Poisonings of birds of prey 'highest for two decades'

DOZENS of birds of prey were killed across Scotland in 2009 during the worst year in two decades for incidents of illegal poisoning, a report will show today.

Over the year, 21 buzzards were poisoned, as well as four red kites, two golden eagles and a white-tailed sea eagle.

Other creatures also fell victim to poisoned bait believed to be intended for raptors, including three cats and a tawny owl.

In total, there were 46 incidents where poisoned bait was found across Scotland, more than in any of the past 20 years, according to a report from RSPB Scotland. The average annual number of incidents over the past two decades has been 27.

An incident is defined as a case when either a poisoned bird was found, or bait laced with poison without a victim discovered.

The report "The illegal killing of birds of prey in Scotland in 2009" details incidents where government testing confirms illegal poison was used - most often the banned pesticide carbofuran.

RSPB Scotland says it shows human killing continues to have a serious impact on the populations of some of the country's most vulnerable species.

And the charity claimed the practice of illegal killing of birds of prey shows little signs of declining, particularly in some upland areas dominated by game management.

Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland head of species and land management, said: "We are lucky in Scotland to have some of the world's most majestic species of birds of prey, but unfortunately a significant number of people continue to break the law and undermine the recovery of their populations.

"This activity threatens other countryside industries, such as tourism, and it undermines Scotland's reputation internationally."

Roseanna Cunningham, the environment minister, agreed that poisoning continued to be a problem in some parts of Scotland.

"The poisoning of our birds of prey is unacceptable, and there is no place for this in a progressive, modern Scotland," she said.

"We must all continue to work together to put an end to this barbaric, outdated and illegal practice. "

A spokesman for the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association and the Scottish Estates Business Group said: "The position of landowners and estates across Scotland on this matter is absolutely clear, highlighted and reinforced most recently by over 250 estates across Scotland who wrote to the minister of environment condemning the illegal poisoning of birds of prey, and we welcome that the RSPB now recognise this clear position.

"There is ample legislation in existence to deal with this problem, and we support the full weight of the law being brought to bear on those using illegal poisons."

RSPB Scotland recommends a series of measures in its report to tackle the problem, including that every police force has at least one full-time wildlife crime officer.