Eagle with egg released in Killarney National Park killed by poison

The death of yet another white-tailed sea eagle by illegal poisoning was yesterday described as a “major blow” to the project to reintroduce the protected species to Ireland.

So far, 31 of the 100 eagles, sourced in Norway and released in Killarney National Park, have died, with 13 confirmed to have been poisoned.

The latest victim, a six-year-old female, was found dead in its nest by a National Parks and Wildlife Service conservation ranger in Connemara.

Released six years ago, the bird settled in the Roundstone area in 2012 where she paired up with a male. While her eggs failed to hatch last year, an autopsy showed the bird contained two developing eggs and so was within days of laying eggs.

Project manager Allan Mee said that while all losses had an impact, the loss of the Connemara bird was very difficult to take.

“We believe awareness efforts have been productive, but it is clear some individuals still resort to using poisons as meat baits, such as dead livestock,” he said. “While their targets may be foxes and crows, we know, to our cost, the devastation this causes to our rare and protected birds of prey.”

Arts and Heritage Minister Heather Humphreys said the loss of the breeding female effectively put an end to any attempt to breed the species in west Galway for at least another five years.

She reminded the public that use of poison to kill animals such as foxes or crows has been banned since 2010.

Seven pairs laid eggs in nests in the wild in 2014, with one nest near Mountshannon, Co Clare, successfully fledging chicks in 2013 and 2014. It was hoped that the Connemara pair would be one of a number of successful nests in Ireland in 2015.

The number of adult pairs has risen steadily from one in 2010 to 14 in 2014.

DISCOVER MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS