£1000 reward to catch the 'killers' of a golden eagle

Highland Correspondent

Tuesday 25 September 2012

A reward of £1000 has been offered in the hunt to track down those responsible for the "lingering" death of a golden eagle that was allegedly caught in an illegal trap and then found dead nearly 10 miles away.

SUFFERING: Golden eagles still face persecution in the Highlands and one was found dead after being caught in an illegally set trap in Glen Esk. Main picture: RSPB Scotland Left: RSPB/ Andrew Stronach

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David Ross Highland Correspondent

RSPB Scotland said it was appalled at the treatment of the bird of prey and put up the money for information in only the second time in its history.

The Scottish Gamekeepers' Association (SGA) is to mount its own inquiry after the bird – fitted with a satellite transmitter – was found when data showed it had not moved for several days. It was discovered lying face down, with its wings folded, near a lay-by on a back road near Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.

A post mortem at the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen concluded it had suffered two broken legs due to trauma "consistent with an injury caused by a spring-type trap" and the severity of these injuries "would prevent the bird from being able to take off".Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland's head of investigations, said: "It is disgraceful this magnificent bird was subjected to such suffering. The post- mortem evidence suggests this bird was caught in an illegally set trap, smashing both legs."He said, it had inexplicably moved to a new position and added: "Here, over the next four days, this eagle suffered a lingering death."The bird had been fitted with a transmitter by RSPB Scotland, in partnership with a local landowner, a few days before it had fledged from a nest in the Monadhliath Mountains, south-east of Inverness, in July 2011.It spent its first few months there but by April was frequenting upper Deeside, before going into Glenshee.On April 28 it moved eastwards into Angus. The following day, at 6am, the transmitter put the bird on a hillside overlooking Glen Esk, at a location understood to have been on a moor on a sporting estate.Over the next 15 hours, a succession of satellite readings, reportedly accurate to within 65ft, showed the bird did not move until at least 9pm – after nightfall when eagles very rarely fly. However, by 4am next morning it appeared to have travelled some 9.3 miles north to where it was found five days later. Satellite readings of its body temperature revealed that while it did not move, it was probably alive until May 4. That was when four days' worth of data was released by the satellite and an alarm was raised. The signal led police and RSPB officials to the dead bird and to the Glen Esk hillside but no trap was found.Eagle feathers were discovered between the lay-by and the bird's final resting place.Stuart Housden, RSPB Scotland director, said: "We call on anyone who can provide information about this case to contact the wildlife crime officer at either Tayside or Grampian Police without delay. "I am offering a £1000 reward for information that will assist in a successful prosecution."An SGA spokesman claimed there were a number of irregularities in the case. He said: "After looking at what scientists inferred may have happened, and studying the interpretations thereafter, the SGA has decided to open its own inquiry and will conclude this before commenting on a case it believes is far from clear cut."He said the SGA provided all its members with up-to-date guidance as to how to set and operate legal traps.Between 1989 and 2011, 29 golden eagles have been poisoned and another 17 have died as a result of shooting –mostly on sporting estates.l In 2009, the death from poisioning of a golden eagle – which was being tracked by Scottish Natural Heritage – resulted in searches under police warrant on the Millden Estate, near Brechin, as part of an ongoing criminal inquiry.

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£1000 reward to catch the 'killers' of a golden eagle

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