News / Scotland

Golden eagle feared dead after tag found wrapped in lead

The bird of prey has been missing since its tag stopped transmitting suddenly on a grouse moor in Perthshire in 2016.

Golden eagle feared dead after tag found wrapped in lead — Missing: The golden eagle is feared dead after its tag was found wrapped in lead.

Jenness Mitchell

25th Sep 2020

A wildlife charity is on the hunt for a potential golden eagle killer after the bird’s satellite tag was found wrapped in heavy lead at a river.

The bird of prey has been missing since its tag stopped transmitting suddenly on a grouse moor in Perthshire in 2016.

Despite searches, it was never found.

Following the recovery of its tag, RSPB Scotland now believe it was illegally killed and said it shows the “lengths raptor killers will go to conceal crime”.

Discovery: The tag was wrapped in heavy lead and dumped at River Braan. <strong>RSPB SCOTLAND</strong>”/></div><figcaption aria-hidden=true>Discovery: The tag was wrapped in heavy lead and dumped at River Braan. <strong>RSPB SCOTLAND</strong> <cite class=hidden></cite></figcaption></figure><p>Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland’s head of investigations said: “As is the case in virtually every raptor persecution investigation, nobody seemed to know anything and, as is the case with every suspicious satellite-tagged raptor disappearance on a grouse moor, spurious alternative theories as to what may have happened to the bird and tag were suggested.</p><p>“However, now we know the truth. This young eagle was killed illegally.</p><p>“The tag was clearly removed from the bird, its antenna was cut off, and the tag was then wrapped in a piece of lead sheeting, presumably because the perpetrator thought this would stop it transmitting. </p><p>“The package was then cast into the river, never to be seen again. Or so they thought.”</p><figure class=wp-block-image><div class=relative><img loading=lazy decoding=async src=https://prod.news.stv.tv/wp-content/themes/stvnews/static/images/fallback.png width=1280 height=720 srcset sizes=

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