Birds of prey poisoned

March 2009

THE Golden Eagle Trust will forge ahead with plans to release further Red Kites in Wicklow despite the discovery of the poisoned body of one of the birds near Ashford.

The Wicklow Red Kite Project was launched in 2007, with 30 of the birds released in the countryside in efforts to reintroduce them to the wilds. The Red Kite, which was once common and widespread in these islands, became extinct in Ireland in the eighteenth century due to persecution, poisoning and woodland clearance.

But a Red Kite found near Tiglin during March had died of alphachloralose poisoning. That, combined with the deaths elsewhere in Ireland of two poisoned Golden Eagles, has led to Golden Eagle Trust lodging an official complaint with the European Commission over the continued poisoning of birds of prey. Damien Clarke of the Golden Eagle Trust says the project had been faring well, though the discovery of the dead kite was a set-back.

‘Things are going well in general. Most of the kites are located around the Avoca, Woodenbridge area where all the farmers have been genuinely supportive.

‘Any time I needed access to their land there have been no problems. It’s terrible that one of the kites has died, but at least it was away from the core area where the rest of the birds are.’

A total of 56 Red Kites have been released so far since the project launch in 2007. One bird was found shot dead near Arklow early into the project, while another was hit by a train. But up until March there were no recorded deaths of any of the released kites for over a year.