A MAP showing birds of prey poisoning hotspots in Scotland is published today as part of a new drive to stamp out the killings.
The Scottish Government-backed move was hailed by conservationists for providing the first picture of the scale of the crime and the extent to which it was backed by landowners.
Ministers said it marked a "significant step forward" because the p
oisoning of birds of prey "had often been a source of contention between conservationists and land managers".
The map locates 88 incidents in which raptors were poisoned over the past five years, stretching from the Borders to the Western Isles.
The greatest single concentration was 12 incidents on the Clydesdale/Nithsdale border in the south west. The RSPB recorded a red kite poisoned at Wanlockhead in 2007 and five buzzards poisoned at Leadhills in 2006-7 alone.
There were five incidents around Granton-on-Spey in the Highlands and five on the border between Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. More than one bird was killed in some incidents. A table of bird deaths has also been published, which shows 132 birds of prey were poisoned over the five-year period.
These peaked at 34 in 2006 and fell to 16 last year, but were lower prior to 2004.
Deaths in 2008 include the first sea eagle poisoned for five years, which was found in Angus, and 13 buzzards, which make up the largest number of cases as Scotland's most common bird of prey.
The map was devised after a shake-up of the Partnership for Action against Wildlife Crime in Scotland, which includes the main interest groups. Members agreed independently verified data would enable them to better jointly tackle the issue. The poisoning figures were produced by the Scottish Government's science and advice for Scottish agriculture division.
The Scottish Rural Property and Business Association, which represents landowners, said the map marked a potential watershed in tackling the issue.
Douglas McAdam, its chief executive, said: "With the publication of this report, we move to a position where we are looking at official government verified facts, rather than unofficial reports, where often incidents that might not be illegal are captured in the reported persecution statistics.
"I hope this report marks a turning point where we are all focused on making progress to eliminate all forms of wildlife crime, and on finding resolution to this complex problem."
RSPB Scotland admitted there was still "much to do" in tackling bird of prey poisoning, but said ministers giving their seal of approval to the map was a significant step forward.
Duncan Orr-Ewing, its head of species and land management, said: "Illegal poisoning is an indiscriminate and despicable activity that continues to cause serious damage to bird of prey populations in Scotland.
"We will work hard with responsible land managers, the police and the Scottish Government to resolve this problem."
The map shows poisoning incidents spread across all but western Scotland, north of Glasgow and the far north.
RSPB Scotland said this was because they were not major game rearing or grouse shooting areas, where fears of predatory action by raptors have been linked with poisonings. However, the group believes there may be many unreported cases because poisoned birds are never found.
Environment Minister Michael Russell said: "It is appalling that our birds of prey are still faced with persecution. I applaud those involved for working together on this important issue and hope their efforts will result in a safer Scotland for our birds of prey."
However, The Scotsman's Stop Them Now campaign revealed last month there had been only 26 convictions for crimes against birds of prey in the past decade.
