Poisoning of eagle probed by gardai

[clydebirder]

Tuesday March 03 2009

A GARDA investigation has been launched after the poisoning of a 10-month-old golden eagle in a remote area two weeks ago.
The incident in Glenveagh National Park is the first confirmed case of poisoning among the rare golden eagle population, which was reintroduced to Co Donegal in 2001.
It brings to six the number of confirmed cases of eagles that have been poisoned in Ireland in the past 16 months. Just last month in Kerry, two white tailed sea eagles were found dead as a result of suspected poisoning.
Threat
Golden Eagle project manager Lorcan O'Toole said this latest death represented a "real threat" to the project.
"This is very disappointing. It is the first confirmed case, although we have lost a number of birds in recent years in this area, which is adjacent to the main release area," he said.
"It is hard to know whether the eagle was the direct target or whether it was foxes but all the stakeholders in that area are aware of the golden eagle population."
The bird, with its satellite tag attached, was found face-down, wings outstretched, on mountains between the townlands of Tore, Crolly and Dunlewey village on February 19.
It is believed the bird consumed the poison on meat bait and may have been dead for two weeks and covered by snow.
The dead bird was taken to the Department of Agriculture Regional Veterinary Laboratory in Sligo for a post-mortem examination. Samples of food from its crop were sent to the State Laboratory in Celbridge and a poison was discovered.
Two other birds went missing in the same area and are believed to be dead, possibly also from poisoning.
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[Neil Rigby]

Here's a bit of background information about the Golden Eagle Project in Ireland.

The Golden Eagle project started in 1999, when the Irish Raptor Study Group and the Curlew Trust Limited combined their resources to a new joint venture working with Dúchas (now the National Parks and Wildlife Service) and the Scottish authorities to implement the Irish Golden Eagle Reintroduction project proposal.

The combined effort became the Golden Eagle Trust Limited, which is a fully registered Irish charity.

http://www.goldeneagle.ie/