The Cairngorms Campaign is trying to encourage hill-users to "become an extra pair of eyes" in the fight to prevent illegal poisoning of birds of prey and other species.

The group is now distributing leaflets in shops and outdoor centres designed to encourage people to protect wild birds such as red kites and golden eagles.

Tests at government laboratories have confirmed almost 300 instances of the illegal poisoning of raptor birds over the past decade, said the Campaign, a voluntary organisation which has grown to approximately 400 members since its foundation in the 1980s.

They claim that 54 red kites, 14 golden eagles and four white-tailed eagles are thought to have died from ingesting illegal poisons.

Mr Drennan Watson, a founding member of the Campaign and now its convener, said it was notoriously difficult to detect - and prosecute - the crime.

"It is just chance and discovery that lead people to identify the poisoning as going on. The only people who are recording them are hill walkers and bird watchers."

The Cairngorms Campaign claims that the problem lies with 'rogue gamekeepers'. Toxic chemicals such as Alpha-chloralose, an anaesthetic compound used to kill rodents, have been found in corpses, leading the group to believe that dead poisoned rats are being used as bait.

"The only prosecutions that have taken place are of gamekeepers. Most of the identified cases take place on grouse moors, and most of these are going on in the Cairngorms, which is damaging to the main local industry - tourism," said Mr Watson, who lives in Alford in Aberdeenshire.

People poisoning wild birds are breaking the law in three ways, he said. "First, they are using highly toxic poisonous materials. Secondly, some of these toxic materials have been banned, and thirdly, they are killing protected species.

"I would advise anyone who does find a poisoned wild bird to report it to the police, but not to touch it. The poisons can be absorbed through the skin and become systemic.

"This is a criminal matter; people should leave it to the police," said Mr Watson, a former agriculture teacher.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) said that their members were an "easy target" for such claims.

SGA chairman Alex Hogg said: "The SGA is a full partner of PAW (the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime), and is working alongside the Scottish Government, land-owners, Advocates for Animals and the RSPB to tackle issues like raptor persecution.

"The SGA and all responsible gamekeepers condemn wildlife crime of all kinds, and to that end the organisation spearheaded an initiative with Northern Constabulary and subsequently Central and Tayside Police to recruit members as rural specials and build a relationship with law enforcement agencies to tackle these issues in the countryside.

"Gamekeepers are an easy target, but throwing mud does little to solve the problem. We prefer to work towards finding solutions."

The Cairngorms Campaign is asking anyone who is out and about in the Cairngorms National Park to read their leaflet, which can be found at www.cairngormscampaign.org, and to keep their eyes peeled.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---