A POSTMORTEM has revealed a golden eagle found dead in Co Tyrone last month was poisoned, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
The bird was collected as a chick from the Outer Hebrides in Scotland in June and reared and released in Glenveagh National Park, Co Donegal, by the Golden Eagle Trust as part of a continuing project to restore golden eagles in the State.
The bird was found on November 1st outside the village of Killeter in west Tyrone, with a partially full crop (stomach), suggesting it had eaten recently. A police postmortem revealed it was poisoned by carbofuran, which has been banned in Ireland, Britain and Europe since 2008.
The eagle was fitted with a satellite transmitter before it was released in August. Tracking showed it spent several weeks around the release area before heading to Killeter forest, where it has been since mid-October.
The PSNI is investigating the killing of the bird.
“Words cannot express our disgust at this terrible and careless act,” said Dr James Robinson, director of the RSPB in the North. “The use of this poison is illegal and this method of baiting is indiscriminate and banned.”
Lorcan O’Toole, the Golden Eagle Trust project manager, said: “There is simply no justification for using poison in the month of October and it seems so pointless and reckless.”