Tag: white-tailed eagle

New regulations came into force in the Irish Republic yesterday, finally banning the use of all poisons for pest control, apart from those used for rats and mice.

This has been a long time coming, and full credit should be given to The Golden Eagle Trust, who have long campaigned for this ban as they try to re-introduce the golden eagle, white-tailed eagle and red kite to their former ranges across the country.

Whilst the ban will not stop poisoning incidents (look at the continued number of poisoning incidents in Scotland and England where the ban has been in force for several years), it does send a clear message from the Irish government that they wish to address the issue of illegal raptor persecution. Kudos to them for taking this important step.

At least 12 re-introduced raptors have been killed by poison in Ireland this year alone, including golden eagles, sea eagles and red kites. Both the Scottish and Norwegian governments, who licence the capture of eagles in their countries for release in Ireland, have expressed grave concern at the poisonings, and failure to tackle the problem could result in the governments withdrawing their co-operation. This is quite a laughable position for the Scottish government to take, given their complete inability to effectively address raptor persecution in this country. So far, at least. They do have a chance to make significant improvements with the forthcoming WaNE bill, but the bill is still only in Stage 1 of the legislation process so there’s a long way to go yet.

A side-benefit of the new Irish legislation may be in reducing the amount of illegal poison that arrives in Scotland each year, believed to be smuggled in from Ireland where, prior to the new legislation, poison could be bought legally. Clearly it will take some time for all the poison currently in circulation in Ireland to be disposed of, but the long-term view is optimistic.

For the news story click here: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ban-for-poison-used-to-kill-birds-of-prey-2383731.html

The Golden Eagle Trust website here: http://www.goldeneagle.ie/

The Norwegian authorities have cautiously agreed to provide Ireland with 20 more white-tailed sea eagles later this month, despite the on-going poisoning that threatens the viability of the project.

So far, 14 of the 55 sea eagles given by Norway to Ireland as part of the re-introduction project have been found dead, and at least 7 of these were confirmed to have been poisoned. Earlier this year, 3 sea eagles were found poisoned in County Kerry in the space of just four weeks. All had fallen victim to eating poisoned baits.

The Golden Eagle Trust (the organisation leading the re-introduction effort on white-tailed eagles, golden eagles and red kites) believe that the majority of sheep farmers in the region are supportive of the project, but that a small minority of landowners are still laying out poisoned baits that are having such a devastating effect.

Full story: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/poison-fear-wont-halt-the-release-of-20-eagles-2210414.html

Golden Eagle Trust website: http://www.goldeneagle.ie/