A rare white-tailed eagle reintroduced to the wild during a State programme has been found shot dead.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has launched an investigation into the incident beside Lough Owel, near Mullingar in Co Westmeath and has appealed to the public for information.
The two-year old bird was part of the NPWS’s White-tailed Eagle Reintroduction Programme and was released in 2022 on the Shannon Estuary.
“Investigating officers have established that the bird was shot, but, are awaiting further results of forensic analysis that may provide additional information,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
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“The NPWS deplores the deliberate killing of rare and endangered species, and takes bird of prey persecutions extremely seriously.”
During the reintroduction programme, eagle chicks are fitted with satellite tags to monitor their movement.
Information relating to the dead eagle indicates she died sometime on Friday, December 6th in the Ballynafid, Portnashangan area at Lough Owel.
She had been in the area over the previous couple of weeks having travelled widely.
In early 2023, she left north Kerry and visited various locations along the western seaboard.
She travelled to Co Donegal, making several trips to counties Antrim, Fermanagh and Cavan as well as to Lough Ree in the north midlands.
Members of the public with information have been asked to contact the NPWS in confidence at wildlifeenforcement@npws.gov.ie.
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