White-tailed eagles disappear in suspicious circumstances as cases rise across UK

Amelia Jones

Authorities in Wales are investigating a rising number of raptor persecution cases after a satellite tag from a rare white-tailed eagle was removed and hidden.

Dyfed Powys police said the tag belonged to white-tailed eagle G615 and was found in remote moorland near Tregynon, Powys.

Investigators believe it had been deliberately cut off with a sharp instrument, and searches for the bird itself have so far been unsuccessful.

White-tailed eagles are part of carefully managed reintroduction programs led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation.

All birds are tagged to monitor their movements and support population recovery.

Conservation expert Ed Blane described the case as particularly sickening. He said: “White-tailed eagles are the UK’s largest raptors and have been brought back from the brink through decades of careful conservation.

“These birds are slow to mature and typically rear only one or two chicks per season, so any illegal killing has a serious impact on their recovery,” he said.

Blane added: “We have no doubt that at least two of these eagles were victims of illegal persecution, given the evidence that their satellite tags were cut off and attempts were made to hide them.

“Given the well-known persecution hotspots in Scotland, it would not be surprising if other missing eagles have also been killed illegally, most likely shot.”

This follows a similar incident in September, where another satellite tag from a white-tailed eagle in the same area was removed and hidden, and the bird was never found.

Elsewhere in the UK, other white-tailed eagles have disappeared under suspicious circumstances. In Sussex, a fledgling eagle had its tag removed and recovered from the River Rother, while in Scotland, another eagle’s satellite tag stopped transmitting in November, prompting a police investigation.

Authorities stress that any interference with these birds is illegal and undermines decades of conservation work.