June
27 2019, 11.34am
A hen
harrier that was being tracked by a leading bird welfare charity has been found
dead in an illegal trap on a Perthshire moor.
The young
female, named Rannoch, was said to have suffered “significantly” before she
died in the open spring snare.
Rannoch
had been fitted with a satellite tag by RSPB Scotland, as part of the
organisation’s Hen Harrier LIFE conservation programme.
Her
movements had been closely followed by the charity until November when she
stopped moving in an area of moorland between Crieff and Aberfeldy.
The
solar-powered tag battery had drained before accurate information could be
gathered to find her. When the tag came back online in May, RSPB Scotland was
able to get enough data to track down her remains.
A post
mortem report from the SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) veterinary laboratory
states: “The bird was trapped by the left leg in a spring trap at time of
death.
“Death
will have been due to a combination of shock and blood loss, if it died quickly
or to exposure and dehydration/starvation if it died slowly.
“Either
way the bird will have experienced significant unnecessary suffering.”
Dr
Cathleen Thomas, project manager for Hen Harrier LIFE said: “We are absolutely
devastated that Rannoch has been a victim of crime. The life of this beautiful
bird was cut short in the most horrific way due to human actions.
“Satellite
tagging has revealed the amazing journeys made by hen harriers, but also
uncovers who their journeys end.”
She said:
“Often the birds disappear with their tags suddenly ceasing to function as
perpetrators go to great lengths to hide the evidence of their crimes.
“Rannoch’s
death in a spring trap is evidence of one way in which these birds are being
killed.”
She said,
in terms of population size, hen harriers are now the most persecuted bird of
prey in the UK and numbers are now “perilously” low.
“Every
loss we suffer impacts the continued survival of the species.”
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