13
November 2018
A rare
hen harrier has disappeared in North Yorkshire, prompting fears it may have
been deliberately killed.
The bird
of prey was fitted with a satellite tag after hatching in the Peak District in
the summer.
It was in
the North York Moors National Park on 26 October when the signal was lost.
The bird,
named Arthur, is the ninth hen harrier to disappear in suspicious circumstances
in the last 12 weeks, according to RSPB records.
The
charity had been monitoring Arthur's movements as he flew from the Brecon
Beacons in South Wales to Nidderdale.
The
bird's last registered location was north of Lowna Bridge, near Hutton-le-Hole,
with no body or tracking tag recovered.
More than
30 hen harriers have been tagged in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of
Man in 2018 by the RSPB.
Despite
being protected by law under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, numbers of
hen harriers remain consistently low, a spokesperson for the charity said.
Sgt Kevin
Kelly, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "This is an unwanted addition to
the already concerning and ever-raising numbers of hen harriers that are just
'vanishing'.
"I
encourage any information that could help me forward this investigation, these
rare birds are one of the jewels in the crown of the English countryside."
In recent
months, satellite-tagged hen harriers have also vanished suddenly in the Peak
District, north and central Scotland, north Wales and Northumberland.
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