Make Way
for Birds of
Prey!
(Source: Photos taken by Maria
Evans)
Many farmers and gamekeepers kill
birds of prey ILLEGALLY by POISONING
them. These birds eat their young animals
and so they lose lots of money. Farmers
can go out of business if they have no
animals for slaughter. The birds attack
their calves and lambs so they tackle this
problem by poisoning them.
Gamekeepers lose ducks and cygnets to
birds of prey.

Did you know that redkites were
persecuted to extinction throughout
the UK with the exception of Wales?

Did you know each year there are
approximately 74 reported incidents
of poisoning in birds of prey?

Did you know that farmers and
gamekeepers are the culprits in a lot
of cases, killing because their young
livestock are under threat from these
birds?
(Source: RSPB website, www.rspb.org.uk)
Different types of POISONS are used for
different birds. Examples are as follows:
Carbofurain for Eagles
Methiocarb for Gulls
Diazinon for Waterfowl
Fenthion for Hawks
(Source: RSPB website, ClipArt, 2015)
(Source: ClipArt, 2015)
This poisoning is more likely to happen in
wide open spaces like fields or farms.
Compare this to birds in a forest where
they can perch in trees – here they can be
seen and shot - not so easy in an open
field! So poisons are used instead!
There is no specific bait as birds of prey
will eat grain, pigeons and young
livestock. The unfortunate thing about
poisoning is that you may kill more than
the bird you wanted to kill. Domestic
animals may eat poisoned grain,
especially on farms. If a dead bird gets
eaten by a cat or dog then it may well die
also! If an animal comes into contact with
a bird that has poison on its feathers, then
not only can it be affected, but it can then
carry the poison to other animals and
even humans. If a human picks up a dead
bird then he or she can pass on the poison
to other animals and even other people.
Humans can have minor skin irritations or
they can ingest the poison by mistake and
become very sick and unwell.
So these poisons can do great damage
beyond the actual birds themselves, as
they can move into other food chains by
both biological and physical processes.
A bird sanctuary owner from Amroth in
Pembrokeshire was very kind and allowed
us to interview her about her thoughts
and feelings about bird poisoning. Maria
Evans from Tinkers Hill Bird of Prey &
Swan Rescue Centre says, ‘I totally
disagree with poisoning any animal, and
it’s illegal!’ Maria feels very strongly
about this topic and says that,’ Birds are
not killers, they are just scavengers for
food so they naturally hunt’.Maria says
that, ‘There is no hope for survival for a
bird that has been poisoned and they will
die in pain!’ The signs of poisoning in birds
are clenched claws, discolouration around
the mouth and dizziness when walking or
flying.
Adrian Roberts, a local farmer tells us that
he now has to pay for a dead lamb or calf
carcass to be removed from his fields.
Adrian says, ‘If dead animals were left in
the fields then these birds could eat away
at them – then there would be no need
for poisoning or shooting or any other
form of persecution!’ So, what is the
solution? Is it time for the local
governments to rethink their policy on
removing dead carcasses from farmers’
fields? If they were left then birds of prey
would not need to kill live animals as a
source of food – as Maria said, these birds
are scavengers and will naturally hunt!
The farmers would be happier too as they
wouldn’t have to pay a removal fee!
More importantly the natural cycle of life
would continue in its proper form, food
chains would NOT be disrupted and there
would be NO need for any vile poisons
that wreck havoc in our fragile
ECOSTSTEMS!
(Photo: Skye Murray, Robyn Thomas and Maria
Evans, 2015)
Written by Skye Murray (age 13) & Robyn
Thomas (age 14)
Castle School, Cresselly, PEMBROKESHIRE,
SOUTH WALES
Displayed in the Castle School newsletter,
website and news board 2015