FOUR red kites found dead in the North East last year show that illegal poisoning is still a major problem, according to a new report.
Exactly a century ago, putting baits laced with poisons out into the countryside to kill wildlife was outlawed.
But today’s bird crime report from the RSPB shows the practice remains a threat to the UK’s birds of prey.
Now the RSPB is calling on the Government to outlaw the possession of these poisons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government has already put such measures in place.
The RSPB Birdcrime 2010 report reveals there were 128 reports of illegal poisoning in the UK, and the early figures for this year suggest a similar pattern.
In the North East, three red kites were confirmed as having been poisoned, with a fourth rated as probable. Three were in Northumberland, while the other incident took place in County Durham.
In 2010, 20 red kites, 30 buzzards, two goshawks, eight peregrines, five golden eagles, one white-tailed eagle and one sparrowhawk were found poisoned in the UK. The RSPB believes the number of recorded incidents is way below the actual number.
The list of chemicals used to illegally poison birds of prey includes a number of agricultural pesticides, such as carbofuran, alphachloralose and bendiocarb.
The poisoner will usually douse the carcass of a pheasant, rabbit or a pigeon with the poison and leave the bait where a bird of prey is likely to find it.
Martin Harper, conservation director of the RSPB, said: “It has been illegal to poison birds of prey since 1911. But in a bizarre quirk, it is not illegal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for individuals to possess some of the most deadly poisons, even though they have no legitimate use for them.”
The report shows that in Northumberland there were 20 reported bird crime incidents, while County Durham and Tyne and Wear reported 10 and five incidents respectively.
There was a confirmed poisoning of a red kite with carbofuran in April 2010 near Barnard Castle in County Durham.
In Northumberland in February last year, two red kites were found poisoned by alphachloralose.
Near Whittonstall in June, a red kite was poisoned by carbofuran and in July near Stocksfield July another red kite was found dead near a site where another bird had been recently poisoned, but was too decomposed for analysis.
The RSPB said the previous Government accepted in 2006 it was sensible to make it illegal for unauthorised people to possess these poisons, but despite the law being in place, the current Government has not listed the banned pesticides.
The RSPB is calling for the law to be enacted, which prevents individuals from having named poisons in their possession if they have no legal use for them.
Mr Harper said: “Our report shows there are a number of poisons commonly used to illegally poison wildlife for which those people responsible can have no legitimate use.
“If this Government is serious about tackling illegal persecution of birds of prey, it really needs to start taking meaningful action. Putting additional controls on the possession of these common wildlife poisons would be a relatively easy first step.”
