Local farmers & landowners pledge £12,000 to help bird deaths investigation

A group of farmers and landowners from the Moray Firth area have come together and pledged a reward of £12,000 for information about the deaths of 18 birds of prey in the Highlands.

Thirteen red kites and five buzzards have now been discovered near Conon Bridge, with tests showing several had been poisoned.

The local group, comprising members of Scottish Land & Estates and the NFU Scotland, have condemned the deaths and offered their assistance to police in the investigation.

Their pledge takes the total reward for information to more than £25,000.

One of the landowners involved in collating the reward is Alex Matheson from the Brahan Estate, which operates the Tollie Red Kites centre in partnership with RSPB.

Alex said: “We have been appalled by these tragic and senseless bird deaths. By pulling together as a community to do all we can to help, we want to send a strong and clear message that any form of wildlife crime is totally unacceptable. We would urge anyone who has any information to come forward.

“Scottish Land & Estates and NFU Scotland have both fully supported this initiative. We call on all sections of our local communities to work with the police - and through appropriate organisations such as PAW Scotland - to create effective partnerships in order that we can totally eradicate all incidents of wildlife crime.”

The reward will be paid for information that leads to the successful prosecution of the perpetrators of this crime. Any information on the deaths should be given directly to the police by calling 101. If anyone would like to contribute to this reward they should contact Brahan Estate directly via email reward@brahan.com.