THE killing of a golden eagle in Scotland was condemned yesterday as an unacceptable crime that was "beneath contempt".
The dead bird of prey, which had been poisoned, was discovered by walkers on a remote hillside in Argyll.
The magnificent creature – believed to be one of a breeding pair – had been killed using a banned insecticide.
Yesterday, wildlife crime
officers revealed they were following a positive line of inquiry in their hunt for the eagle's killer.
Roseanna Cunningham, the environment minister, condemned the illegal killing.
She said: "I was disgusted to hear of another poisoning of a golden eagle. This is an unacceptable crime against a magnificent creature.
"There is nothing which can excuse this behaviour and the individual or individuals involved are beneath contempt.
"Our wildlife is world-renowned and a crime against it is a crime against Scotland. The use, in this case, of highly toxic, carbamate poison is particularly worrying as it poses a serious danger to other wild animals, domestic pets and even people."
The eagle's body was discovered by walkers on the slopes of Beinn Udlaidh in the Glen Orchy area on 7 June. They alerted the RSPB and the charity then called in wildlife crime officers from Strathclyde Police.
Biologists and chemists from the Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture, a division of the Scottish Government in Edinburgh, examined the carcasse and confirmed that the eagle had died from poisoning caused by toxic insecticide.
A police spokesman said a major operation to trace those responsible had taken place on Wednesday. including searches of a number of premises in the Glen Orchy and Bridge of Orchy areas.
He added: "Police are now following a positive line of enquiry."
Bob Elliot, head of investigations with RSPB Scotland, also hit out at the killing, which followed the poisoning of a golden eagle in the Borders in August 2007. He said: "As ever, we're shocked and saddened that there are still people out there placing poisoned baits in the countryside, which often result in the deaths of some of our magnificent birds of prey.
"This area doesn't have a recent track record of wildlife crime, which is even more worrying in a way. It's likely that this bird was part of a breeding pair in Argyll, so the crime may have affected the chances of survival of young birds in the nest too.
"SNH's recently published golden eagle framework report showed that this iconic bird is being held back in parts of the country due to illegal persecution, which simply shouldn't happen in the 21st century."
Constable Stevie McAleer, wildlife crime officer for North Argyll,
said: "I would urge any members of the public who may come across a dead bird or carcasse to alert the police. I would advise people not to touch the bird or the surrounding area. If possible, and if safe to do so, branches or grass should be thrown over the carcass to avoid it being seen and eaten by other animals or birds."
There are an estimated 440 pairs of golden eagles in Scotland. According to the RSPB, 14 have died as a result of poisoning in the past ten years.
The full article contains 536 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
