UPSETTING pictures have emerged of a buzzard that had to be put to sleep after it was shot in Barnsley and a kingfisher found dead after getting tangled in discarded fishing line at a local river.
The injured buzzard was found by a local birder when it fell out of a tree in Warren Wood at Stainborough and reported it to the RSPB’s Investigations unit.
An RSPB investigator recovered the bird and it was taken for an X-ray which showed the buzzard had a broken wing and there was a shotgun pellet lodged in the wing, which caused the break.
The wound was thought to be several days old and had become infected, so sadly the bird had to be put to sleep.
Buzzards are protected under UK law and to kill or injure one is a criminal offence which is why the incident, on August 9, was reported to police.
However, last week the RSPB was told the enquiry had concluded with no prosecution and is appealing to the public for information. It is offering a £1,000 reward for information that leads to a successful conviction.
David Hunt is the RSPB investigations officer who recovered the buzzard.
He said: “It is sickening to think that this bird was deliberately shot.
“Seeing a buzzard soaring high in the sky or picking up worms from a freshly-turned field is part of the joy of a walk in the countryside.
“However, majestic birds like these are, more often than people realise, being intentionally and brutally killed in Yorkshire, and is a cause for local concern.
“This is not the first time I have been called out to a case like this and unfortunately it is often very hard to find out who is responsible. If you do have information, please come forward.”
Just hours after the RSPB launched that appeal, a kingfisher was found dead by local man Paul Cooper while he was out walking last Saturday. It was tangled up in fishing line that was caught on a tree.
As a fairly rare and easily disturbed bird, the kingfisher is also afforded the highest degree of legal protection under UK law, making it an offence to take, injure or kill a kingfisher, damage or destroy its nest, eggs or young.
The discovery shocked Paul who posted a picture on Twitter saying, ‘what a tragic sight this is. Kingfisher caught in discarded fishing line on the River Dearne at Barugh Green’ and that it was a massive shame the bird had been lost to people with ‘little respect for wildlife or their surroundings’.
The upsetting photo was met with anger from bird watchers who said it was a heartbreaking and distressing to image to see and a ‘very sad ending for a magnificent bird’ that was totally unnecessary and down to laziness regarding fishing tackle disposal.
Paul, who is a member of RSPB Old Moor, told the Chronicle: “It’s nice to see a kingfisher but not like that.
“I couldn’t tell if the line was wrapped around its neck or if it has caught a fish that has been hooked and it’s got tangled and stuck in the tree.”
Speaking about the response online, he added: “I think it’s probably touched a nerve with people.”
One of those it angered was 82-year-old bird watcher Richard Turner, who lives half a mile away from where the kingfisher was found.
Mr Turner, of Barnsley Road, Darton, said: “People do not realise the damage they are doing to wildlife.
“It gives fishermen a bad name. Responsible fishermen know what they are doing.
“Maybe it is someone who was not supposed to be fishing, someone not licensed.”
If you have any information relating to the buzzard incident, call police on 101 quoting reference number 617 of August 10.
