LETTER TO EDITOR - dismay at poisoning of sea eagle

I am writing to express my utter dismay, upon learning that it has taken the PSNI 14 months to reveal that an iconic White-tailed Sea Eagle was poisoned here in Moyle, near Armoy, last April, 2013!

Of course it is illegal to kill birds of prey and especially such a magnificent and iconic species as this Eagle, which so many are working hard to re-establish on the island of Ireland, after it became extinct due to persecution, from the actions of the same sort of moron who would have laid the illegal poison that killed this Eagle, here in Moyle.

The possibility, for visitors to this area, of seeing such a magnificent bird in the skies around Fairhead, or over Rathlin, would be a huge attraction and a great boon to our tourist industry here. So the selfish, dangerous and totally irresponsible actions of the local cretin who carried out this act against our wildlife here, have let us all down, badly.

We now know that the poison used in this case was Carbofuran which is a deadly poison, not only to birds but mammals too, including wandering pets and children, so for someone to actually lace a bait with this poison and leave it out in the open for anything, or anyone, to come across, is totally irresponsible & idiotic in the extreme. The fact is a single grain of this poison could kill a human.

However, as much as the poisoning itself totally disgusts me, I am also very disappointed by the slow reaction of the local PSNI service and I am at a loss to understand why it took them 14 months to warn us.

I have attached a recent photo I took of a Buzzard flying over Glenann, which is a wonderful sight in itself and is, I’m sure, a familiar one to most of us, here in Moyle. However, the wingspan of a Buzzard only reaches 130cm, whereas the wingspan of a White-tailed Sea Eagle can be as much as 245cm - so over 8 feet! I have no doubt I am not alone, in wishing to see such a beautiful bird become a regular sight around Moyle.

It is in the interest of us all, to ensure that the person responsible for this crime is caught and not allowed to endanger us, or our wildlife, in the future. So I would ask anyone with any information which may help to catch this criminal, to call the PSNI on ‘101’ or if you prefer, call anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Thank you.

Yours Sincerely

Dick Glasgow