birds are slow to mature (between 4-6 yrs) and when they do eventually reproduce they generally only manage to rear one or two chicks per season, on rare occasions three, and they don’t necessarily breed every year, which means that population recovery is slow. Any illegal killing, on top of natural mortality, is obviously going to hamper that reestablishment.

And there’s no doubt whatsoever that at least two of these eagles were the victims of illegal persecution, given the clear evidence that their satellite tags had been cut off and crude attempts were made to hide them. Given the area in south Scotland where the third White-tailed Eagle has vanished, a well-known persecution hotspot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that that bird has also been killed illegally, most likely shot.

Kudos to the White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction team (Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation & Forestry England) for putting out an appeal for information after three months of silence from Dyfed-Powys Police and Sussex Police.

UPDATE 18 December 2025: More detail on the ‘missing’ White-tailed Eagle in south Scotland (here)

UPDATE 19 December 2025: More detail about the missing White-tailed Eagle in mid-Wales (here)

UPDATE 19 December 2025: Fourth White-tailed Eagle ‘disappears’ & RSPB offers £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction (here)

Absurd claim that White-tailed Eagles ‘snatched’ five Shetland ponies leads to inevitable call to ‘shoot eagles’

The absurd claim that White-tailed Eagles had ‘snatched’ five Shetland pony foals on South Uist hit the headlines at the end of August.

A crofter / farmer named Donald Cameron said that five of his Shetland pony foals had disappeared between May and July when they were a few weeks old, and that he could see ‘no other explanation’ other than they’d been taken by White-tailed Eagles.

The average healthy weight for a Shetland pony at birth would be around 20-27kg, with rapid daily weight gain up to around 36-45kg at a month old. White-tailed Eagles in the Western Palearctic weigh between 3.5-5kg (males) and 4.5-7kg (females).

The premise that an eagle could ‘snatch’ and then carry away something that is three times heavier than itself is plainly nonsensical.

On hearing Donald Cameron’s claims about the loss of his five Shetland ponies, NatureScot organised for expert eagle biologists to examine the prey remains in two White-tailed Eagle nests closest to Cameron’s croft. There was no trace of any Shetland pony body parts (and even if there had been, it still wouldn’t mean that the eagles had killed the ponies; it’s far more plausible that they could have scavenged a carcass). The only mammalian prey found were rabbits and Brown Rat, with most of the remains being seabirds, ducks and geese.

This fits with the findings of a recent and extraordinarily robust recent scientific paper, examining the diet of breeding White-tailed Eagles across Scotland over a 20-year study (1998-2017), where seabirds and wetland birds featured prominently in the diets of eagles on the Uists:

The same paper demonstrated that the number of lamb remains found in eagle nests has declined over the last 20 years:

On the rare occasion where eagles may still take the odd live lamb, there’s a Sea Eagle Management Scheme, run by NatureScot, where support is available for those who experience sea eagle predation impacts.

But Donald Cameron is not satisfied. He claims that the examination of the two closest White-tailed Eagle nests was ‘inconclusive’ and also claims that the eagles are “decimating everything we have”.

In the most recent sensationalist scaremongering article from The Telegraph on this subject (6th October 2025 – they’re really dragging out this story), it says that Mr Cameron believes the White-tailed Eagles are responsible for the so-called ‘eerie silence’ on Loch Druidibeag.

The article begins with this:

‘Visiting Loch Druidibeag 20 years ago, you might have spotted swans perched on the water, geese on the banks and curlews surveying the sheep grazing the slopes that rise dramatically from the water’s edge.

‘But today, the waters have fallen silent. Eerily so. Now, the only thing that moves in the loch, on the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, is a battered rowing boat bobbing beside a jetty as waves lap against the shore.

‘Donald John Cameron’s family have farmed this land for generations. But he believes an ancient foe is responsible for the eerie silence – and that it has also snatched away some of his most cherished animals‘.

I put this claim to an ecologist who has lived and worked in the Outer Hebrides for many years:

“All bollocks! No change to the bird life in the Druidibeag area as far as I can see. It’s a great place for wildlife. Several hundred Mute Swans on Loch Bi just to the north“.

Funnily enough, a few years ago a journalist was sniffing around on a story about Loch Bi. A local farmer / crofter had told him that he’d seen White-tailed Eagles feeding on the carcasses of dead Mute Swans on Loch Bi, and he reckoned the eagles had killed them all. The story never appeared in the media after NatureScot informed the journalist that Bird Flu had killed the swans, and the eagles were doing what they do best – scavenging the remains.

Back to the latest article..

It continues: ‘… there are thought to be 150 pairs of the bird [WTE] now living on the island. In fact, the eagles are now an all too familiar sight for farmers.

‘Lambs have allegedly been abducted in the dead of night, dogs have been attacked and Mr Cameron claims his Shetland pony foals were snatched by the eagles.

‘Although conservationists have insisted there is no evidence eagles took the foals, it is easy to understand Mr Cameron’s concern. The White-tailed eagle’s wingspan can go to eight feet and it’s sharp talons mean it’s thought to be capable of snatching animals weighing up to 12kg‘.

FFS. There aren’t 150 pairs of WTEs on South Uist! Back to my ecologist friend:

“There are seven known territories on South Uist, with one or two other locations where pairs may be establishing so 7-10 pairs would be the best estimate. In the areas where the ponies are there are two territorial pairs“.

And since when have ‘sharp talons’ had any bearing on the weight that an eagle can carry?! The main physiological features that determine how much a raptor can lift/carry are primarily related to muscle strength, wing surface area and body weight. It’s utter nonsense to argue about the sharpness of its talons in this context.

