Durham red kite 'fighting for life' after being shot

A protected bird of prey is said to be "fighting for its life" after being shot out of the sky in County Durham.

The red kite was found "peppered with shot" and with a broken wing on a grouse moor in Edmundbyers, near Consett, on 17 March.

It is receiving round-the-clock care at Ryedale Wildlife Rescue in Malton, North Yorkshire.

Durham Police are investigating and urging anyone with information to contact the force.

It follows the shooting of another red kite in the Scottish Highlands earlier this month, prompting it to be put down.

A member of the public had been walking near Burnhope Burn when they saw the bird hiding in bracken.

It was reported to the RSPB and inspectors arrived and took the bird to a vet.

The bird has since gone into the care of volunteer, Jean Thorpe at Ryedale Wildlife Rescue, and has been able to feed itself.

"However it's still not out of the woods," said Jack Ashton-Booth, investigations officer at the RSPB.

"We are incredibly grateful to the diligent member of the community who noticed and reported the bird, and urge anyone else who finds a dead or injured bird of prey in suspicious circumstances to do the same."

Red kites are protected under schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and anyone found killing one can face up to six months in jail.

Durham Police said an investigation was under way and urged anyone who might have been in the area, or had seen anything suspicious, to contact them.

The RSPB said this part of County Durham had seen raptor crimes, adding that in 2021, two red kits fitted with satellite tracking "inexplicably" vanished.

They are believed to have been killed.

Meanwhile last year, another red kite was found dead near Edmundbyers after being allegedly poisoned.

Friends of Red Kites, a voluntary monitoring and community engagement organisation, said it was "sickened" to hear another bird had been shot.

The North East-based group said: "After nearly 20 years the population of breeding kites has barely advanced above 20 pairs.

"It is a sad indictment on parts of society that the people of the North East are denied seeing these beautiful birds gracing our skies more widely".

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