# Mass poisoning! 9 red kites, 4 buzzards



## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

so far!

Raptor death toll rises to 13 ... and counting

Ross-shire raptor death toll rises to 13….and counting | Raptor Persecution Scotland

Absolutely bloody shameful - I only hope whoever is responsible ROTS IN HELL!

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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

noushka05 said:


> so far!
> 
> Raptor death toll rises to 13 ... and counting
> 
> ...


*Noushka i heard this on the radio earlier today. I feel sick to the stomach. Some people were never meant to share this planet with mother nature.*


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

Disgusting, but why? is iot for the fun of it? or maybe another reason? to stop the birds getting what they want? sorry don't know much about these birds, but whatever the reason, its just disgusting and cruel, nd such a painful slow death


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## Cleo38 (Jan 22, 2010)

How awful


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## Spellweaver (Jul 17, 2009)

No words because if I said what I really thought about the b------s that did this I'd be banned.


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## new westie owner (Apr 30, 2010)

Been reading this in newspaper :mad2:


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

jaycee05 said:


> Disgusting, but why? is iot for the fun of it? or maybe another reason? to stop the birds getting what they want? sorry don't know much about these birds, but whatever the reason, its just disgusting and cruel, nd such a painful slow death


Most raptors are poisoned by gamekeepers to protect game birds, managed grouse moors being the worst offenders.

Raptor persecution is on the increase & poisoning doubled in Scotland last year. These cruel, selfish people are killing them with impunity, the police and courts are useless. They claim to be taking this latest incident seriously but it'll be a tap on the wrist at worst. Heres what those who are trying to save these birds are up against > Poisoned baits found on Leadhills Estate: 'case closed' | Raptor Persecution Scotland

More here about the situation Jaycee > Raptor poisoning incidents doubled in 2013 | Raptor Persecution Scotland

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## tincan (Aug 30, 2012)

Where the hell are we as a supposedly intelligent / civilised race heading ? ..... Soon maybe not in a lot of our lifetimes , there will be no wildlife left ......... What a legacy for our childrens , children ..... We have a lot to answer for as far as destruction of this planet is concerned !


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## Mese (Jun 5, 2008)

Spellweaver said:


> No words because if I said what I really thought about the b------s that did this I'd be banned.


This exactly 

Why murder such beautiful creatures


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

shameful disgusting creatures i hope they get caught heavily fined and locked up


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

I believe persecution was the main reason the red kite disappeared altogether from all but a small pocket in Wales. I love to see them as I go up the M4 for the past couple of years. The buzzard also suffered but looks pretty safe now with around 60-80,000 breeding pairs.


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## lilythepink (Jul 24, 2013)

Buzzards are plentiful here. See them all over. I love seeing them, on a fence post, lamp post..and when they fly its effortless along with the screeching they make.

Very sad some have been poisoned, even more sad that the ones that have been found will be the more accessible ones, makes you wonder how many are dead and dying in obscure places.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

Death toll rises to 14 - they've found the body of another red kite The RSPB have offered a £5,000 reward.

Death toll rises again in Ross-shire massacre as £5k reward offered | Raptor Persecution Scotland

he death toll in what we are calling the Ross-shire Massacre has risen again today with the discovery of another poisoned raptor. Todays dead red kite is the 10th to be discovered in the last fortnight in a small area in Conon Bridge, along with four buzzards, bringing the total found to date to fourteen.

RSPB Scotland is offering a £5,000 reward for any information that leads to a successful conviction. Their money is probably quite safe.

Chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, Alex Hogg, has put out the following statement:

The discovery of so many birds in one area is unprecedented and alarming.

Hes either deliberately lying to make out that the mass killing of raptors in one area has never happened before or he has a very short memory:

In 2004, a gamekeeper on the Barns Estate in the Scottish Borders was convicted of poisoning 20 raptors (18 buzzards, 1 goshawk and 1 tawny owl). 25 dead raptors had been discovered but five were too badly decomposed to establish their cause of death (see here).

In 2013, gamekeeper Colin Burne was convicted of killing seven buzzards at the Whinfell Plantation, Penrith, Cumbria. A total of 12 dead birds had been found but five were too badly decomposed to establish their cause of death (see here).

This year, there is an on-going court case against a gamekeeper from the Stody Estate, Norfolk, after the discovery of 16 dead raptors (14 buzzards, 1 sparrowhawk and 1 tawny owl). Allen Lambert has admitted to storing two banned pesticides but he has denied killing the raptors. His trial begins in May (see here).

So far from this current incident being unprecedented, there are examples dating from 10 years ago right up to the present day of multiple dead raptors being found in a single incident  a telling indictment of just how little progress has been made in addressing this disgusting crime.