It’s farcical to be writing about these things, and talking about lambs being ‘abducted in the dead of night’, but it all plays into the demonisation of raptors in general, but particularly of White-tailed Eagles.

It’s just the latest in a long history of baseless accusations made about this species, although this is the first time that the eagles have been accused of taking Shetland ponies – usually they’re accused of being a threat to babies and toddlers (e.g. see here and here), which of course feeds into sensationalist headlines that editors know will sell copy.

Mr Cameron told one journalist that the ponies were ‘like my pets’. Yep, if there’s one thing that will stir up irrational fear in the public, apart from threats to babies and toddlers, it’s threats to people’s pets. Just ask Donald Trump – I suspect he knew exactly what he was doing when he falsely accused immigrants from Haiti of killing and eating dogs and cats in Ohio:

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

False hysteria would be funny if it didn’t have real world consequences. There are horrific consequences for those immigrants, of course, and for the eagles, those consequences are also very real. The Telegraph article claims that Jon Gillies, the Chief Executive of the company that manages the South Uist Estate, is calling ‘for the right to shoot down the eagles‘.

The article says: ‘He says this year’s attacks have led him to stop taking his show cocker spaniel on walks with him in the hills because “I don’t want my dog to be killed”. And he thinks the law that allows crofters to shoot a dog if it attacks animals should be extended to sea eagles.

‘Mr Gillies says: “I think that a crofter should have the right to protect their livestock, and I don’t believe that livestock should be sacrificed to protect another species.”

‘The 62-year-old, who grew up on the island, said: “I remember as a boy when local people would take matters into their own hands by going into the hills and burning out golden eagle nests because everybody thought they were taking sheep. Once the fear gets into people’s minds, that’s how they respond“‘.

EXACTLY! It’s all about generating fear and the media has a lot to answer for.

That photograph of a White-tailed Eagle standing on a bloodied dead lamb, with the eagle’s beak covered in blood and wool, is a case in point. It’s used over and over again whenever there’s a scare story about eagles killing lambs but the context is never provided by the newspaper.

Photo taken from The Telegraph article published 6 Oct 2025

I think this photo is used to add ‘credibility’ to the scare stories – a reader will look at it and think, ‘Oh, well there must be some truth in this story because look, there’s a photo of an eagle that’s killed a lamb ‘on a hillside in Scotland”.

But that photograph is staged, using a captive eagle and a dead lamb. The scene was set up by Pete Cairns, a brilliant conservation photographer who, ironically, uses powerful imagery to explore conflicting attitudes towards predators. Here he is on Twitter (X) in 2022, responding to the mis-use of this very photograph:

I have no idea what happened to Mr Cameron’s five Shetland ponies. Maybe they were stolen? Locals tell me the ponies are left to roam freely across miles of rugged moorland and they’re small enough to shove inside a van without anyone noticing. There are credible reports of Shetland pony theft in southern England in recent years (e.g. here, here, here, here and here).

Maybe it’s those pesky translocated sea eagles from the Isle of Wight? Cue journalist from The Telegraph making some phone calls…

Should White-tailed Eagles be reintroduced to Cumbria? Another questionnaire seeks your views

The proposition to release White-tailed Eagles in Cumbria has been knocking around for a number of years now (e.g. see this feasibility report from 2022).

The Cumbrian White-tailed Eagle Project is being overseen by a credible steering group comprising the University of Cumbria, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, The Lifescape Project, RSPB, the Wildland Institute, the Lake District National Park Authority alongside local estate owners and managers.

According to the steering group, research has indicated that Cumbria has sufficient suitable habitat to support a population of White-tailed Eagles and the county is considered an important strategic location to encourage links between other populations in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland and the south of England.

The group is conducting a social feasibility study, ‘to help us to understand attitudes and values, and the anticipated impacts of a potential white-tailed eagle reintroduction in Cumbria‘.

A questionnaire is available and is aimed at ‘individuals living in Cumbria and the surrounding area’. A further questionnaire for organisations is anticipated in the near future.

This isn’t the first survey of attitudes towards the release of White-tailed Eagles in Cumbria – it seems to be the latest in a long line (e.g. see here and here).

Whilst I’d welcome the sight of White-tailed Eagles in the Lake District, I do have reservations about this project (i.e. one of the requirements to justify the translocation of a species is that the species in question shouldn’t be able to get there of its own accord, e.g. through natural expansion of the population – see more commentary from me here). However, I applaud the project’s openness, transparency, and willingness to consult the public.

Not everyone is supportive of the proposed translocation, for very different reasons to mine. In response to the previous public consultations, the usual fact-free hysteria was whipped up about the supposed threat posed by the eagles to lambs and babies.

More recently, in response to the latest public consultation, this poster was on display at the Millom & Broughton Agricultural Show in the Lake District in August, from the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association (thanks to a blog reader for sending it in):

This level of ignorance and ‘anti-eagle’ views in the UK, often promoted by idiotic journalists, is probably why so many of our native raptors continue to be illegally killed. It’s as if the last 50 years of successful raptor conservation projects never happened to those with this Victorian mindset.

The recent accusations that White-tailed Eagles ‘ate five Shetland ponies’ on South Uist recently is a perfect example. I’ll write more about that ludicrous claim shortly but it’s interesting to note that the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association chose to include it on this poster.

If you’re local to Cumbria or the surrounding area, or even if you’re a visitor to the Lake District, please consider filling in the questionnaire to provide a more balanced and informed view. Closing date is Friday 31 Oct 2025.