A rare red kite had to be put down after it was found shot and blinded in County Durham, the RSPB said. The bird was found alive in Derwent Gorge, near Shotley Bridge, by a member of the public. However, after it was found to be blind it was euthanized. Since 2010, six kites […]

A Pontardawe father and son have been sentenced after illegally keeping a wild goshawk and failing to ensure urgent veterinary treatment for the bird’s severely broken wing. Paul Baker, 67, and Jess Baker, 39, pleaded guilty to a number of offences at Swansea Magistrates’ Court in May 2018, including an admission that their actions led to the goshawk […]

A head keeper employed on one of Scotland’s most illustrious grouse moors, Tillypronie in Royal Deeside, has been banned from controlling birds for three years over an alleged wildlife crime incident. He worked on an estate owned by Philip Astor, a member of the famous Anglo-American dynasty and vice-chairman of the Game and Wildlife Conservation […]

Twelve golden eagles have disappeared in an area of the Highlands RSPB Scotland dubbed a “black hole” for satellite-tagged birds of prey. Over the last seven years, the raptors’ tags have stopped transmitting in an area of moor in the northern Monadhliath Mountains. The latest disappearance involves a two-year-old male that was paired with a […]

  The disappearance of two tagged hen harriers from northern England could threaten the survival of the species, experts say. Siblings Manu and Marc were fitted with satellite tags after being born in the Scottish Borders last year. They fledged to northern England, where Manu’s tag stopped transmitting in October. Marc’s ceased on 5 February. The […]

Police are appealing for information after a sparrowhawk was found shot near Knaresborough. The dead female sparrowhawk was found by a member of the public north of the village of Nidd, between Knaresborough and Ripley, with a fresh, bloodied injury, on Sunday 25 February. The results from a subsequent x-ray showed that the bird had […]

Police are investigating the shooting of at least one common buzzard – a legally protected bird of prey – that was found dead in a Suffolk wood. Two buzzard corpses were reported to Suffolk Constabulary’s wildlife crime team in an incident described by naturalists as “appalling and abhorrent.” The bodies were found in woodland known […]

A buzzard which was found illegally shot near Powys has prompted concern by the RSPB and police. The bird was found dead on the ground by a walker near Llanrhaeadr-ym-mochnant on 10 February, and it was reported to the police. The bird was X-rayed by a local vet and found to contain at least eight […]

Police are urging visitors to North Yorkshire’s countryside to get involved with Operation Owl – a new initiative to reduce the number of illegal attacks on birds of prey in the county. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take wild birds.  Nevertheless birds of prey (raptors) […]

The disappearance of a golden eagle is [thought to be] “highly suspicious”. It was one of a number of birds tagged last summer.  The tag lost signal on 21 January on the outskirts of Edinburgh before it showed up offshore and then disappeared. The golden eagle – named Fred – hatched at a nest in the […]