A pesticide so toxic it is banned in at least 100 countries was used to poison a raven in a protected wildlife area in Newry.
It was the second such incident targeting a raven in the same area of the city, prompting police to reach out to residents and to warn people not to handle birds they believe were poisoned.
One of the all-black corvid birds consumed the pesticide Aldicarb, which is banned across the world and would have been illegally imported into Ireland or the UK. The other consumed Alpha Chloralose, used primarily to poison mice but only administered by professionals indoors and in bait boxes.
All lines of enquiry in the investigation into the poisoning of the ravens are exhausted, but the Newry Local Policing Team is encouraging the public to come forward if they have any further information.
“This was a sad outcome and we are deeply concerned by not only the confirmed poisoning of these rare birds, but also that they were found in protected areas where wildlife should be safe from harm,” said James Leonard, spokesman for the National Wildlife Crime Unit.
“Deliberately leaving out poisoned bait is an illegal practice and can affect not only birds of prey, but it can also harm pets, livestock and humans, if handled incorrectly. These two occurrences should not have happened and the birds involved should have been left free to roam.”.
John Less, of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), said: “This is a really sad situation but we were able to use it as an opportunity for police and partners to come together, and for us to collectively engage with local people in the area to provide them with information on what to look out for, preventing these incidents from happening again.”.”
