Poisoning of Donegal eagle described as 'reckless'

The killing of a rare golden eagle in Co Donegal was an act of "reckless poisoning" which threatened the viability of the eagle population in the north west, the manager of the project to reintroduce the birds to Ireland has said.

Toxicology tests on the body of the 10-month-old eagle, which was found dead on a Donegal hillside last month, have indicated the bird was poisoned.

The female bird, which was brought to the county last August from the island of Mull in Scotland, was found in a mountainous region near the edge of Glenveagh National Park, using satellite tracking systems on February 19th.

Separate investigations by the gardaí, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Agriculture are underway into the killing of the bird which is protected under the Wildlife Acts.

Lorcán O'Toole, head of the Golden Eagle Trust, said the bird was found facing down in rank heather with its wings outstretched.

"It had a full crop of food when found, indicating it had eaten shortly before it died. Some of its feathers on its left wing were broken, suggesting the bird had been thrashing about in pain prior to its death."

He declined to disclose the type of poison used to kill the bird "for operational reasons".

A food sample taken from the bird's oesophagus has been sent to the Irish Equine Centre for a DNA analysis to establish what type animal the bird consumed prior to being poisoned.

There is a strong possibility the bird may have been killed from consuming poison which had been laid in a carcass to target hooded crows or foxes in advance of the lambing season.

It is illegal to apply poison to fallen livestock and not to remove fallen livestock from farmlands.

Mr O'Toole said: "The person that put out poison on this meat bait would have been aware of the presence of golden eagles in this area, as it is within or adjacent to the release area in Glenveagh National Park."

He said the Trust had spoken to all key stakeholders in this particular area regularly about its work.

"The person in question would have been aware of the risk to scavenging eagles from all poisoned meat baits and obviously has little respect for the native wildlife or heritage they are surrounded by," he said.

Minister for the Environment John Gormley said: "The poisoning of such magnificent birds serves to damage our reputation as a country that promotes a high-quality natural environment and respects and protects our wildlife."

Mr Gormley said he was considering the introduction of stricter regulations to outlaw the use of poisoned meat-based bait except in exceptional circumstances

"I have been concerned since then that our laws regarding the use of poisoned bait are not strong enough, and that a very small number of people have been acting irresponsibly and possibly illegally in this regard," he said.

The Irish Farmers Association's representative for the area Davie Keith said this sort of poisoning was "absolutely unacceptable".

Mr Keith said farmers have supported the reintroduction of the golden eagles in Co Donegal and "any form of diversification in a rural county such as this must be applauded".

The Golden Eagle Trust has managed to establish a fragile population of four territorial pairs of golden eagles in the north west since the reintroduction programme began in 2001.

But a number of juvenile birds have been spotted in Co Donegal and other counties in recent months.

Prior to the programme, golden eagles had been extinct as breeding species in the Republic since 1912.

Mr O'Toole said the loss of this bird was a great disappointment as the population of golden eagles in Ireland is not yet viable. "We cannot afford to lose anymore birds in this area."