'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).