4 Dec 2007 - Sea eagle is first to be shot since 1918
A rogue estate has been blamed for the death of a white-tailed sea eagle - the first to be shot in Scotland since 1918.
Sea eagles are Britain's largest birds of prey with a wing span of eight feet.
The young bird was one of 15 chicks released into eastern Scotland from Norway in June as part of a five-year reintroduction programme.
It is understood to have been slaughtered on an estate in Angus, which police were refusing to name.
Officers said an informant told them the eagle had been killed on a grouse moor.
In an unusual step, they released a statement saying that the estate had been responsible for the persecution of several birds of prey in recent years, including several poisonings.
The eagle's body had not been found, but police said evidence from radio tracking devices showed it had "disappeared off the radar".
Sea eagles - Britain's largest birds of prey with a wing span of eight feet - were persecuted from Scotland in the early part of the 20th century, with the last one shot in 1918.
More at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Sea eagles are Britain's largest birds of prey with a wing span of eight feet.
The young bird was one of 15 chicks released into eastern Scotland from Norway in June as part of a five-year reintroduction programme.
It is understood to have been slaughtered on an estate in Angus, which police were refusing to name.
Officers said an informant told them the eagle had been killed on a grouse moor.
In an unusual step, they released a statement saying that the estate had been responsible for the persecution of several birds of prey in recent years, including several poisonings.
The eagle's body had not been found, but police said evidence from radio tracking devices showed it had "disappeared off the radar".
Sea eagles - Britain's largest birds of prey with a wing span of eight feet - were persecuted from Scotland in the early part of the 20th century, with the last one shot in 1918.
More at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk