Record year for illegal poisoning incidents

Last modified: 23 July 2010

The majestic white-tailed eagle was among victims of illegal poisoning in Scotland last year. White-tailed eagle perched on boulder - Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com, Ref: 9001997_01940_002)

2009 marked the highest number of confirmed poisoning incidents discovered in a single year in Scotland in the past two decades, according to an annual report by RSPB Scotland.

Published today, The illegal killing of birds of prey in Scotland in 2009 indicates human killing continues to have a serious impact on the populations of some of the country’s most vulnerable species.

Last year, 21 buzzards, 4 red kites, 2 golden eagles and 1 white-tailed eagle, the latter gifted to Scotland from Norway as part of a reintroduction programme, were among the victims in 46 poisoning cases confirmed by Scottish Government testing.

Illegal killings, through shooting, nest destruction or the use of spring traps, were also confirmed in nine incidents. As many raptors are long-lived and have slow breeding rates, killing of these species (particularly adult breeding birds) can have dire consequences for their populations as a whole. This is affecting the conservation status of hen harriers, golden eagles and red kites.

'We will continue to work with the many responsible landowners and welcome the recent initiative by over 200 Scottish estates'

Despite public condemnation - most notably in the form of 22,000 pledges backing an RSPB Scotland campaign to stop the illegal killing of birds of prey - the practice shows little signs of declining, particularly in some upland areas dominated by game management.

Many of the incidents of illegal killing, now detailed in this report, were discovered by chance by members of the public in remote areas of countryside, suggesting the true number of cases could in reality be much higher.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland Head of Species and Land Management said: 'We are lucky enough in Scotland to have some of the world’s most majestic species of birds of prey, but unfortunately a significant number of people continue to break the law and undermine the recovery of their populations.

'This activity threatens other countryside industries such as tourism and undermines Scotland’s reputation internationally.

'We will continue to work with the many responsible landowners and welcome the recent initiative by over 200 Scottish estates, who have publicly condemned wildlife crime, and who have called for robust enforcement action against the perpetrators.

'All estates now need to provide tangible evidence that they are taking positive action on the ground to safeguard protected species and giving firm instruction to their employees to obey the law. Increasing the occupied range and breeding productivity of bird of prey species is the best barometer of success.'

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