A MAJESTIC red kite was left
enduring a slow and agonising death after being gripped by the cruel teeth of
an illegal wildlife trap.
PUBLISHED: 17:40, Tue, May
22, 2018 | UPDATED: 17:40, Tue, May 22, 2018
Harriers have vanished and the
kite trapped by device
The medieval looking contraption
broke both the protected bird of prey’s legs as it snapped shut with tremendous
force.
For the heavily bleeding kite, it
would have been a slow death sentence, but a passerby took the bird to a vet
who had no option but end its suffering.
The death of the kite comes in a
dismal week for Britain’s rarest birds of prey.
Conservationists today announced
that three hen harriers fitted with satellite trackers have vanished
suspiciously over recent weeks.
As the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds investigate the harriers’ disappearance, colleagues at the
RSPCA have launched an appeal for information on how the kite became trapped
near Aberystwyth earlier this month.
These gin traps were made illegal
to set many years ago and yet shockingly are still being used to catch animals.
Although red kite numbers are
buoyant after recent reintroductions, the kites of central Wales are remnants
of the surviving British population which almost became extinct last century.
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