Tayside Police have confirmed that a red kite found dead near Aberfeldy in July was poisoned. The bird was found in Strathtay and may have been dead for a few months. Recent tests have discovered that it was poisoned, adding to a tally of five buzzards and a tawny owl which have also been found poisoned in the same area over the last year.
Tayside Police’s wildlife crime officer Alan Stewart told the BBC, “There is no doubt that the scourge of poisoning wildlife in Scotland has decreased in general terms in recent years. However there remain a number of ‘hotspots’ that blight our civilisation and our reputation worldwide.”
Police are appealling to anyone with information about the poisoning to contact them and anyone finding the remains of birds of prey should also record and report them.