A protected and rare bird whose flight path has been in and around Cavan and Leitrim has been shot. The dead white tailed eagle was found in Roscommon and preliminary investigations have found the bird was shot. Thérése Kelly of the National Parks and Wildlife Service said a forensic analysis is currently being carried out, which, "may reveal more info."
The bird in question was part of a long-running re-introduction programme aimed at preventing the white tailed eagle, which is native to Ireland, from becoming extinct. District Conservation officer Thérése Kelly is also the lead investigator on the case of this most recent deliberate killing of this rare type of bird. She said two white-tailed eagles were deliberately poisoned in Cavan last year. Ms kelly appealed for anyone with information on this recent death to contact her at the National parks and Wildlife Service.
"Usually it's intentionally as to whether the particular bird would of been the intended target," she explained. "Sometimes that's difficult to say with certainty, it could be birds of prey in general, white tailed eagles are not the only birds of prey that undergo persecution, we get quite a number of birds such as buzzards and owls that would be targeted with poison as well."
