North Yorkshire Police Probe Missing Eagle as 55% of 921 Raptor Crimes Hit Shooting Land
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 6
North Yorkshire Police Probe Missing Eagle as 55% of 921 Raptor Crimes Hit Shooting Land
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 6
Summary
North Yorkshire police have appealed for information after a satellite-tagged white-tailed eagle from the Isle of Wight reintroduction project vanished on the North York Moors, with officers and the National Wildlife Crime Unit searching its last known area.
1:20 a.m. on 1 May was the bird’s last transmission near a roost site after it entered the moors on 30 April; conservationists said the tag sent location and body-temperature data every five minutes and should not have failed without cause.
45 young white-tailed eagles have been released since 2019, and the missing bird was the chick from Dorset’s first breeding pair in 240 years, making the disappearance a blow to England’s restoration effort.
North Yorkshire accounted for 21.84% of confirmed UK raptor persecution incidents from 2015 to 2024, while the RSPB said at least 55% of 921 cases occurred on or near game-bird shooting land.
Shooting groups urged caution, saying tags can fail and no evidence links gamekeepers to this case, while campaigners said the county’s long record of bird crime warrants stronger enforcement.