Particle.news
Download on the App Store
8 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

Police Probe Three Suspicious White-Tailed Eagle Disappearances Across UK

Coordinated wildlife-crime inquiries follow the recovery of two cut-off tracking tags, with a third eagle unaccounted for after its signal ceased.

Image
Image
Image
White-tailed eagles have a healthy population in Scotland but have only recently been reintroduced south of the border

Overview

  • Tags from eagles in Powys on 13 September and the River Rother near Petersfield on 26 September were recovered after being severed with a sharp instrument and dumped near last known locations.
  • Police Scotland are treating a case in the Moorfoot Hills as suspicious after a tag stopped transmitting on 8 November, with extensive searches yet to find the bird or device.
  • Sussex Police, Dyfed‑Powys Police, Police Scotland and the National Wildlife Crime Unit are pursuing forensic lines of inquiry, including DNA and fingerprint analysis, alongside ground searches and data review.
  • Officers have issued public appeals for sightings and information in specified areas and time windows linked to each incident, with Crimestoppers and police contact routes provided.
  • The missing birds are part of the Forestry England and Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation project that has released 45 eagles since 2019 and produced several breeding pairs with six wild-born chicks in England.