Shooting of white-tailed eagle ‘significant blow’
The bird — one of the first two eaglets to fledge successfully from a nest in Co Clare last July — has been found dead on the north-eastern shoreof Lough Derg, near Ballinderry.
Its carcass contained 45 to 50 shotgun pellets. The impact of the shooting broke one of its legs and wings, but the bird is
believed to have survived some weeks after the shooting.
The horrific nature of the bird’s shooting and death has shocked all those involved in the reintroduction project.
“Finding one of the first two young white-tailed eagles to fly from a nest in Ireland shot dead is heartbreaking,” said project manager Dr Allan Mee.
“It is absolutely incomprehensible that someone would shoot one of these magnificent birds, but even more shocking is that one of the first two Irish-bred eagles has been shot only seven months after leaving the nest.”
The bird had been reared by a mating pair at a nest on Lough Derg, near Mountshannon, Co Clare, and successfully flew from the nest along with its sibling. After a few months of care by its parents, both young eagles began to disperse more widely and become independent.
The last confirmed sighting was of one of the two juveniles near Dromineer, Co Tipperary, onthe east shore of Lough Derg in January.
A rare White-tailed eagle, found shot dead, in Tipperary had between 45-50 shotgun pellets in its body. pic.twitter.com/fQCyLdgPlB
— Barra Best (@barrabest) March 5, 2014
White-tailed eagles are protected under the Wildlife Act (1976) and it is an offence to shoot or otherwise harm them. Gardaí and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) are investigating.
Arts and Heritage Minister Jimmy Deenihan said he was shocked, stating the bird’s birth was a special day for nature conservation in Ireland.
“So much work has gone into reintroducing this species here, and there has been wonderful co-operation by many different groups to achieve successful breeding. To have all this undone is a significant blow,’’ he added.
NPWS district conservation officer Stefan Jones said the offence resulted in an especially drawn-out and horrific death for the bird.
“This bird would have been unable to fish and forage as normal, and it appears that it slowly starved to death as a result. Bearing in mind the broken limbs and the fact that it had approximately 50 shotgun pellets in it, it is amazing it managed to survive for such a period.”
The reintroduction programme started in Killarney National Park in 2007 and 100 eagles have since been released there. Twenty-seven of the eagles have died, including 12 from poisoning.
The birth of two eaglets last year was seen as a major breakthrough in the programme.
* Anyone with information should contact, in confidence, the gardaí at 067-50450, or the National Parks and Wildlife Service at 076-1002501.
