Responding to the news that a white tailed eagle was found poisoned on the Glenogil Estate in August 2009, Duncan Orr-Ewing, head of Species and Land Management at RSPB Scotland, said: "This is an utterly despicable crime perpetrated against one of Scotland's rarest iconic species, and once again it has been found in an area where sporting estates dominate the landscape.
"It is abundantly clear from the litany of incidents, which continue with shocking regularity in certain parts of the Angus Glens, that there is a substantial body of evidence of illegal activity being carried out by rogue elements. This should justify the deployment of all possible resources to identify those responsible and then consider the full range of sanctions to tackle the perpetrators. If this cannot be done effectively in cases such as this, then one has to ask if it is possible to do it at all under present legislation.
“In 2008 Her Majesty's Inspectorate made 24 recommendations in its joint thematic review - conducted at considerable public expense - of the arrangements in Scotland for preventing, investigating and prosecuting wildlife crime. The Scottish Government and each and every police force must take all necessary steps to ensure that these are implemented in full if we are to see an end to these depressing incidents.
“More widely, these crimes against some of our rarest birds continue to blemish Scotland’s international standing and represent a dark stain on the regard we have for our precious natural heritage and wildlife.”
