Poisoned bait leads to slaughter of rare birds on top estate

Nov 16 2008 By Steve Dinneen

A TRAIL of death ends in the vile and indiscriminate poisoning of Scotland's rarest birds of prey on a top estate.

We retraced the last flight of White G, a two-year-old sea eagle found dead near the Glenogil estate in Angus.

Owned by multi-millionaire investment banker John Dodd, it is a paradise for grouse shooters.

But it is a death-trap for the raptors which survive on the grouse.

White G died in agony after eating poisoned meat placed on top of the high barbed wire fence which rings the 10,000-acre property.

Our exclusive pictures show bait laced with deadly pesticide carbofuran on fence posts.

The blue-coloured toxin was ingested by White G, one of just a handful of sea eagles successfully hatched in Mull.

Another shot shows a buzzard that died after eating the poisoned meat.

A butchered hare, whose corpse was laced with the toxin, was also found nearby.

Wildlife officers raided Glenogil in May and uncovered the biggest single haul of poisoned bait ever found in Scotland.

At least 32 pieces of venison placed on fence posts were contaminated with carbofuran.

All birds of prey in Scotland - such as sea eagles, golden eagles, kites, buzzards and peregrine falcons - are protected by law and it is illegal to kill them or disturb their nests. Even approaching one is forbidden. Sea eagles are the rarest bird in Scotland, with less than 200 in the wild.

But last year there were 30 bird of prey poisonings, with tainted bait to blame for most. The RSPB have accused unscrupulous gamekeepers trying to protect grouse from predators.

A further 16 birds were found shot or illegally trapped and at least another 10 nests had eggs stolen from them.

RSPB expert David Jackson took us to the hilltop area of Glenogil where the poisoned meat was found.

He said: "We try our best to stop people from using poison but we are responsible for policing the whole of Scotland, so finding persecuted birds really is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"There are millions upon millions of acres and poisoned baits are tiny and often hidden.

"If a poisoned bird falls in woodland or undergrowth, the chances of finding it are almost nil.

"So although we have proof of 30 poisoned birds, the real number is far higher - hundreds or even thousands.

"Lots of gamekeepers are still using poisoned baits. The chemicals are really very nasty - potent enough to kill a human.

"We see cats and dogs dying too.

It's only a matter of time before a child end sup dying. As soon as you find a poisoned animal you can tell what caused it as the body is covered in dead insects - anything that touches it dies."

As we climbed back down the hill, we were met by a convoy of Land Rovers driven by the estate's gamekeepers - who made it clear we were not welcome.

No one on Glenogil admitted knowing anything about the poison.

But the only way it could have been placed by someone from outside of the estate would be by negotiating the barbed wire and an electric fence.

Last year Tayside police probed claims a sea eagle was shot over the estate but no charges were brought.

White G's contorted body was found by a neighbouring estate owner, Richard de Klee, who called police.

Klee also owns land in Mull and is involved in the effort to protect the island's eagles.

He said: "It was incredibly sad to find the dead eagle, especially given the amount of hard work the people of Mull put into protecting the birds.

"They are magnificent creatures and the people of Scotland should be proud to have them."

John Dodd, the 47-year-old owner of Glenogil, made his fortune as a fund manager and is a director of the Artemis investment bank, which uses cartoons of hunters with shotguns and gundogs in its advertising.

Last month, his government farming subsidy was docked by £107,000 after illegal pesticides including carbofuran were found on the estate.

Dodd bought Glenogil for almost £4.5million in 2003. He said: "I don't know anything about the poison found on the estate. How would I? I don't live there. I doubt any of my gamekeepers are responsible for it.

"I'll be conducting my own investigation into it but I have no idea when that will be finished.

"For any other information you'll have to speak to Tayside police."

The RSPB is running a campaign to stop the illegal killing of birds of prey.

Visit www.rspb.org.uk for details.

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s.dinneen@sundaymail.co.uk

It's only amatter of time before a child ends up dying RSPB's David Jackson