Harrods boss, Mohamed Al Fayed, who also owns the Balnagown Estate near Inverness, claims other Highland landowners are "hiding behind their employers" when birds of prey are killed on their land. In an article published in some editions of this week's Sunday Times, he said landowners should be prosecuted when their employees were guilty of raptor persecution. He wants the law toughened and landowners held accountable. "They must stand alongside their gamekeepers in the dock," he said. Mr Fayed's estate, in Easter Ross, is playing an important role in the RSPB's project to bring back red kites to the Black Isle, providing a home to chicks until they are three years old and ready for release. We know that at least three of the 16 young kites released so far have died after being poisoned with the illegal pesticide carbofuran. Other youngsters are missing and feared dead. They too could be victims of poisoning. Mr Fayed also has buzzards, golden eagles and ospreys on his estate but his sadness at the deaths of the kites has made him think twice about rearing any more, the newspaper says. We share his sadness but urge him to stay involved. His help has been invaluable. The RSPB has now returned red kites to four areas of Scotland and, despite the persecution, there are thought to be more than 85 pairs living wild in Scotland together with many more in England and Wales. But we must still do all we can to combat the killing of birds of prey; our investigations on red kites alone have found that more than 300 of the 395 red kites that bred in Scotland between 1999 and 2003 have disappeared, and up to 185 of those were probably illegally poisoned, snared or shot. Duncan Orr-Ewing, one of our species experts, said: "Persecution of birds of prey is continuing apace and current penalties are far too weak to stop people carrying out these sickening crimes. If the only way to stamp out these crimes is to make landowners more responsible, that is what the government must do." A golden eagle is poisoned too - click here
And here for the news that the RSPB has offered a reward for information.
Click on these links for red kites in Aberdeen; Argaty in the Forth Valley and Galloway.