Police are appealing for public help after three white-tailed eagles, including one of the first to fledge in England for centuries, vanished under suspicious circumstances. The disappearances are being investigated by multiple police forces and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, with conservationists describing the losses as devastating.
The RSPB has offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. Dr James Robinson, RSPB chief operating officer, said: 'Eagle tag-data is so precise that the point of death and any subsequent movement of the tag will be known to investigators, so we urge the public to come forward with information. Raptor persecution has no place in modern society, let alone threatening such an important UK government-backed reintroduction scheme like this.'
The birds disappeared in Sussex, Wales and Scotland. In two cases, satellite trackers were cut off with a sharp instrument and found dumped near the last recorded location. In the third, the tag stopped transmitting on 8 November with no subsequent sightings. The missing Sussex chick hatched in the wild earlier this year and was one of the first white-tailed eagles to fledge in England for hundreds of years.
White-tailed eagles, Britain's largest bird of prey, were driven to extinction in the early 20th century due to persecution. Since 2019, 45 have been released in England through a partnership between the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England. Several breeding pairs have formed, with six chicks hatching in the wild for the first time since the 1780s. Tim Mackrill of the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation said: 'It was devastating to find the stolen and dumped tags, particularly for the chick in Sussex, who fledged this summer and had only just begun its life.'
Campaigners say the birds are sometimes killed illegally by those with game interests, as they are thought to prey on birds bred for shooting. Disturbing the birds or their nests is a criminal offence. Police are seeking information from specific locations and times: near Petersfield, Hampshire on 20 September; near Gwgia Reservoir, Tregynon, Wales on 13 September; and in the Moorfoot Hills area south of Edinburgh after 8 November.
