Rare sea eagle 'killed three months after its release'

A SEA eagle from Norway which was released on the east coast of Scotland is believed to have been deliberately killed on a grouse moor, police said yesterday.

Wildlife crime officers said an informant had told them the white-tailed sea eagle - one of 15 set free in Fife in August as part of a reintroduction programme - had been killed on an estate in Angus. The informant had also named the person responsible.

The eagle's body had not been found, but a tracking device fitted to the bird had stopped giving out a signal, suggesting it had been disabled.

The last native sea eagle was shot in 1918. A reintroduction programme began in the 1970s on the west coast, where there are now 42 breeding pairs.

Alan Stewart, Tayside Police's wildlife and environment officer, said:

"It is really scandalous. Here we are trying to reintroduce birds that have been killed off 100 years ago and the allegation is one has been killed already, just a few months into the release programme."

He added: "Most shooting estates give us no cause for concern, but the particular estate named by the informant has been at the centre of concerns over illegal practices in the past few years."

The 12 remaining Norwegian birds - two were killed on power lines - are now spread from St Fergus in Aberdeenshire to Loch Leven and Perthshire.

Alex Hogg, the chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association,

doubted gamekeepers were involved, as eagles caused no problem on grouse moors.

But he added: "I thought this would lead to trouble. As soon as one of these birds is found dead, the finger gets pointed at a shooting estate."

Michael Russell, Scotland's environment minister, said that he was "deeply disturbed to hear reports that one of these magnificent birds has come to deliberate harm".

Stuart Housden, the director of RSPB Scotland, said: "We are shocked and saddened that the gift of sea eagles from the people of Norway to Scotland should be blighted by what appears to be a deliberate act of illegal persecution by this selfish estate."

• THE Scotsman is committed to helping the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals catch those responsible for killing birds of prey and other wildlife. Information about wildlife crimes can be passed to police via the National Wildlife Crime Unit in North Berwick on 01620 893607.