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Fine for angler who gave false name to NRW enforcement officer

Blaenau Gwent man prosecuted for encouraging dog to enter a live badger sett

Carlisle man bludgeoned badger with shovel then tossed it to dogs

Warwickshire Hunt hit with notice from police amid concerns about 'dangers' on roads

Gloucestershire man fined after messages showed him bragging and admitting to the illegal hunting of foxes

Two Gwent fishermen caught and in court for illegal netting

Bird of prey poisoned, Horncastle, Lincolnshire

Dorset hunt master found guilty and fined £6,800

Fines for two men caught digging at active badger sett on Wrexham farm

Norfolk Gamekeeper admits killing birds of prey

Cwmbran man fined for fishing without a rod licence or permission to fish

Essex angler fined £240 after illegally fishing on the River Stour.

North Wales man posed with ‘severely injured’ dogs after using them for badger baiting

Illegal Tree Felling Prosecution in Northern Ireland

Sperm whale teeth seized and Oxford man arrested

Northampton medicine practitioner pleads guilty to illegal trade of endangered species

Housebuilding director fined for Aberdeen badger sett damage

2022-2025 NPCC Wildlife & Rural Crime Strategy launched

Welsh developers fined £7400 for Bat Offences

Two Chester men given five-year criminal behaviour orders for Hare poaching in West Lancashire


Home / Animal of the Month / Red Kite

Red Kite


redkite10dRed kites were once common in the UK, but unfortunately were gradually persecuted to extermination in all of the UK apart from Wales. Since 1989 there has been a series of reintroductions of birds donated by other countries that started in the Chilterns and concluded with a release in 2007 on the perimeter of the city of Aberdeen.

The recent deaths of a large number of kites in Easter Ross in Scotland, through yet more persecution, has made this an appropriate Bird of the Month for April. It is likely that some of these birds would have been paired up or even beginning to nest, so the potential loss to the area’s kite population may be much higher than simply those picked up dead.

Kites have a relatively small beak and small talons, making the bird much more suited to living off carrion. They prefer to feed from sheep or deer carrion, rabbits that have died from disease or from road kill. This carrion-eating habit unfortunately makes them especially susceptible to being poisoned by baits left out in the open. Even if the illegal bait is not meant for a red kite, they, along with buzzards and crows, are likely to be the first to spot it and be lured to their death.

Red kite - in flight - raptor - bird of preyThough red kite numbers are very gradually increasing, we are still far from the stage when almost any visitor to the countryside is likely to encounter one of these beautiful birds. Look out for an elegant and graceful bird of prey with a chestnut-red chest, a wingspan of around 1.7 metres and a long forked tail. Even better if a winter roost or an artificial feeding site can be visited where the birds can be seen in large numbers. They are spectacular birds, which makes their continuing persecution all the more tragic.


  • Wildlife Crime Press Coverage

    • Fine for angler who gave false name to NRW enforcement...
      January 19, 2023
    • Blaenau Gwent man prosecuted for encouraging dog to enter...
      December 20, 2022
    • Carlisle man bludgeoned badger with shovel then tossed...
      December 20, 2022
    • Warwickshire Hunt hit with notice from police amid...
      December 18, 2022
    • Gloucestershire man fined after messages showed him bragging...
      December 15, 2022


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