An investigation has been launched after a white-tailed eagle was poisoned in Kerry.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) says the eagle was poisoned with a substance that has been banned in Ireland for 18 years.
The NPWS is looking for the public’s help with its investigation.
This young female eagle was brought in as a chick from Norway last year as part of the White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme managed by NPWS.
This eagle was released in Killarney National Park last year, but has been found poisoned in Glencar.
As part of the re-introduction programme since 2020, all eagles released are monitored via satellite-tags.
Concerns were raised in early April, as the eagle’s satellite tag showed that she had remained stationary for several days. NPWS staff then went to the location of the satellite tag and found the partially decomposed carcass of the eagle in a woodland.
Toxicology tests have confirmed the white-tailed eagle had been poisoned with carbofuran, an insecticide which has been banned in Ireland since 2007.
The NPWS says it’s not known how the eagle ingested this substance at this time.
It says 200 young eagles have been released as part of the programme; there are currently 13 to 16 breeding pairs, with 64 chicks fledged by the end of last year.
The NPWS says however that a number of the eagles brought in as part of the programme have met untimely deaths, with persecution by humans the biggest threat to the reintroduction programme in Ireland.
It says the misuse/illegal use of poisons accounts for nearly 50% of eagle deaths where the cause of mortality was able to be determined, while at least one eagle has been shot.
In terms of natural causes of death, a number of eagles have succumbed to avian flu, as well as other conditions.
The NPWS says any information in respect of this or any suspected breaches of the Wildlife legislation should be reported to the NPWS head office or local offices or via email to [email protected].
Wildlife crime incidents can also be reported to An Garda Síochána.
The NPWS has also stressed that in the interests of public health and safety, do not handle dead birds.
