23-04-2025
Sparrowhawk shot dead in Inverness as police launch probe
Animal welfare officers said the protected bird suffered a "painful" and "drawn-out" death.
A wildlife probe is underway after a Sparrowhawk was fatally shot in Inverness.
The grim discovery was made by a member of the public in the Cradlehall area of the city on March 6. A report was made to RSPB Scotland after the male bird of prey was found lying dead on the ground.
Officers from Police Scotland and RSPB collected the bird's body before sending it for testing to establish its cause of death. A post-mortem was carried out and a bullet was discovered lodged in the bird's chest.
It was concluded that the animal had been shot with a shotgun. It added that the bird could have died some distance from where it was shot, before later dying from an infection and starvation as a result of the shooting.
Animal welfare officers said the bird would have had a "drawn-out" and "painful" death.
The illegal shooting of the bird is the latest in a spree of cruel wildlife crimes in Scotland.
In May last year, a buzzard was found to have endured 'significant unnecessary suffering' after being shot near an estate in Perthshire. The shotgun blast 'caused fracture of the lower leg bone' meaning the buzzard 'died slowly as a result of the leg wound and secondary infection', post-mortem analysis found.
Two months later, a dead golden eagle was found in a bag with body parts cut off close to Loch Rusky, near Stirling.
And in April, a red kite was found dead in Sutherland poisoned with lethal banned pesticide Carbofuran, a quarter-teaspoonful of which can kill a person.
All incidents occurred after MSPs passed new wildlife legislation supposed to tackle the persecution of birds of prey.
The Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act 2024 was aimed at regulating grouse moors and stopping rogue gamekeepers from killing birds of prey to boost numbers of gamebirds for shooting on estates.
Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, all wild birds are legally protected in the UK.
It means anyone found to have killed or injured a bird of prey faces an unlimited fine or even jail.
Police Scotland are appealing to anyone with information in connection with this shooting to come forward.
Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland's Head of Investigations, said: 'Sparrowhawks are one of the birds of prey you or I are most likely to encounter, as they live alongside us in parks and gardens. They hunt small birds by stealth and can be identified by their brilliantly piercing yellow eyes.
"The presence of Sparrowhawks and other birds of prey is a good indicator of a healthy and balanced ecosystem. This bird was shot with a shotgun, resulting in a drawn-out and painful death. Few people have access to such weapons, with even fewer motivated to shoot at protected birds of prey. We ask that if anyone has information about this incident, to please get in touch with Police Scotland or ourselves.'
Teams at Thomas Plant, Bea Ayling and Shona Rüesch of the Inverness Urban Sparrowhawk Project, have been studying the Sparrowhawk population in Inverness since 2020.
They said: 'We are absolutely devastated to hear that someone has shot one of these beautiful and majestic birds: one we may have been monitoring this year here in Inverness. As part of our voluntary monitoring we have been checking nest sites and colour-ringing Sparrowhawks (with support and funding from the Highland Raptor Study Group (HRSG)). We hope that this will help to improve understanding of the local Sparrowhawk population, their movements, lifespans and the threats that they face.'
If you have any information relating to this incident, call Police Scotland on 101 quoting reference number CR/0132125/25.
