Rangers seek public’s help after ninth red kite dies of illegal poisoning

A ninth red kite has been found dead from illegal poisoning in Wicklow, park rangers have said.

The breeding female, which had been nesting on a farm near Redcross, Co Wicklow, was found near Brittas Bay late last year.

It is the latest red kite killed by poison in the county, while there have been similar deaths in Kildare and a suspected poisoning in Limerick since the reintroduction project began in 2007.

Dr Marc Ruddock, red kite project manager, said it was a demoralising loss.

“These birds are specialist scavengers,” he said.

“That’s why they are finding these food sources which are sadly poisoned. They are designed to clean up the countryside.”

The bird, known as Blue Purple G, was one of the first young kites brought from Wales and released in July 2007. She had found a mate and was known to have bred and raised three young at Redcross.

Dr Ruddock called for anyone with information on poisonings to contact local National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers and gardaí to help identify individuals who poison wildlife.

Penalties for illegally poisoning birds of prey can be up to €5,000 or 12 years in prison. The kite was the third poisoned with alphachloralose in the last five months, a chemical which can only legally be used in controlled dosages to kill mice.

Meanwhile, in Lusk, north Dublin, the NPWS is dealing with a spate of secondary poisonings of kites caused by the legal control of rats and mice with chemical poison.