Extra security planned after chainsaw attack on osprey site

SECURITY is to be stepped up at an osprey nesting site destroyed in a chainsaw attack in late April.

North Wales Police (NWP) say its inquiries into the incident, at Llyn Brenig on the Denbigh moors, have so far drawn a blank and the investigation has now been shelved.

As the culprits have yet to be identified, the NWP rural crime team said it cannot rule out further attempts to damage the nesting site and its rare birds.

Earlier this month the Brenig Osprey Project began replacing the poles that support the nesting platform, which will be winched into place later this winter.

In the meantime, NWP is working with project partners Dwr Cymru and North Wales Wildlife Trust to enhance the site’s security in the hope that the ospreys return to the lake next year.

Sgt Liam Jones, of the rural crime team, said additional measures will be put in place over the coming months ahead of the 2022 breeding season.

He said: “Despite all reasonable lines of inquiry having been explored, a viable suspect is yet to be identified and we are still unsure of the motive of this horrendous crime.

“As a result, we’re unable to rule out that there may be further attempts to harm the birds and their nesting platform in the future. Because of this, we are in discussions to decide how we can improve security around the nesting platform to reduce opportunities for a similar incident happening again.”

Llyn Brenig reservoir, only the fifth breeding site for ospreys in Wales, is managed by Dwr Cymru, which has already increased security measures on site. As the eggs are protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act, it an offence to interfere with the birds or their nests.

On Facebook, wildlife lovers claimed that Llyn Brenig previously lacked the security seen at other osprey sites in Wales.