Raptor Persecution

When the Red Kites were first released into the area as part of the reintroduction programme of these magnificent birds, there was a single incident of one of the birds being poisoned. Fortunately there has not been another case since. Part of the way that this was prevented from happening again was the way that the RSPB and its partners in the form of Northern Kites, had been educating people about the kites. This included the local schools adopting and naming the birds. Therefore when on the television news this was reported there was an interview with one child, from the school that had adopted the kite, who said that she was told to respect adults, but how could she respect adults that did things like this.

It was a very powerful message, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings. It also meant that instead of just a few professionals protecting the Red Kites, there were thousands of people keeping a watch on them. While I know who the person that poisoned the bird is, there was not enough evidence to prosecute. But with the whole community keeping the Red Kites safe, we have not lost any of the Red Kites to persecution since.

Therefore I was upset to see on the local television news that over in Cumbria six Buzzards have been killed. While only two can be proven to have been shot, four were too badly decomposed to determine the cause of death, as all six were found at Carlisle Golf Course it is likely that there all died at the hands of man.

The Common Buzzard is a protected species as it is rare and to loose six just before the breeding season that means the population has been reduced by twelve to fifteen birds. When numbers are so low anyway, loses like this are even more grievous. The problem is that it is just so difficult to prove who is guilty. They have to be caught in the act of killing or disposing of the body. It is just a shame that there is not the same sense of affection by the community there that we have for the raptors here.

I started writing this entry just before I had to run into town, and as I went down to the bus; I saw one of the Red Kites. It was such a thrill to see it flying free when just ten minutes before I had been writing about birds unlawfully killed. Even now there is a speck on the horizon that is a Red Kite. I know that people, not just birders, are thrilled to see raptors, and they are always a magnificent sight, majestic, powerful, a whole dictionary of adjectives, so why can they not be left to share our lives and our hearts.