Poison use lashed by eagle guardian
Wednesday March 18 2009
GUARDIANS of the White Tailed Eagle will call on EU institutions to take action following the suspected poisoning of a fifth bird which was found near Lough Lein in Beaufort last week.
The latest victim was considered the star traveller of the 35 eagles introduced to Kerry in the past two years and had been spotted throughout Ireland, as far afield as the upper shores of Lough Neagh.
Toxicology tests are currently being carried out in the state laboratory in Celbridge and results will be released by the end of the week but project manager Allan Mee says that it looks like a classic case of poisoning.
"It's soul destroying, it looks similar and it's probably a matter of identifying the poison," Dr Mee told The Kerryman this week. And while a fifth case may be recovered, it is believed another bird, missing in the Kilgarvan area, may have met a similar fate as a transmitter was found in a stream in November.
As scavengers, eagles are susceptible to carcasses laced with poison which are used by a small portion of Kerry farmers to deter predators such as foxes.
"Unfortunately, the way the law is in Ireland it is not conducive to a conviction," Dr Mee explained.
"Evidence we have found here would have been the basis of a conviction in the UK but the use and sale of poisons is still legal here. We are one of the few countries in Europe that still uses poison.
"We are going to take the matter to Europe to enforce the issue," he added.
With 29 birds remaining, Dr Mee says the statistics don't bode well for Kerry.
"It is ironic that out of the 35, the only deaths are occurring here. It doesn't reflect well on Kerry."
Just two of the 50 Golden Eagles introduced to Donegal since 2001 have been recorded as poisoned while there here have been no recorded poisonings of the 30 Red Kite released in Wicklow last July.
Released in 2007, the latest victim had reached the Blaskets, Skelligs and Dingle within weeks of its release. It was spotted last summer in County Down, as well as Glenavy, County Antrim and on the River Bann north of Lough Neagh.
Within the past month it had travelled to County Clare and back to Killarney via East Limerick and the Galtee Mountains.
"Most farmers are very positive about the bird and we have got a lot of support in areas like the Black Valley but it only takes one or two to cause problems," Dr Mee added and he called on farmers to use alternatives to poisoning such as electric fencing or contact the local gun club.
- KEVIN HUGHES khughes@kerryman.ie