Theres also a statement on the SGA facebook page that includes this:

Articles in the Telegraph and Herald this week indicated, through research, that there is little or no shooting interests in the area [Conon Bridge, Ross-shire, where the latest atrocity is gradually being revealed].

Thats also inaccurate. There may not be a driven grouse moor in the immediate area but there certainly are shooting interests


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

Death toll rises to 16...and counting 

* ross-shire massacre: the worst 2 weeks of my life, says red kite officer *

Brian Etheridge should have been celebrating this week; its the 19th anniversary of his work as the RSPBs Red Kite Officer in the Black Isle area. Instead, hes witnessed one of the worst mass poisoning incidents in recent times: 12 red kites and 4 buzzards found to date. The 12 red kite victims were birds that hes known for years.

Brian said: 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

* One of the dead birds was a 16-year-old female that Brian first tagged in 1998. She had been breeding in the Black Isle for 14 years and had raised between 25 to 30 young  one of which, an eight-year-old female, was also among the dead.

Brian said: Ive gone to her nest every year since she first bred back in 2000 and Ive climbed up to her nest so she probably knew me quite well. She was like an old friend and a very familiar sight so I will miss her this year. She had mated with one male for 13 years and he was so faithful. He has been sitting on their nest, waiting for her to come back.

Something like this can just wipe out so many birds and so many years of work. This is by far the worst example Ive ever witnessed. There has been a huge reaction from the public. The community has really taken these birds to its heart. This was the very first reintroduction programme in Scotland so most people are very proud of their red kites *


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## tincan (Aug 30, 2012)

Noush i have no words ...... Only tears , that has touched me so much . poor guy my heart bleeds for both him & those beautiful birds ...... For christs sake .... where the hell are we heading


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## Gordi (Mar 26, 2014)

How awful.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

tincan said:


> Noush i have no words ...... Only tears , that has touched me so much . poor guy my heart bleeds for both him & those beautiful birds ...... For christs sake .... where the hell are we heading


I felt the exactly the same when I read it (((hugs))) and im so sorry I haven't updated this thread sooner.

More depressing news im afraid - The death toll has risen yet again - 19 birds now! 

_ The number of dead raptors found in the Conon Bridge area of Ross-shire has risen to 19. These include 14 red kites and five buzzards.

Toxicology tests so far have determined that 12 of them (9 kites and 3 buzzards) had been poisoned. Tests have not yet been completed on all the corpses.

In response to one of the worst mass poisoning incidents in recent times, RSPB Scotland is organising a public protest in Inverness town centre this Saturday. The key aim of this protest is to let the Scottish Government know that we all want action to prevent this criminal persecution of our raptors from happening again.

Protest Date: Saturday 12th April at 2pm.

Meet at the top end of the pedestrianised High Street, Inverness (near Marks & Spencer & Santander).

All welcome (including children) and protesters are encouraged to make their own banners.

If you cant attend the protest, please consider showing your support by donating to the reward fund HERE.

Previous blog posts on the Ross-shire Massacre here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Here are some pitiful images of some of the victims (via @RossKites) _

Unless commercial shoots are licensed & police start taking wildlife crime seriously the outlook for our raptors is looking very bleak in many places.

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## happysaz133 (Jun 5, 2008)

This is happening very very close to me, and I can;t believe it because its usually such a good area! I'm really hoping it stops soon.


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

Death toll rises to 20 - 14 red kites & 6 buzzards now confirmed dead in the Ross-shire Massacre. How many more corpses to find?

Ross-shire Massacre: death toll rises to 20 | Raptor Persecution Scotland

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## rona (Aug 18, 2011)

Looks like they've raised a substantial reward to catch these scum
BBC News - Birds of prey deaths in Ross-shire increase to 20

Industry unites over bird of prey deaths | The Scottish Farmer


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

Ross-shire Massacre death toll rises to 22. Confirmed victims include 16 red kites & 6 buzzards. Carnage. 

Ross-shire Massacre: death toll rises to 22 | Raptor Persecution Scotland



rona said:


> Looks like they've raised a substantial reward to catch these scum
> BBC News - Birds of prey deaths in Ross-shire increase to 20
> 
> Industry unites over bird of prey deaths | The Scottish Farmer


Forgive my scepticism Rona, but the 'industry uniting' over this is no more than a publicity stunt imo. Everyone knows the 'industry' is responsible for most raptor killings! - hek they even lobby govt for licences to kill these birds! As one birder said if the culprit isn't caught (and if past poisoning cases are anything to go he wont be!) I bet the 'industry' wont donate that reward to the RSPB for investigations in to future perscutions.

Farmers taking aim at sea eagles, again | Raptor Persecution Scotland

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