'A deplorable act': Minister condemns shooting of endangered white-tailed eagle

Minister of State Malcolm Noonan said he was 'devastated' by news of the the animal's killing. File Picture: Valerie O'Sullivan/ NPWS

Minister of State Malcolm Noonan has condemned the "deplorable" killing of an endangered white-tailed eagle in Co Westmeath.

The young female eagle, which was shot dead last month beside Lough Owen, was among the eagles released into the Shannon Estuary in 2022 as part of the White-Tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme undertaken by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

In the years since 2022, the NPWS says the bird spent time along the Western Seaboard before travelling to Armagh, Fermanagh, Cavan, and to Lough Ree. It then returned to Westmeath late last year.

In Westmeath, the eagle moved between Lough Owel, Lough Derravaragh, and Lough Ennell.

Satellite tags fitted by NPWS indicate that she died on December 6, the day before Storm Darragh, in the Ballynafid/Portnashangan area at Lough Owel.

Mr Noonan, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, said he was "devastated" by news of the animal's killing.

White-tailed eagles are magnificent creatures; their presence are such good indicators of the health of our ecosystems and countryside and now part of our wider efforts to restore nature.

He said the birds are "treasured by local communities and visitors to Ireland alike and any loss resonates throughout".

Mr Noonan added that the NPWS is now undertaking "a thorough investigation led by the Wildlife Crime Directorate with the support of An Garda Siochána and will, where possible, bring the perpetrators of this unacceptable crime to justice".

He appealed to any members of the public with information on the bird's death to come forward.