RSPB announce reward as bird of prey deaths rise to 16

UPDATE 4 APR: Reward has now been increased to £10,000 following pledge by anonymous donor.

RSPB Scotland is offering a £5000 reward for information after tests revealed that 16 dead birds of prey found in Ross-shire had been poisoned. The 12 red kites and 4 buzzards were found to the south east of Conon Bridge during a single week in March.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management for RSPB Scotland said: “This appalling incident highlights the very real threat illegal poisoning poses to fantastic species like red kites. The vulnerable Black Isle population in particular has been repeatedly hit by deaths due to illegal poison use. The Chilterns population in Southern England is nearly ten times bigger, yet both projects started at the same time in 1989 with the same number of birds released into the wild. That is a shocking indictment on behaviour of some in this part of rural Scotland. We are offering a £5,000.00 reward for information that leads to a successful conviction. We urge anyone with information relating to this incident to contact Police Scotland so the perpetrators can be identified and brought to justice.”

RSPB Scotland workers have also spoken of their anger and disappointment after it was revealed that some of the dead birds included kites tagged as part of an ongoing conservation project. Brian Etheridge, who has worked for the charity for 27 years told the BBC: “This has been the worst two weeks of my life. I have worked with all of the birds – each one was ringed and tagged by me.

“I was there at the very beginning when they were only a few weeks old and I was there at the end when I went to collect their bodies. It’s a huge mix of emotions; I’ve gone from being very, very angry to extremely sad. Some of these birds I’ve known very well and for a very long time.”