Rare eagle and pet Labrador killed by illegal poison in Midhurst

The case dates back to October 15 2021, when a satellite tagged White-Tailed Eagle from the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England reintroduction project sent back data suggesting it was no longer moving and, therefore, dead.

Sussex Police was notified and the RSPB took part in a land search of the estate in Midhurst, West Sussex, where they found the eagle’s body wedged in a tree. Toxicology reports released shortly after the bird’s discovery suggested it had died after ingesting the lethal poison bendiocarb.

The killing of the eagle is the first confirmed case of the illegal persecution of a White-Tailed Eagle since the species was persecuted to extinction in the late 1700s.

Three days later, a member of the shoot was picking up some gamebirds on the same estate. After entering a pheasant pen, his Labrador, Duke, picked up a partially eaten pheasant carcass. Moments later, the dog was convulsing and foaming at the mouth, forty minutes after that, he was dead. Tests carried out by Duke’s owner suggest that, like the bird, he might have been poisoned.

After informing the shoot manager about the possible poisoning of his dog, Duke's owner was paid several thousand pounds by the estate. He also informed the RSPB and Sussex Police.

Follow-up police tests confirmed the owners theories. Like the eagle, Duke had also consumed bendiocarb, a highly toxic insecticide. Bendiocarb in its strongest form is already banned in the UK and will be banned completely by next year. Despite this, and the police investigation into the death of the eagle and the dog, no charges have been brought forward for the owner of the estate.

Mark Thomas, The RSPBs head of investigations said this was an especially “tragic” case: “Whilst we don’t know who had the poison, the laying of any poisoned bait in the open is illegal and indiscriminate and has been encountered before in cases involving those who wish to deliberately kill birds of prey.

“The intended target species often depends on the associated land use or activity. On land associated with gamebird releasing and management, the most frequent victims are Red Kites and Common Buzzards. Although White-tailed Eagles are unlikely to be the intended target of these crimes these opportunistic scavengers are as at risk as any other bird of prey, especially in their first year when satellite-tagging data has shown they wander far and wide.

“The fact that no charges have yet been brought is bitterly disappointing.”

Data, reports and case evidence from The RSPB suggests birds of prey like the White-Tailed Eagle are often deliberately targeted on shooting estates to reduce potential predation on gamebird stocks.

RSPB Chief Operating Officer, James Robinson, said: “Given the correlation in location between birds of prey persecution and land under game management, the RSPB is calling for greater regulation of shooting, in particular intensive forms of grouse shooting. A Bill to introduce licensing of grouse moors in Scotland to stop raptor persecution is now moving ahead and we need a similar response in England”.