The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has condemned the illegal killing of a white-tailed eagle which was found poisoned on an estate in Tayside.
Officers from Tayside police and RSPB investigators were called out after the dead eagle was discovered in an isolated glen in Angus, near the boundary of the Glenogil and Glenquiech estates.
The investigators also found 32 cubes of venison laced with three different pesticides on fence posts when they went to the site to retrieve the bird.
The eagle was identified as `white G', a male hatched on Mull in 2007 by its wing tags. It is thought that the bird had ingested a lethal mix of the pesticides bendiocarb and carbofuran.
David Sexton, RSPB Scotland Mull Officer, said in a statement: "Everyone on Mull, where people do so much to help the eagles, has been appalled by this awful news. White G was hatched from a nest near the centre of the island and was watched by thousands of visitors in 2007.
"It was also protected by the Mull Eagle Watch, which is made up of local volunteers. It's so sad to think that all their efforts in keeping that bird safe have now gone to waste."
He added: "I just hope that, terrible as it is, the death of this bird will not be in vain, and it will help to draw attention to what is still going on in some parts of the countryside. Crimes like this against our most iconic wildlife tarnish the image of Scotland at home and abroad, these dangerous and outdated practises must change."
White-tailed eagles were successfully re-introduced into Scotland on the island of Rum, and then in the North West Highlands in the 1970s.
The eagles have slowly spread along the west coast and islands and now more than 40 pairs are successfully breeding.
Bob Elliot, RSPB senior investigations officer, said: "It's horrific to think that this sea eagle left the safe haven of Mull only to be poisoned on a mainland sporting estate. These projects restoring our natural heritage have had so much public support, and so much effort put into them, it just makes you think, when is all this going to stop?
"Poisoning is so indiscriminate. Anything could have come across these baits, from wildlife to domestic pets, or even children. These lethally toxic chemicals have rightly been banned for years.
"We would like to see the statutory authorities, led by the Scottish Government, and assisted by responsible members of the land-management community, make a concerted effort to identify and prosecute any individuals involved in this criminal practice."
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Last updated: 19 November 2008, 07:00
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