There has been a rise in the number of Scotland’s birds of prey being poisoned with illegal chemicals, new figures have revealed.
Among the victims have been iconic species including golden eagles and red kites, together with valuable new birds such as sea eagles that have been part of reintroduction programmes in recent years.
Despite attempts to tackle the problem and tough new measures to crack down on those found to have poisoned birds, the new figures from the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime in Scotland (PAW) show that 28 birds were poisoned between January and December 2010.
This is one more than in the previous year and means that 132 birds of prey have been deliberately killed in the last five years.
Leading national campaigners have admitted that may just be the tip of the iceberg as additional poisonings may be going unreported and undiscovered in the most remote rural areas.
The figures from the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) are recorded in the PAW’s new poisoning hotspot maps.
The maps clearly show where confirmed poisonings have taken place and the Scottish Government, RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Rural Property and Businesses Association have all been involved in their publication on behalf of the PAW Scotland Raptor Persecution Priority Delivery Group.
Environment minister Roseanna Cunningham attended the launch at the Doune Estate in Perthshire and expressed her dismay at the figures.’Universal condemnation’She said, “It’s especially sad that some of the victims, such as sea eagles, are part of reintroduction programmes and there really has to be a change in attitude amongst those who are persistently involved in killing raptors.
“We are taking measures to tackle this problem and have introduced a new vicarious liability offence as part of the Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill to make sure that those who direct or turn a blind eye to bird persecution can be held to account.”
Duncan Orr-Ewing, head of species and land management for RSPB Scotland, said, “It is very disappointing to see that illegal poisoning continues at unacceptably high levels, affecting the populations of golden eagles, red kites and other vulnerable bird species.
“Seven red kites, four golden eagles and a sea eagle were confirmed by Scottish Government testing to have been illegally poisoned in 2010 and we know that many other victims will have gone undetected in remote parts of our countryside.
“We welcome universal condemnation of such indiscriminate and illegal practice and call on all responsible land managers to provide information to the police on those responsible for these crimes.”
Doug McAdam, chief executive of the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association, however, said the situation was not all doom and gloom.
“We have seen good progress in areas where there is good healthy partnership working, such as Grampian, where in 2010 there were no cases of illegal poisoning,” he said.
“While it is disappointing that 2010 did not reflect earlier reductions in the number of illegally poisoned birds of prey and a fairly static position nationally, the current situation demonstrates that collaboration and partnership are the way forward, not conflict and polarised views.”